The author of "Jing Xing Lanzhou" is Du Shenyan, a litterateur of the Tang Dynasty. The full text of his ancient poem is as follows:
The wind weather is special in Jiaozhi, and the cold is late and the warmth is prompting.
Mountain fruits are ripe in mid-winter, and wild flowers bloom in the first month.
Accumulating rain creates dim fog, and light frost causes thunder.
My hometown is thousands of miles away, and my guests are always welcome.
Appreciation
After Du Shenyan became a Jinshi in 645 AD (the first year of Xianheng reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty), he was appointed as a lieutenant in Xicheng County (today’s west of Fenyang County, Shanxi). He went to the northwest for official duties and traveled back and forth. He passed through Lanzhou twice and wrote the five-character poem "Jing Xing Lanzhou", which is his early representative work.
Xicheng County, where the poet is located, is not very far from Lanzhou, but there are mountains on the west, north and south sides of Lanzhou, which are colder than Xicheng. The poet passed through Lanzhou twice in spring, about the end of February on the lunar calendar, and about the beginning of March when he returned. At the end of March, apricots and willows were already red in the Xicheng area, and at the beginning of March, peaches and plums were fragrant. At the same time, Lanzhou was still wintery and the flowers and trees had not yet bloomed. Therefore, the first couplet of the poem says: "Spring is late in the north, and the climate is cold in the border towns." Beidi refers to the north of Hedong Road at that time, and the border town refers to Lanzhou City. Spring comes late here, and the weather is as cold as late winter.
The couplet "The flowers that come and go do not bloom, and the old and new snow are still lingering" is a famous sentence describing the scene in the article. The beauty of this couplet lies in its large capacity and rich imagery. It accurately describes Lanzhou's "late spring" and "cold climate" with vivid images. "Comings and goings" and "old and new" meticulously express the changes in time and the layers of space. The two verbs "go" and "come" are used together as adverbs of time, which not only highlights the poet's round trip but also shows the span of time and space. The two adjectives "new" and "old" are used together, which not only once again highlights the season of travel, but also truly vividly records the snow scene environment. "The flowers are not blooming", does it mean that the buds are about to sprout, or are they still in bud? This leaves room for the reader's imagination to run wild. "The snow is still lingering" is also intriguing. Is the ice and snow melting, or has it not melted yet? It’s up to the reader’s imagination. After all, this is a unique scene in Lanzhou, but it is not unpredictable. "Coming and going" refers to the poet's activities, and "the flowers do not bloom" refers to the poet's observation when he comes and goes. There is a comparison implicit in it. This comparison is with the place where the poet set out and the place he returned to, Xicheng. From this couplet, we can appreciate the poet's profound writing power of using less to overcome more.
The neck couplet depicts the loveliness of Lanzhou’s landscape. “The water plays the role of a harp to listen to, and the mountains play the role of a painting.” The flowing water makes the sound as clear as the sound of a harp, the snow-capped mountains look like a painting. This scenery is enough to please the ears and eyes, but "water plays the harp in the music" also evokes people's artistic associations, resulting in the artistic conception of Boya playing the harp: towering like mountains, flowing like water! It soothes the mind and eliminates the hustle and bustle. This may be the beauty that the poet feels.
In this realm of mountains and rivers, the poet seemed to have forgotten all the trivial matters of the world, but in an instant, he realized that he had official duties and could not stay long admiring the mountains and rivers. Therefore, the tail couplet says: "Being frightened will lead to a long journey, and hardship will lead to a saddle." With regret and admiration, the poet raised his whip and urged his horse to continue marching on the difficult mountain road.
Du Shenyan is a person who is good at discovering and expressing beauty. He has a sense of beauty wherever he goes. Whether it is the North Country, the Southern Wilderness, Jiangzuo, or the Central Plains, the mountains and rivers of the motherland are in his eyes. The writings are all colorful, each showing its own unique beauty. Even the border town of Lanzhou was described beautifully and movingly by poets. Through these poems, the poet shows his deep love for the mountains and rivers of his motherland.