Li Bai's two sentences describing the scenes seen when looking up and down in "The Difficulties on the Road to Shu" are: "There are six dragons returning to the sun above, and below there are rushing waves and turning back to Sichuan."
p>The Road to Shu is Difficult
Dynasty: Tang Dynasty
Author: Li Bai
Hey, how dangerous it is! The road to Shu is as difficult as climbing to the sky!
With silkworms and yufu, how confused was the founding of the country!
You are forty-eight thousand years old, and you are not in the vicinity of Qin Sai.
There is a bird path in Taibai, Xidang, which can cross the top of Emei.
The earth collapsed and the mountains destroyed the strong men to death, and then the stone stacks of the ladder to the sky were connected.
On the top there is the high mark of six dragons returning to the sun, and on the bottom there is the rushing wave and turning back to Sichuan.
The yellow crane cannot fly past, and the ape clings to it to overcome its sorrow. (Climbing No. 1: Climbing)
Where is the green mud, and the rocky mountains are covered with nine folds at a hundred steps.
Mon went to the Lijing Well and raised his head and breathed. He sat with his hands on his back and sighed.
When will you return from your journey to the west? Afraid of the unreachable rocks.
But I saw the mourning bird calling the ancient trees, and the male flying and the female flying around the forest.
I also heard Zigui crying about the moon at night, worrying about the empty mountains.
The road to Shu is as difficult as climbing to the blue sky, which makes people wither their beauty!
The sky is not full even when the peaks are gone, and withered pines hang upside down against the cliffs.
The turbulent waterfalls are noisy, and the cliffs turn into rocks and thousands of valleys are thundered.
The danger is also like this. People who have traveled a long way have come here for nothing! (This is also true.)
The sword pavilion is majestic and cuiwei. One man can guard the gate, but ten thousand men cannot open it.
The relatives who were guarded or kidnapped turned into wolves and jackals.
Avoid tigers in the morning and snakes at night; grind your teeth and suck blood, killing people like numbness.
Although Jincheng is happy, it is better to return home early.
The road to Shu is as difficult as climbing to the blue sky. I turn to the west and look to the west and sigh!
Translation
Oh my! How tall and majestic it is!
The road to Shu is so difficult to climb, it is almost impossible to reach the sky.
According to legend, Cancong and Yufu established the Kingdom of Shu. The founding era is too long to be discussed in detail.
Since then, for about 48,000 years, Qin and Shu have been blocked by the Qinling Mountains and have never communicated back and forth.
To the west, there is a trail that birds can pass on Mount Taibai. From that path you can cross the top of Mount Emei.
The landslide and the earth split apart, and the five heroes of the Shu Kingdom were crushed to death. Only then did the two places have a ladder and a plank road to connect them.
There are mountain tops above that block the six dragon chariots of the Sun God, and below there are huge tortuous rivers drained by huge waves.
The yellow crane, which is good at flying high, cannot fly over it, and even if the hozen wants to climb over, it will have trouble climbing.
The Qingni Ridge twists and turns around the mountains, making nine turns around the rocks within a hundred steps.
You can touch it even if you hold your breath, raise your head, and pass through the ginseng well. You can touch your chest with your hands and sigh in horror.
My good friend, when will you return from your journey to the west?
The scary rocky mountain plank road is really difficult to climb!
I saw the sad bird whining and crying on the ancient tree; the male and female flew together among the primeval forests.
What you hear on a moonlit night is the sad cry of the cuckoo, which makes you miss this desolate empty mountain!
The road to Shu is so difficult to walk, it is almost as difficult as climbing to the sky. How can people not change their expressions when they hear this?
The peaks are connected and less than a foot away from the sky; withered pine branches and old branches hang upside down between the cliffs.
The whirlpools are whirling and the waterfalls are rushing and noisy; the water and rocks hit each other and rotate like thousands of valleys thundering.
The place is so harsh and dangerous;
Alas, you, a guest from afar, why did you come to this dangerous place?
Jiange is a place so majestic and towering that it reaches into the clouds. As long as one person guards it, it is difficult for thousands of troops to capture it.
If the garrisoned officials are not close relatives, they will inevitably turn into wolves and stand here, which is not rebellion.
In the morning you have to be wary of avoiding tigers; in the evening you have to be alert to the disaster of snakes.
The wolves, tigers and leopards grinding their teeth and sucking blood are really unsettling; the poisonous snakes and ferocious beasts kill people like hemp, which makes you terrified.
Although Jinguan City is a happy place, it is so dangerous that it is better to return home early.
The road to Shu is so difficult to walk that it is almost impossible to reach the sky; looking sideways to the west makes people sigh with emotion!
Notes
(1) "The Difficult Road to Shu": Titled by the Ancient Yuefu, it belongs to "Xianghe Ge·Se Diaoqu".
(2) Gyüca: exclamation sound, Shu dialect, a sound expressing surprise. Song Xiang's "Notes of Duke Jingwen of the Song Dynasty" Volume: "The people of Shu were surprised when they saw things, and they often said '噫嚱'."
(3) Cancong and Yufu: two legendary kings of the ancient Shu Kingdom name. He Mangran: It is difficult to verify. He: How. Dazed: A vague and distant look. It refers to the ancient history and legends that are far away and unclear. According to the Records of the Kings of Shu by Yang Xiong of the Western Han Dynasty: "The first kings of Shu were named Cancong, Baiguan, Yufu, Puze, and Kaiming... From Kaiming to Cancong, they were thirty-four thousand years old."
(4) Erlai: Since then. Forty-eight thousand years: an extremely long time, an exaggeration but an approximation. Qin Sai: The pass of Qin refers to the land of Qin. The land of Qin is surrounded by dangerous mountains and rivers, so it is called "the land of four fortresses". Open to the public: people coming and going.
(5) Xidang: Xidu. When: facing, toward.
Taibai: Taibai Mountain, also known as Taiyi Mountain, is located in the west of Chang'an (today's Mei County and Taibai County, Shaanxi Province). Bird Road: Refers to the low place in the mountains, where only birds can fly over and cannot be reached by human beings. Hengjue: across. Emei Peak: Emei Peak.
(6) The earth collapsed and the mountains destroyed the heroes: "Huayang Kingdom·Shu Chronicle": It is said that King Qin Hui wanted to conquer the Kingdom of Shu. Knowing that the King of Shu was lustful, he promised to give him five beauties. The king of Shu sent five strong men to pick him up. When I returned to Zitong (today's south of Jiange, Sichuan), I saw a big snake entering the cave. A strong man grabbed its tail, and the other four people came to help and pulled it out. Not long after, the landslide and the ground cracked, and both the strong man and the beautiful woman were crushed to death. The mountain is divided into five ridges, and the road to Shu is open. This is the famous story of "Five Dings Founding a Mountain". Destroy: collapse. Sky Ladder: A very steep mountain road. Stone stack: Plank road.
(7) The six dragons return to the sun: "Huainanzi" notes: "The sun rides on a chariot, driven by six dragons. Return to Liu Chi. "Chi is a dragon. Gaobiao: refers to the highest peak in Shu Mountain that can be used as a mark. Wave rush: A wave created by the impact of water flow, here refers to a rapid. Reverse bend: the water flow rotates. Huichuan: A river with whirlpools.
(8) Yellow Crane: Yellow swan (Hú) is a big bird that is good at flying. Shang: Still. Got: can. Monkey (náo): The most adept at climbing monkeys in Shu Mountain.
(9) Qingni Ridge: Qingni Ridge is located in the south of Hui County, Gansu Province and the north of Lueyang County, Shaanxi Province. "Yuanhe County Chronicles" Volume 22: "Qingni Ridge is located fifty-three miles northwest of the county, connecting the stream to the east, which is now the Tongtong. The cliffs are tens of thousands of meters high, the mountains are cloudy and rainy, and travelers often encounter mud puddles, so it is called Qingni Ridge. . "Pan Pan: The appearance of twists and turns. Nine turns in one hundred steps: nine turns in one hundred steps. linger: coil around. Yanluan: mountain peak.
(10) Muncanlijing: Shen (shēn) and well are the names of two stars. The ancients assigned the stars in the sky to the states and countries on the earth, which were called "dividing fields", so that they could divine the good and bad luck of the states and countries on the earth by observing the celestial phenomena. Shenxing is the dividing line between Shu and Jingxing is the dividing line between Qin. 扪(mén): To touch with hands. calendar: passing. Breath-threatening: Holding one's breath and not daring to breathe. Ying: chest. Sitting: disciple, empty.
(11) Jun: A friend who entered Shu. Fear of the road: a terrible road. Yanyan: a dangerous and steep mountain wall.
(12) But see: only hear. No. Ancient Tree: Crying loudly among the ancient trees. From: follow.
(13) Zigui: It is the cuckoo bird, which is the most common in Shu. "Book of Shu" says: "In the past, there was a man named Yu named Du, who was king of Shu, and whose name was Wangdi. After Yu died, it is said that Du Yu turned into Zigui. Zigui is also the name of a bird. When people in Shu heard Zigui's call, they all called him Wangdi." These two sentences are also broken into "I heard Zigui's cry again, and I was worried about the empty mountain at night", but they are not as smooth as this one.
(14) Withering beauty: The beauty is sad, like a flower withering. Wither, the usage is to make...wither. This refers to the change of complexion from ruddy to livid.
(15) Go: distance. filled.
(16) Tuān: Rapids rushing down. Huī: Noisy sound, here refers to the loud noise made by rapids and waterfalls. Ping (pīng) cliff: the sound of water hitting rocks. Ping, the sound made by water hitting the stone wall, is used as a verb here, meaning to hit. Turn to make scroll. 呑: Valley.
(17) Sigh: Sigh. Er: You. Hu Wei: Why. Come: refers to Shu.
(18) Jiange: Also known as Jianmen Pass, it is a plank road between Dajiang Mountain and Xiaojian Mountain in the north of Jiange County, Sichuan, about thirty miles long. Zhengrong and Cuiwei both describe the appearance of tall and majestic mountains. Two sentences about "one husband": Zuo Si's "Ode to the Capital of Shu" in Volume 4 of "Selected Works": "One man guards the narrow gate, and ten thousand men cannot move towards it." Volume 56 of "Selected Works" contains the "Jiange Inscription": "One person carries a halberd, and ten thousand men stumble. In a beautiful place, bandit relatives should not live there." Yifu: one person. Dangguan: guard the gate. Mo Kai: Can't open.
(19) Guard: refers to the person guarding the pass. Or kidnapping a relative: if he is not a trustworthy person. Bandit is the same as "fei".
(20) North Korea: morning. suck.
(21) Jincheng: Chengdu was famous for its cotton production in ancient times. The imperial court once set up officials here to specialize in cotton fabrics, so it was called Jincheng or Jincheng. "Yuanhe County Chronicles" Volume 31 Chengdu County, Jiannan Road, Chengdu Prefecture: "Jincheng is ten miles south of the county, so Jincheng is also called Jincheng." Today's Chengdu City, Sichuan.
(22) Sigh: Sigh.
Appreciation
Since the Tang Dynasty, people have been speculating on the writing background of "The Road to Shu". There are four main theories: 1. This is the work of Fang Guan and Du Fu. The two were worried and hoped that they would leave Sichuan as soon as possible to avoid being poisoned by Yan Wu, the envoy of Jiannan Jiedushi; B. This poem was written for Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, who fled to Shu to escape the Anshi Rebellion, and advised him to return to Chang'an to avoid being poisoned by Yan Wu. The local warlords in Sichuan hijacked the situation. C. This poem is intended to satirize Zhangchou Jianqiong, the governor of Shu at that time, who wanted to separatist power based on danger and did not listen to the imperial control.
This poem was first recorded in the "Heyue Yingling Collection" compiled by Yin Fan of the Tang Dynasty. The book was compiled in 753 AD (the twelfth year of Tianbao by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty). From this we can know that Li Bai's poem The poetry should have been written at the latest before the "Collection of Heroes in Heyue" was compiled. At that time, the Anshi Rebellion had not yet occurred, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty settled in Chang'an, and Fang Guan and Du Fu had not yet entered Sichuan. Therefore, statements A and B are obviously wrong. As for the satire of Zhangchou Jianqiong, judging from relevant records in some historical books, there is no basis.
When Zhangchou Jianqiong was in control of Shu, although he exploited and oppressed the people, he did not dare to rebel against the court. Instead, he blindly curried favor with the powerful officials in the court in order to become a capital official in Chang'an. Relatively speaking, the last statement is more objective and close to the actual work.
It is generally believed that this poem was probably written by Li Bai when he was in Chang'an from 742 to 744 AD (Tianbao Yuanzai to Tianbao three years) to send his friend Wang Yan to Shu. Advise Wang Yan not to detain Shu and return to Chang'an as soon as possible. Avoid the unexpected hands of jealous villains.
This poem can be roughly divided into three parts.
The first part, from "silkworm bushes and fishtails" to "then the ladders and stone stacks are connected to each other", mainly writes about the difficulty of opening the road. From the ancient legends of Cancong and Yufu that founded the country, the poet traced the long history of isolation and communication between Shu and Qin, and pointed out that it was only because the five warriors paid the price of their lives that they carved out a rugged and steep path in the uninhabited mountains. of plank road. Emphasizing the hard-won road to Shu.
The second part, from "There are six dragons returning to the sun," to "I am sorry that people who have traveled a long way have come here," mainly writes about the difficulty of trekking and climbing. This part can be divided into two layers. The first eight sentences are one layer, emphasizing the height of the mountain and the ruggedness of the road. For example, the six dragons, yellow cranes, and apes, which are good at flying and climbing birds and beasts, are helpless when faced with the Shu Road to illustrate how easy it is for people to climb the Shu Road. The Qingni Ridge, a prominent mountain in the Qin Dynasty, was also specially chosen to illustrate the situation. The exaggerated description shows that the Shu Road is so high that it is impassable. The second layer below "Ask you when you will return from your journey to the west" depicts a series of scenes such as mourning birds, ancient trees, night moon, empty mountains, withered pines, cliffs, rapids, waterfalls, etc., with movement and stillness complementing each other, and sound and shape. To exaggerate the empty and terrifying environment and the bleak and desolate atmosphere in the mountains, he lamented why his friends would take such a risk to enter Sichuan.
The third part, from "Jiange is majestic and Cui Wei" to "it is better to return home early", from the dangerous geographical situation of Jiange to the dangerous social situation at that time, friends are advised not to stay in Shu for a long time and to return as soon as possible. Chang'an. This part can also be divided into two levels. The first five sentences form one layer, using the sentence "One man carries a halberd, and ten thousand people stagger in the inscription of Jiange" written by Zhang Zai of the Western Jin Dynasty. In a beautiful place, bandit relatives should not live in it. "It highlights the danger of Jiange pass, and the last six sentences form one layer, with The venomous snakes and ferocious beasts that kill people like hemp are a metaphor for the local warlords who will endanger the people if they rebel in danger, and he advises his friends to leave the dangerous place as soon as possible.
The whole poem is mainly composed of the above three parts. As for the two lines "The road to Shu is difficult, it is difficult to reach the blue sky" that appear three times in the poem, they are clues to connect the various parts. It makes the whole poem echo from the beginning to the end, going back and forth, continuous and inseparable.
"The Road to Shu is Difficult" is an old title of the Han Dynasty Yuefu, and it belongs to the "Se tune" in the "Xianghe Song Ci". Volume 40 of Guo Maoqian's "Collection of Yuefu Poems" quotes "Yuefu Jieyue" as saying: ""The Difficulties of the Shu Road" mentions the obstacles of Tongliang and Yulei (both names of mountains in Sichuan)." From Emperor Jianwen of Liang Dynasty to Zhang Wencong of the early Tang Dynasty, many people wrote poems with this title. Although Li Bai's poem also uses the old title of Yuefu to describe the difficulties of the Shu road, the content is richer than the previous one and the ideological significance is more positive.
Describing the ups and downs of the Shu Road is a main content of this poem. This type of poem occupies most of the poem. Li Bai loved his hometown of Sichuan and the mountains and rivers of his motherland very much, and many of his poems strongly expressed this emotion. The same is true for "The Road to Shu is Difficult". Although, in order to achieve the purpose of persuading his friends, he tried his best to exaggerate and describe the hardships and dangers of the Shu Road. However, his sincere love for the mountains and rivers of his motherland made him involuntarily devote his full enthusiasm to the Shu Road in his writings. While it is dangerous and terrifying, it also expresses its abruptness, majesty, strength and insurmountable majestic momentum. It shows the majesty of the mountains and rivers of the motherland.
Secondly, this poem reflects the deep friendship between the author and Wang Yan. Li Bai attached great importance to friendship. His friendship with the poet Du Fu, the Taoist Wu Yun, and the farmer Wang Lun has always been a beautiful story in the history of literature. He also has a deep friendship with Wang Yan. When Wang Yan entered Shu, he wrote poems such as "Jiange Fu" and "Sending Friends to Shu" to send him off. When Wang Yan died, he wrote three more poems "Crying for Wang Yan from the Lishui Road" to express his deep condolences. In this poem, when he was describing the road to Shu, he could not help but utter exclamations such as "Ask you when will you return from your journey to the west?" I am deeply worried about Wang Yan's trip, and sincerely advise Wang Yan to return home as soon as possible, showing his true concern and deep affection for his friends.
As mentioned above, this poem is written at the beginning of Tianbao. At that time, the society of the Tang Dynasty was relatively stable and prosperous on the surface, but underneath it was full of contradictions and dangers. On the one hand, there were "lax laws and regulations" and serious land annexation. Although some lines in the third part of Li Bai's poem still focus on describing the dangerous terrain of Shu Road, they also reveal his worries about the national crisis and his concern for the future and destiny of the country, intentionally or unintentionally. p>
No matter from any artistic perspective, "The Road to Shu" can be regarded as Li Bai's masterpiece. It embodies the artistic characteristics of Li Bai's poetry and the author's creative personality.
First of all, it is emotion. Strong. At the beginning of the chapter, the author starts with "Hey thief!" How dangerous it is! "The road to Shu is as difficult as climbing to the blue sky" was a strong chant that surged forward, expressing his astonishment and emotion at the steep and dangerous road to Shu. Then, in the middle and at the end of the poem, he repeated this chant twice. , covering the whole poem with his own strong emotions, giving people the feeling of singing and sighing, and it is exciting to read.
Secondly, it is extremely exaggerated.
Exaggeration is a common artistic technique used by poets. However, Li Bai's exaggeration is unique. He often exaggerates the things he writes to the extreme, and often uses huge numerals such as "thousands" and "ten thousand" to describe modifications. Popular poems such as "White hair three thousand feet", "Flying stream down three thousand feet", "The boat has passed ten thousand mountains" are all typical examples. As far as "The Road to Shu is Difficult" is concerned, his exaggeration has reached its peak and cannot be increased. People say that climbing to the sky is the most difficult; but he said: "The road to Shu is difficult, it is more difficult than climbing to the blue sky!" As the idiom goes, talking about the tiger's face turns pale, but he said "the road to Shu is difficult", "it makes people listen to this withered beauty!" Folk songs are passed down. , "Martial arts is too weak, the sky will be three hundred", in his writing, it actually became "Even if the peaks are removed, the sky will not be full of feet". In order to emphasize the long time between Qin and Shu, he said it was "forty-eight thousand years old"; in order to highlight the twists and turns of the Qingniling Mountain Road, he said it was "ten fold per hundred steps"; and in order to show the towering nature of the Shu Road, he even It is an exaggeration to say that even the six dragons driving the sun will turn around and return eastward... These extreme exaggerations, although not in line with the reality of the matter, effectively highlight the dangers and majesty of the Shu Road and its unsurpassable majesty. .
Once again, the imagination is rich and strange. Li Bai's imagination in this poem is amazing, transcending the limitations of time and space and free from any constraints. From the ancient legends about the founding of the country by Cancong and the founding of mountains by Wuding to the terrifying reality of "avoiding tigers in the morning and long snakes at night", from the nine-fold sky where six dragons return to the sun to the hundred-foot abyss where waves and twists and turns are present; ", "The sky is not full even if the peaks are gone", "Withered pines hanging upside down and leaning on the cliffs" are displayed, and there are also sounds such as "the mournful bird's cry", "Zigui's cry", "the cliff turns to stone and thousands of valleys are thundered". ; There is even the personal experience and on-the-spot feeling of "going to the Lijing Well, looking up and sighing, stroking the pillow with my hands and sighing". With the help of magical imagination, the author specifically depicts the appearance of Cui Wei, a majestic road in Shu, and vividly renders it. Its gloomy and profound atmosphere makes people feel like they are there, hearing and witnessing it. Ouyang Xiu once said: "The difficulty of the road to Shu is as difficult as climbing to the blue sky. The clouds and smoke appear when Taibai writes a pen" ("Taibai Opera Shengyu"), which vividly expresses it. The artistic feeling people get after reading "The Difficulties of the Road to Shu"
It should be noted that the author also combines myths and legends with his strange imagination and wanton exaggeration, so that the three complement each other and blend. This is a distinctive feature of the romantic style of Li Bai's poems, and it is also another artistic feature of this poem. In this poem, the author picks up the ancient legends of Cancong's founding of the country, Wuding's founding of the mountains, and Zigui's cry of hatred. The magnificent myth of the return of the six dragons is woven into his peculiar imagination and exaggerated description of the hardships of the Shu Road, giving the mountains and stone stacks in his paintings a layer of simple, sad, magical and confusing colors, making the whole work exude It has a strong romantic atmosphere. It should be pointed out that these myths and legends are both the content of the author's imagination and the manifestation of his wanton exaggeration. The three are mutually exclusive and difficult to separate.
Finally, let's talk about it. Talking about the flexible sentence structure and the unrestrained language of "The Road to Shu". Li Bai was bold and unrestrained by nature. When writing poems, he also liked to use a song style with free sentence structure and loose rhyme, so that he could express his talent at will and express the ups and downs of his heart. This poem is a seven-character song line, and the sentence structure is mainly seven characters, but also mixed with four characters, five characters, six characters, eight characters, etc. The short one is only three characters, and the long one is up to eleven characters. , varying in length, scattered and connected, sometimes loose, sometimes neat, arbitrary, and relaxed. From the language point of view, there are both well-proportioned and orderly "one man is in charge of the barrier, and ten thousand people are not allowed to open it", and there is also "the person who is a long way away is confused." "Why are you here?" is loose and stretched; it has the refinement and solemnity of "Withered pines hanging upside down and leaning on the cliff", and it also has the smoothness and lightness of "Although Jincheng is full of joy, it is better to return home early"; the sentence "Danger is so high" is tautological, It's a pretense. The emphasis on writing is used to enhance momentum: the use of function words for the three words "噫囧声" is unintentional but unique, and it is written in the Sichuan dialect... it is unrestrained and unrestrained, with no rules to follow, and blurry words. It comes out, but does nothing wrong, and plays a fruitful supporting role in expressing the content and expressing emotions.