"Poetry at Qinhuai" is one of Du Mu's representative works and is included in Volume 523 of "Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty". This is the ancient poem "Po Qinhuai" by Du Mu that I recommend to everyone. Let's take a look.
Parking in Qinhuai
Tang Dynasty: Du Mu
The smoke cage is cold and the moon is caged in the sand. I parked in Qinhuai at night near a restaurant.
The merchant girl did not know the hatred of her country's subjugation, but she still sang "Flowers in the Back Garden" across the river.
Translation
The vast cold river is filled with misty smoke, and the bright moon shines on the white sand. At night, I parked my boat on the bank of the Qinhuai River, close to the restaurant. The Jinling singers seemed to have no idea what the hatred for the subjugation of the country and the sorrow for separation was, but they were still singing the obscene song "Flowers in the Backyard of Yushu" on the other side of the river.
English translation
Mist veils the cold stream, and moonlight the sand, as I moor in the shadow of a river-tavern,
Where girls, with no thought of a perished Kingdom, gaily echo a song of courtyard flowers.
Notes
① Selected from Volume 4 of "Collected Works of Fan Chuan" by Feng Jiwu. (Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 1978 edition). Qinhuai River, also known as Qinhuai River, originates from Damao Mountain in Jurong, Jiangsu Province and Lushan Mountain in Lishuidong, and flows into the Yangtze River through Nanjing. According to legend, it was dug by Qin Shihuang during his southern tour to Kuaiji to dredge the Huaihe River, so it was called Qinhuai River.
②[berth] moor.
③[Businesswoman] A singer who makes a living by singing.
④[Back Garden Flower] The abbreviation of the song "Yushu Back Garden Flower". Chen Shubao, Emperor Chen of the Southern Dynasty (ie Empress Chen), was obsessed with sex and pleasure, and composed this song to have fun with the beauties in his harem, which eventually led to the country's subjugation. Therefore, later generations called this song "the sound of the country's subjugation."
Appreciation
Qinhuai, the Qinhuai River, originates from the northeast of Lishui, Jiangsu Province, runs through Jinling (now Nanjing, Jiangsu Province) and enters the Yangtze River. From the Six Dynasties to the Tang Dynasty, the area along the Qinhuai River in Jinling has always been a place for the rich and powerful to have dinner and have fun. This poem was written by the poet when he was mooring in Qinhuai at night and was inspired by the scenery. In his lament about the rise and fall of the Six Dynasties, it contains the feeling of worrying about the present world.
This poem also shows considerable skill in the use of language. The first sentence describes the scenery. "Smoke", "water", "moon" and "sand" are connected by the two characters "cage", which merge into a hazy and cold water-colored night scene, exaggerating the atmosphere and revealing the melancholy in the haze. The second period title uses the rich connotation of "near a restaurant" to activate the nostalgia for the past. The Qinhuai area was a famous entertainment place in the Six Dynasties, with many restaurants, so the endless prosperity of the singing and dancing banquets in the past was actually included in the poet's words at this time. in thoughts. The last two sentences are inspired by the song "Flowers in the Back Garden". "I don't know" expresses the poet's indignation towards "business women", and also indirectly satirizes the rulers who do not take state affairs as a priority and are obsessed with life and death. The word "still singing" cleverly combines history and reality, and the pain of the time is euphemistic and profound. Shen Deqian, a critic in the Qing Dynasty, praised this poem as a "swan song". The word "Jew" reveals the author's critical meaning and worry. Guan Shiming even called it the masterpiece of the Tang Dynasty. The Qinhuai River was a prosperous place for singing and dancing in Jinling, the old capital of the Six Dynasties. The poet parked his boat on the bank of the river late at night, and heard the singing of a businesswoman's "Flowers in the Backyard of the Jade Tree" from across the river. Listening to the sound of the country's subjugation, one could not help but arouse a sense of the rise and fall of the times. These two sentences deeply condemn the rulers who only know how to sing, dance, buy laughter and enjoy themselves, but do not learn from history. The scenes of this poem blend together, and the hazy scenery is very harmonious with the faint sadness in the poet's heart.
This poem is inspired by the scene. Jinling was once the capital of the Six Dynasties and prosperous for a time. Witnessing the declining power of the Tang Dynasty today and the ignorance and debauchery of those in power, it is inevitable to repeat the mistakes of the Six Dynasties, which is infinitely sentimental. The first sentence describes the scene, first trying to exaggerate the lightness and elegance of the night by the water; the second sentence of narrative points out the location of the night mooring; the third and fourth sentences of sentiments, from "near the restaurant" lead to the song of the business girl, there are many songs in restaurants, natural and free; The song is so wild that it brings out "I don't know the hatred of country subjugation", criticizing the wealthy gentry and the powerful for being indulging in sex and lust, and is subtle and profound; from "Hate of country subjugation" comes the melody of "Flowers in the Back Courtyard", borrowing the poem of Empress Chen to criticize the debauchery of the powerful, which is profound and sharp. . These two sentences express the relatively sober feudal intellectuals' hidden worries about state affairs, and also reflect that the bureaucrats and aristocrats are filling their decayed and empty souls with a life of sex, singing, dancing, and extravagance. This is exactly the real life of the declining late Tang Dynasty. Portraits of two different sides. "The merchant girl did not know the hatred of the country's subjugation, but she still sang "The Flowers in the Back Garden" across the river." "The Flowers in the Back Garden of Yushu" is said to be a piece of music composed by Chen Houzhu of the Southern Dynasty, and has been called "the sound of the country's subjugation" by later generations. "Across the river" comes from the previous sentence "hate for the country's subjugation". It refers to the Sui Dynasty soldiers Chen's army in the north of the Yangtze River. The small court of the Southern Dynasty across the river was in danger, but the empress Chen was still indulged in singing and women, and was finally captured and subjugated. . Literally, these two lines of poetry seem to be criticizing singing girls, but in fact, the poet was feeling the decline of the country and the decadent social customs in the late Tang Dynasty, and criticized those rulers who were addicted to singing and dancing to promote peace and "did not know" that the country was about to perish.
The word "Yu Sing" has a profound meaning, cleverly connecting history, reality and the imagined future, showing the poet's concern and anxiety for the fate of the country. This poem describes what the poet saw, heard and felt. The language is fresh and natural, and the conception is exquisite and thoughtful. The whole poem combines scenery, events, emotions and ideas into one. The scenery is set for the emotions, and the emotions follow the scenery. Using Chen Houzhu's desolation and subjugation as an allegory for the rulers of the late Tang Dynasty, it implicitly expresses the poet's deep thinking about history and his deep concern for reality. With deep emotions and profound meaning, it is known as the masterpiece of Tang Dynasty quatrains. This poem expresses the poet's bitter satire on the rulers of the late Tang Dynasty and his deep concern for the fate of the country. Such rich connotations and profound themes are contained in just 28 words, each of which is condensed to the last detail. The language of poetry requires conciseness. Only conciseness can be implicit, and only implicitness can be concise. Therefore, subtlety and conciseness complement each other and complement each other. In the artistic conception of blending scenes, this poem vividly and typically expresses the atmosphere of the late Tang Dynasty. It reminds people of the debauchery and subjugation of the country by empress Chen to the fate of the declining late Tang Dynasty. It euphemistically and implicitly expresses the poet's profound understanding of history. Thinking, deep concern about reality, with profound content, deep feelings, endless meaning and thought-provoking.
This is a poem inspired by the scene. By describing the feelings of what he saw and heard while mooring in Qinhuai at night, it reveals the decadent life of the rulers of the late Tang Dynasty who indulged in sex, drunkenness and dreams. Both sides of the Qinhuai River were prosperous places during the Six Dynasties, a place where the rich, powerful, scholars and poets indulged in sex and had fun. The poet moored in Qinhuai at night. Under the vast sandy moon and misty water, he saw the feasting and feasting, and heard the obscene songs. He could not help but be moved by the scenery, and suddenly thought about the death of his family and country. He closely combined the chanting of history with the thinking of reality, and learned from Chen's debauchery. The National Association thought of the fate of the late Tang Dynasty under the moon. The whole poem embodies emotions in the scenery, with a sad artistic conception, deep and implicit emotions, and refined language. Shen Deqian called it a "swan song".