Looking south of the Yangtze River, let’s freshen up
Wen Tingyun
Series: Three Hundred Song Poems
Looking south of the Yangtze River, let’s freshen up
< p> After washing up, I leaned alone on Wangjiang Tower.Thousands of sails are not the same, the slanting light and the flowing water are long.
Heartbroken Bai Pingzhou.
Notes
1. Xianhui: westward sunshine.
2 Maimai (momo): a look of affectionate gaze and lingering affection. The sunlight here is described as weak;
3 Bai? (pin)zhou: a small piece of land in the water full of white apple blossoms. It is often used in ancient poetry to refer to separate places. White apple, a kind of floating grass in the water. People's Education Press/Chinese Grade 9 Volume 1, "PIN" in simplified form: go up "?" and down "frequency" to read pin.
Translation
After washing up, I climbed up to Wangjiang Tower alone, leaning on the pillars and staring at the surging river.
No one who Qianfan had hoped for appeared. The afterglow of the sun shone on the river surface, and the river flowed slowly.
The tenderness of longing lingers on that piece of Baiping Island.
Appreciation
This word describes the scene of a woman climbing up a building to look far away, looking forward to returning home. It expresses her emotions from hope to disappointment and finally to "heartbreak".
This is a small order with only twenty-seven words. "Ci is more difficult than making music, just as poetry is more difficult than quatrains", "One sentence and one word are not free" ("Bai Xiang Ci Pu Jian"). The sentence "Just freshen up" seems to be ordinary and "the words are not surprising". But these three words are rich in content and leave a lot of room for imagination for readers. This is not an ordinary person washing their face and combing their hair when they wake up in the morning, but a reflection of a specific emotion (joy and excitement) of a specific person (missing their husband) under specific conditions (preparing to welcome the return of a long-lost lover).
In classical Chinese poetry, descriptions such as "The stove is closed and not in use, dust is growing on the mirror box. The beauty is abnormal, the gold and green are dark and lifeless" to express the lonely and painful life of a missing woman. and mood. The usage in this article is different. The pain of parting, the loneliness of lovesickness, the days of loneliness seem to be passing, or the beautiful days she hopes for seem to be coming, so she dresses in the mirror, looks at her reflection, pities herself, and deliberately embellishes it. The result is that the warm fire of hope encounters the cold reality, bringing about a deeper level of disappointment and greater mental pain. Once again, we have to return to the miserable state of "the mirror cannot heal" and "the head is like a flying pod". Don't these three words vividly express the environment in which this woman lives alone, her deep inner emotional changes, and her yearning for a better life?
Then, a vast and colorful artistic picture appeared: "Lonely leaning on the Wangjiang Tower." The river is the background, the building is the main subject, and the focus is the person leaning alone. At this time, the woman's feelings are complicated; as time goes by, her emotions change. The excitement and joy when I first climbed up the stairs, the anxiety of waiting for a long time, and the deep nostalgia for the past... Here, the word "alone" is used very expressively. The word "lone" has neither color nor sound, but it has a profound meaning. This is not the "mutual leaning" of lovers' affectionate words, nor is it the "mutual leaning" of a group of people chattering. Through this scene of silent leaning alone, it reflects the spiritual world of the characters. The picture of a beautiful woman leaning on a railing and looking into the distance is a "suffering from separation from love" that "returns to the boat after missing the horizon several times". By linking people, scenery and emotions, the picture has the colorful colors of the woman in makeup and the beautiful river scenery, and the blending of the emotional changes of the characters and the flow of the river.
"A thousand sails are nothing", which is a great emotional turning point in the whole poem. This sentence contrasts with the cheerful mood of the first sentence, which is clear and strong; it is also connected with the loneliness and anxiety of "Lying Alone on Wangjiang Tower", connecting the above and the next. The boat was empty in the river, what a shame for people! Her hopes were dashed and her fantasies were shattered. What caught her eyes at this time was "the slanting light and the flowing water." The setting sun and running water are lifeless and heartless things, but in the eyes of the missing woman here and now Here, he became a sentimental sentient being. This is an associative analogy arising from her painful state of mind empathizing with natural objects. The setting sun was about to set, but he was full of affection for the disappointed woman, and couldn't bear to leave, quietly collecting the afterglow; the endless river seemed to understand her mood, and flowed away silently. It is like a set of movie shots: a woman who is deliberately groomed, leaning on a building and gazing at the vast river, waiting for her lover who has not returned for a long time. From sunrise to sunset, hope turns to disappointment. How touching is the expression of this woman's misfortune. .
At this point, the description of the scenery, the expression of emotions, and the setting of the atmosphere are all mature. Finally, the strongest sound of the whole song comes out: "Heartbroken Bai Pingzhou." "The best is when you finish it." Compared with the whole word "without leaving any trace," the last sentence seems too direct to point out the theme, but in the emotional climax, it still has the meaning of "more than enough." Where is Bai Pingzhou? Mr. Yu Pingbo said that it is better not to "be too practical and speak generally" (Yu Pingbo's "Selected Interpretations of Tang and Song Ci"). This is a very profound insight. But in the artistic description of this article, it should be said that there is indeed a Baizhou in the river. It is not a metaphor, imagination, or general reference, but a real description. Looking at the river tower alone, one can see the island at a glance. But at that time, people were eager to see the boat and could not see the island.
Thousands of sails have passed, the sun is slanting, and the rivers and islands remain unchanged. I can't see what I think, but I can't be heartbroken!
Ci is an art form that pays attention to the writer's subjective lyricism. This little order is sincere, vivid and natural, without any pretense or any words that go against one's heart. The buildings, sails, slanting light, rivers, and small islands that appear in the poem are all unrelated objective objects. From the joy of looking forward to Lang's return to the painful disappointment of "broken Bai Pingzhou", the emotional expressions of these characters The complex changes, the writer made it into a coherent artistic image through exquisite artistic conception. The writer's thoughts and feelings are like a bridge that connects these scenery and characters, and penetrates into the description of the scenery and the activities of the characters, forming an organic artistic whole, making the cold buildings, sails, water, and islands seem to have warmth. With flesh and blood life, it becomes affectionate; the scattered and isolated scenic spots are integrated into artistic pictures with internal logical connections; the external expression and internal psychological activities of the characters are displayed in a perfect unity. This is the resentment, hatred, blood and tears of the missing woman in real life, which deeply moved the writer; in these seemingly calm words, the writer's sincere and passionate heart beats.
This poem is like a beautiful landscape scroll. The river in the picture does not have endless waves, but only a helpless sigh. Even the afterglow of the setting sun lacks majesty. The implication is that there is a nameless depression and resentment that cannot be dismissed. There are also the buildings facing the river, the dotted sails, the slow flowing water, and the small island in the distance. They are all arousing people's imagination and fun. They have a beautiful taste and an artistic conception of blending scenes. This little poem seems to be calm, but it is full of passionate emotions in the understatement, and it has ups and downs, pauses and setbacks, and the "heavy strokes" can be seen where there is no effort.
Many people write about the subject of missing a wife, and it can be said to be a "popular subject." However, this little poem is unconventional and very unique. This is also a soft theme, but this song is not soft. The mood is positive, healthy and simple. Among the warm words with a delicate and beautiful "flower room" atmosphere, this little poem can be said to be a sincere, beautiful and natural, unique masterpiece.