The vernacular meaning of "Lisi" written by Yuan Zhen, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, is: Once you have been to the sea, you don't care about the water elsewhere; except for Wushan, you don't call the clouds anywhere else clouds. I walked through the flowers in a hurry, not bothering to look back. The reason for this is partly because of the asceticism of the monks, and partly because of the you I once had.
The original text is as follows:
Once upon a time, the sea was difficult to overcome, except for Wushan, it was not a cloud.
Looking back lazily at Huacong, I am half destined to practice Taoism and half destined to be a king.
This poem uses the water of the sea and the clouds of Wushan to metaphor the depth, breadth and depth of love. After seeing the sea and Wushan, it is difficult to look at the water and clouds elsewhere, except for what the poet reads and loves. Woman, there is no woman who can make me passionate anymore. Later generations quoted the first two lines of the poem, mostly as a metaphor for loyalty to love, indicating that love belongs only to you and cannot be given to others.
Extended information
About the author: Yuan Zhen (779-831, or the 14th year of Emperor Dahe of the Tang Dynasty to the fifth year of Emperor Wenzong of the Tang Dynasty), also known as Wei Zhi, also known as Wei Ming. A native of Luoyang in the Tang Dynasty (now Luoyang, Henan). His father is Yuan Kuan and his mother is Zheng. He is a descendant of the Tuoba tribe of the Xianbei clan of the Northern Wei Dynasty and the fourteenth generation grandson of Shi Yijian. In his early years, he and Bai Juyi jointly advocated "New Yuefu". People often call him "Yuan Bai" together with Bai Juyi.
The most prominent feature of this poem is the use of clever metaphors to vividly express the protagonist's deep love for his lost sweetheart. It uses water, clouds, and flowers to compare people one after another. It is written in a tortuous and euphemistic way, implicit but not explicit, with profound and thought-provoking artistic conception.
There are only four sentences in the whole poem, three of which use metaphors. The first and second lines of the poem ostensibly mean that once I have looked at the vast sea, I will not notice the small trickle. Except for the colorful clouds on Wushan Mountain, all other clouds are not impressive. In fact, he cleverly used the allusion of "Chaoyun" and compared it to his beloved woman, fully expressing his sincere feelings for that woman.
The poet stated that apart from this woman, even if she was alluring and beautiful, she could not move his heart and win his favor and admiration. Only that woman can make him fall in love with her. The writing is passionate and subtle. The third sentence, "Take a flower bush and look back lazily", uses flowers to compare people. Even if you walk to a blooming flower bush, you will pass by without paying attention.
The answer comes from the fourth sentence, "Half is destined to practice Taoism and half is destined to be a king", which means that this is one of the reasons for seeing through the world of mortals and practicing Taoism. Secondly, it was because he lost her beloved and never wanted to see another "flower" again. In this poem, various metaphorical techniques are used to express the deep affection for the female companion who once fell in love. The first three sentences closely follow the theme and progress layer by layer. The last sentence uses the finishing touch to reveal the theme.