"Tianwen" is translated as follows:
At the beginning of ancient times, who guided this state of affairs?
Where did the heaven and earth come into being before they were formed?
There is no distinction between light and dark and it is chaos. Who can explore the root cause?
How to recognize the phenomenon of mistiness?
Why is it bright during the day and dark at night?
The universe is created by the combination of yin and yang. Which is the ontology and which is the evolution?
The system of heaven is divided into nine levels. Has anyone ever gone around to measure?
What a big project this is. Who started building it?
Where is the celestial axis tied? Where is the immovable location of Tianji?
Where do the eight pillars supporting the sky face? Why is the southeast part defective and uneven?
Where does the edge of the Nine Heavens on the plane reach and where does it belong?
There are many intersections between the edges, but who can know their number?
Where does heaven meet earth? How is the ecliptic divided into twelve equal parts?
How are the sun and moon celestial bodies connected? How to arrange the stars in the sky?
The sun rises from Yanggu. The rest is in the land of Mengsi.
How many miles does it take from dawn to dusk?
What virtue does the moon have that it can die and be reborn again?
What is the black spot in the moon? Is it a rabbit hiding in the belly?
The goddess Nuqi has no spouse, so why can she give birth to nine sons?
Where does the god of Boqiang live? Where is the auspiciousness of heaven and earth?
Why does it get dark when the Tianmen is closed? Why does it dawn when the gate of heaven opens?
The Spica in the east has not yet given off its light, so where is the sun hiding?
Gun was neither capable of controlling floods. Why do people recommend him?
They say there is nothing to worry about, so why not give it a try?
Owls and turtles help each other by dragging or carrying each other. What kind of sacred virtue does Gun have?
Appreciation of "Tianwen"
"Tianwen" was written by Qu Yuan, and it can be said to be an unprecedented masterpiece in the history of Chinese literature. Because he used the form of poetry to raise more than 170 questions in one breath from beginning to end. These issues include the formation of the universe, the creation of heaven and earth, the movement of the sun and the moon, and other natural phenomena; they also include ancient myths and legends of mankind, the rise and fall of dynasties, and other aspects of history throughout the ages. Some of these questions are of great scientific value.
The word "Tianwen" means "asking the sky". Wang Yi thought that Tian Zungui was embarrassed to directly accuse him, so Qu Yuan changed his approach and named the poem "Tian Wen". This explanation is incorrect. If we look at the thoughts expressed in this work, Qu Yuan not only did not "respect Heaven", but on the contrary, he wanted to raise questions about "Heaven" and many theories of respecting Heaven at that time, and make bold doubts, criticisms and inquiries.
It is uncertain when and where the poem "Tianwen" was written. It is generally believed that this poem was written by Qu Yuan when he was in exile, wandering among Sichuan and swamps, wandering on the plains and hills, and saw the ancestral temples of the late emperors of Chu and the ancestral halls of royal ministers. The walls depict the gods who dominate the heaven, earth, mountains and rivers. , the pictures are magnificent and beautiful, the images are magical and weird, and there are also pictures describing the actions of ancient saints. The inscriptions on the walls are also a work expressing anger, sorrow and worry.
The Chu people lamented Qu Yuan's unfortunate fate and collected this text, so the order of the words is reversed. This poem indeed reveals a very strong emotion through questioning, and its emotion is basically consistent with most of Qu Yuan's works written after his exile.