There are four poems in "Four Quatrains".
The first poem expresses the poet's indifferent mood;
The second poem expresses the poet's worry about the situation in Chengdu while living in that cottage;
The third poem expresses the poet's sense of loss about the passage of time and loneliness and boredom;
Although the author of the fourth poem returned to the thatched cottage due to Yan Wu's reinstatement, he is still worried about "unpredictable events". Always link yourself to the fate of the country. After all, he is not the kind of person who forgets everything and follows the trend.
Original text of the work
Four quatrains
One of them
Bamboo shoots grow in the west of the hall and don’t open the door, while peppers go to the north of the chasm but carry the village behind them.
The plum blossoms are ripe and Xu eats them with Zhu Lao, and the pine trees are high and they discuss Ruan Sheng.
Second
I wanted to make weirwood clouds return to turbulence, but I was surprised by the sound of cold rain in April.
There was a dragon cave in Qingxi first, where mountains of bamboo and stone could not be placed.
Third
Two orioles sang in the green willows, and a row of egrets climbed into the blue sky.
The window contains Qianqiu snow of Xiling, and the door is docked with a ship thousands of miles away from Dongwu.
Fourth
The medicine strips and nails are moist and green, and the color is past the brown pavilion and enters the grass pavilion.
The seedlings are full of empty mountains and are ashamed to be praised, and their roots are cowardly in the gaps.
Vernacular translation:
First one
The bamboo shoots on the west side of the hall are so lush that they block the door, and the row peppers planted in the north of the chasm are also lush. It grows into a line but separates neighboring villages.
When I saw the ripe plums in the garden, I wanted to invite Mr. Zhu to taste the new ones when they were ripe; when I saw the pine trees in front of the hall, I wanted to talk to Ruan Sheng under the pine trees about the past and the present.
Second
I was planning to build a weir beam when suddenly dark clouds covered the rapids, and then I was surprised that the rain in April was so cold.
Maybe there have been dragons living in this green stream for a long time. Even though the bamboo and stones used to build the embankment are piled up like mountains, we dare not take risks anymore.
Third
Two orioles chirped among the green willow branches, and a row of egrets flew into the high blue sky.
The scenery of Xiling Snow Mountain seems to be embedded in the window, and ships traveling to and from Soochow are moored next to the door.
Fourth
The branches and leaves of the medicinal herbs grow lush green, and the green color spreads over the palm pavilion and into the grass pavilion.
I am not worthy of the reputation of "empty mountains full of seedlings", for I am afraid that their roots will not be able to take shape in the dry and cracked soil.
Extended information:
The four lines of the poem describe four pictures, which are like four fan screens when separated, and together they form a vivid and beautiful landscape painting. The first sentence writes that there are pairs of orioles singing happily on the freshly green willow branches around the thatched cottage. It is a pleasant scene, full of vitality, full of sound and color, forming a fresh and beautiful artistic conception, with a festive meaning.
The second sentence writes about the egret flying freely in the blue sky. The sky is clear and blue, and the egrets are extremely vivid in color against the "blue sky". In the two sentences, four distinct colors of "yellow", "emerald", "white" and "green" are used in succession to weave a gorgeous picture. The third sentence is about overlooking the snowy mountains of the Western Mountains from the window. The snow on the ridge does not melt all year round, so there is accumulation of "thousands of years of snow".
The word "Han" indicates that this scene seems to be a picture embedded in the window frame. In the last sentence, you can see the boats moored on the river bank from outside the door. The three words "ships thousands of miles away" have a profound meaning. Because of the years of war, water and land transportation were blocked by the war, and ships could not sail smoothly. Only when the war was calmed down and transportation restored could ships from Soochow be seen.
"Wanli Ship" is opposite to "Qianqiu Snow", one word is the vastness of space, the other word is the long time. The poet is in the thatched cottage, thinking for thousands of years, seeing thousands of miles, and having an open mind. At the beginning of the poem, the spring scenery of the thatched cottage is shown, and the poet's mood is peaceful. As his eyes wander and the scenery changes, the appearance of river boats touches his nostalgia. The whole poem has exquisite counterpoints, bright colors, a combination of movement and stillness, and both sound and shape. The four lines of the poem seem to form a magnificent landscape painting that is thousands of miles away.