The sun sets from the West Mountain and the white moon rises from the East Ridge. The moon is thousands of miles away, emitting clear brilliance, and the vast night sky is illuminated very brightly. The wind blows into the house, making the pillows cool at night. The climate has changed, so I realized that the seasons have changed, and I couldn't sleep, so I realized that the nights are so long.
I wanted to pour out my sorrows, but no one responded, so I had to raise a glass to drink with my own shadow. Time flies by, and I have great ambitions but cannot be stretched. Thinking of this incident filled me with sadness, and I couldn't calm down all night long.
"Twelve Miscellaneous Poems" is a collection of poems written by Tao Yuanming, a writer during the Jin and Song Dynasties. The second original text:
The sun sinks into the West River, and the plain moon rises from the East Ridge.
The brilliance is thousands of miles away, and the scenery is swinging in the sky.
The wind comes and enters the house, and the mat is cold in the night.
It is easy to change and realize the Qi, and you will know the night without sleep.
If you want to say nothing but make peace, wave your cup to persuade Gu Ying.
The sun and the moon throw people away, and those who have ambitions cannot achieve success.
Thinking of this makes me sad, and I can’t be still at dawn.
Extended information:
Creative background
This group of poems consists of twelve poems. The first eight poems are "consistent in tone" and are regarded as being written within the same year. It was written when Tao Yuanming was 54 years old, which was the fourteenth year of Emperor Yixi of Jin'an (418). The last four poems were written around the fifth year of Emperor Long'an of Jin'an (401), when Tao Yuanming was 37 years old.
Appreciation of Works
This group of miscellaneous poems is actually a miscellaneous poetry that "does not follow the rules and speaks when it encounters things" (note by Li Shan in "Selected Works"). It can be said that lamenting the impermanence of life and lamenting the brevity of life are the keynotes of "Twelve Miscellaneous Poems".
This kind of lamentation about "life is impermanent" and "life is short" can already be heard in the "Book of Songs" and "Chu Ci", but it was only in the late Han, Wei and Jin dynasties that this kind of sigh Sadness has expanded to a deeper and wider extent, from "Nineteen Ancient Poems" to Sancao, from Seven Sages in the Bamboo Grove to Erlu, from Liu Kun to Tao Yuanming.
This kind of sighing became more and more desolate and pathos, deeper and heavier, and even became the typical tone of the entire era. This tone may seem negative and pessimistic today, but under the specific social conditions at that time, it reflected the awakening of people and the progress of the times.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Twelve Miscellaneous Poems