The original text and analysis of Jinse are as follows:
Original text:
The Jinse has fifty strings for no reason, each string and one column reflects the past. Zhuang Sheng was fascinated by butterflies in his morning dream, and looked forward to the emperor's spring heart filled with cuckoos. The moon in the sea sheds tears, and the warm sun in Lantian produces smoke. This feeling can be recalled later, but it was already at a loss.
Translation:
Why does the exquisite zither have fifty strings? Every string and string reminds me of my youth. Zhuang Zhou danced and turned into a butterfly in his sleep. Emperor Wang expressed his hatred on the cuckoo. The bright moon shines high in the sea, and the tears of the sharks turn into beads; the red sun in Lantian is warm, and you can see the smoke of good jade. Why do I have to recall this scene now? It’s just that I didn’t know how to cherish it at that time.
Creative background
This poem was written around the author's later years, and the specific time of creation is unknown. There have always been different opinions on the creative intention of the poem "Jin Se", and there is no consensus. Some may think it is a patriotic piece, some may think it is a piece of mourning and remembrance for the deceased wife, some may think it is a self-inflicted comment on one's life experience and one's own literary talents, or some may think it is a writing expressing longing for the servant.
"Historical Records·Fengchan Shu" records that the ancient zither had fifty strings, but later it was generally twenty-five strings. However, this poem was written after the death of Li Shangyin's wife, so fifty strings means broken strings (it is said that if a twenty-five-string ancient zither string is broken in half, it is called fifty strings). But even so, each string of it, Every syllable is enough to express my longing for those beautiful years.
Li Shangyin
Li Shangyin (about 813-about 858), also known as Yishan, also known as Yuxi (Xi) Sheng or Fan Nansheng, was a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty and his ancestral home was Hanoi (now Jiaozuo, Henan Province). City) Qinyang, born in Xingyang, Zhengzhou.
He is good at poetry writing, and his parallel prose has high literary value. He is one of the most outstanding poets in the late Tang Dynasty. Together with Du Mu, he is called "Xiao Li Du", and together with Wen Tingyun, he is called "Wen Li". The style of poetry is similar to that of Duan Chengshi and Wen Tingyun of the same period, and all three of them were ranked sixteenth in their families, so they are collectively called the "Thirty-sixth Style".
His poems have novel ideas and beautiful styles, especially some love poems and untitled poems, which are sentimental, beautiful and moving, and are widely read. However, some poems are too obscure and confusing to be understood. There is a saying that "poets always love Xikun and hate that no one writes Zheng Jian." Because he was caught in the partisan struggle between Niu and Li, he was very frustrated in his life. After his death, he was buried in his hometown Qinyang (now the junction of Qinyang and Boai County, Jiaozuo City, Henan Province). The works are included in "Li Yishan's Collected Poems".