Translation of "Early Spring Tour with Jinling Lu Cheng":
Only those who work as officials far away from their hometown are particularly sensitive to the transformation and renewal of natural phenology.
The bright clouds on the sea and the sun are about to rise in the east, but the plum blossoms in the south of the Yangtze River are red and the willows are green in the north of the Yangtze River.
The warm spring air urges the orioles to sing, and the green duckweed turns darker in color under the clear sunshine.
Suddenly hearing you singing simple tunes evokes nostalgia and brings tears to my eyes.
Appreciation:
This is a Japanese poem. The author uses the original song with the same title to express his emotions and reflections on his official travels in the south of the Yangtze River. In the early spring weather in the south of the Yangtze River, it is a pleasure to visit the scenery with friends, but the poet is like Wang Can ascending the tower, "although he believes in beauty rather than my land", it is better to go back. Therefore, this poem is written with unique emotions, it is surprising but not pleasant, it is pleasing to the eye but not happy, it feels fresh but the thoughts are desolate, the scenery is beautiful but the mood is indifferent, even sad, with a lot of complaints in the words.
The poem begins with emotion, saying that only a wanderer who leaves his hometown and pursues an official career will feel novel and fussy about the climate of a foreign land. The implication is that if you are in your hometown or a local, it is not surprising. The emphasis on "unique" and "panic" vividly expresses the conflicting mood of the poet during his official trip to the south of the Yangtze River. This beginning is quite unique and very personal.
The second couplet in the middle reads "Jingxin". On the surface, these two couplets describe the characteristics of phenological changes from the beginning of the New Year to mid-spring and February in the south of the Yangtze River, showing the beautiful spring scenery of the south of the Yangtze River, the singing of birds and the fragrance of flowers; in fact, the poet writes about the novelty of the foreign land of the south of the Yangtze River by comparing the phenology of his hometown in the Central Plains. The fresh scenery in mid-spring contains the poet's nostalgia for his hometown in the late spring of the Central Plains. Every sentence is surprising and nostalgic.
The sentence "Yunxia" refers to the beginning of the New Year. In the concept of the ancients, the East Emperor, the god of spring, is located in the east, the sun rises in the east, and spring comes from the east. But in the Central Plains, the phenology at the beginning of the New Year is "the east wind thaws, stinging insects begin to stir, and fish climb on the ice" ("Book of Rites: Yue Ling"). The wind is already warm but the water is still cold. In the coastal areas of Jiangnan Water Town, the spring breeze and spring water are warm and cloudy. Therefore, the poet prominently writes that the New Year in Jiangnan rises from the eastern sea to the world with the sun, reflecting the clouds in the sky like the dawn. The sentence "Plum Blossoms and Willows" refers to the flowers and trees in the first month of spring. They are both plum blossoms and willow trees, and they both belong to the first month of spring. In the north, you are looking for plum blossoms in the snow, and you can see the willow color from a distance, and the remaining winter is still there; but in the south of the Yangtze River, plum blossoms are in full bloom, willow leaves are fluttering, and spring is full of joy, just like the poet wrote "Da Mo" in the first month of the same year. It is described in the poem: "Where the plum blossoms fall, there is still snow, and when the willow leaves bloom, there is a good wind." Therefore, this sentence says that when plum blossoms and willows cross the river, the south of the Yangtze River will be full of flowers and trees in spring. Next, write the spring bird. "Shu Qi" refers to the warm climate in spring. In mid-spring and February, "Cang Geng (oriole) calls" ("Book of Rites, Yue Ling"), both in the north and south, but the oriole in the south of the Yangtze River sings more joyfully. Lu Ji, a poet of the Western Jin Dynasty, said: "The luxuriant grass is full of gentleness, and the birds have many good sounds at that time." ("Sadness Travel") "The gentleness urges the yellow birds" is a paraphrase of Lu's poem, and uses the word "urge", It highlights the characteristic of spring birds singing happily in February in the south of the Yangtze River. Then, write water plants. In the south of the Yangtze River, the poet Jiang Yan of the Liang Dynasty said: "In the spring of February in the south of the Yangtze River, the east wind turns to green apples." ("Ode to Beauty's Spring Outing") This sentence says "the clear light turns to green apples", which is a transposition of Jiang poetry, which also implies The phenology in mid-February in Jiangnan is exactly the same as that in late spring in March in the Central Plains, a full month earlier.
In short, the new is surprising because of the old, and the scenery is surprising because of the emotion. The surprise is due to nostalgia, homesickness, and the novelty of a foreign land. These two couplets describe the phenology of the south of the Yangtze River seen in the eyes, and also contain the nostalgia for the hometown in the Central Plains. They are consistent with the contradictory mood in the first couplet, and they also naturally move to the last couplet.
"Ancient tune" is a term that respects Lu Cheng's original singing. The poet uses "suddenly heard" to express an unexpected tone, cleverly showing that Lu Cheng's poem inadvertently touched the pain of homesickness in the poet's heart, causing him to shed tears. On the other hand, it is precisely because the poet was originally homesick that he shed tears of sadness once triggered. This ending not only points out the reflection, but also points out the harmonious meaning. The structure is rigorous and meticulous.
When ancient people appreciated this poem, they often preferred the first and last couplets and skipped the middle couplets. In fact, its concept is complete and original. The knotting is certainly unique, but without the unique description of the scene in the two middle couplets, the whole poem would not be so full, coherent, interesting, and relevant to the topic. In this sense, the beauty of this poem lies precisely in the middle couplet.
This poem creates a warning. The style is clear in rhyme and rhyme, harmonious in level and level, and neat in contrast. It is a mature work of rhythmic poetry. Structurally, the first couplet links one meaning group, the chin couplet connects another meaning group, and the last couplet links another meaning group. The first and last couplets echo each other and expand in the middle. This writing style is a commonly used format in the early Tang Dynasty rhymed poetry and even later Tang rhymed poems. Therefore, this poem can be said to be the foundation work for completing the modern poetry style in the early Tang Dynasty, and it has the significance of opening up sources and rectifying currents.
Original text:
Exclusive eunuchs and tourists are surprised by the new phenology.
The clouds rise above the sea and dawn, and the plum blossoms and willows cross the river in spring.
Shu Qi urges the yellow bird, and the clear light turns to green apple.
Suddenly I heard the ancient tune of a song, and I felt like thinking about it.
Notes:
1. He (hè): refers to responding with poetry. Jinling: now Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, it belonged to Piling County, Jiangnan East Road in the Tang Dynasty. Lu Cheng: The author's friend, whose name is unknown, was serving as county magistrate in Jinling at that time.
2. Official: a person who leaves home to become an official.
3. Phenology: refers to the weather and seasonal changes in nature.
4. Shuqi: warm weather. Yellow Bird: Yellow Warbler, also known as Cang Geng.
5. Sunny: means spring. Ping (pín): perennial herb.
6. Ancient tune: refers to the poem written by Lu Cheng, namely the title "Wandering in Early Spring".
7. Scarf: one is "front".
Creative background:
After Du Shenyan became a scholar in the first year of Xianheng (670), Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, his official career failed and he has been serving as a minor official such as county magistrate and county captain. Around the first year of Yongchang of Wu Zetian (689), he went to work in Jiangyin County. At this time, he had been in officialdom for nearly twenty years and had a high reputation for poetry, but he was still far away from Beijing and Luo. He was working as a minor official in Jiangyin, a small county, and he was very unhappy. When he was serving in Jiangyin County, Du Shenyan and Lu were colleagues in the same county and neighboring counties. They were traveling and singing together, probably at that time. Lu's original song should be "Early Spring Tour", but the content is unknown. This poem was composed by Du Shenyan for singing.
About the author:
Du Shenyan (approximately 645-708), courtesy name Bijian, Han nationality, was born in Xiangyang, Xiangzhou, Tang Dynasty, China. He was the grandfather of the great poet Du Fu. Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty was a Jinshi of Xianheng. During the reign of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang Dynasty, he was exiled to Fengzhou (now southeast of Yuechi, Vietnam) because of his association with Zhang Yizhi's brother. He once served as a minor official such as Xi Chengwei and Luoyang Cheng, and was a direct bachelor of Leiguan Xiu Wen Guan. He was as famous as Li Qiao, Cui Rong, and Su Weiwei, and was known as the "Four Friends of Articles". He was one of the founders of "modern poetry" in the Tang Dynasty and wrote many works. Simple and natural. His five-character poems have strict rhythm.