One translation of Wanglu Mountain Waterfall: Climb up the Xianglu Peak of Lushan Mountain from the west and see the waterfall hanging high in front of the mountain in the south. The waterfall hangs up to three hundred feet high, and the gushing stream is dozens of miles long. The waterfall flows as fast as lightning, disappearing and appearing just like a white rainbow rising in the sky. At first glance, I thought the Milky Way was falling from the sky, and the river water was half-sprinkling from the sky. Looking up, the momentum is even more majestic, how magnificent the creation of nature is! The wind from the sea and sky blows the waterfall continuously, and the bright moon on the river seems to be empty when it shines. Water from the waterfall splashes in the air, washing the green rock walls on both sides. The water droplets splashed and scattered like light clouds, and the flowing water foam rolled over the boulders. I have always loved visiting famous mountains, and I felt even more relaxed when facing this waterfall. Needless to say, you can drink the water like agar liquid, and it can also be used to wash away the dust and dirt on the way. It is better to come here together with old friends and live in seclusion here forever to bid farewell to others.
The second translation of Wanglu Mountain Waterfall: The sun shines on Xianglu Peak, creating curls of purple smoke. From a distance, the waterfall looks like a long river hanging in front of the mountain. It seems like three thousand feet of water rushing straight down. Could it be that the Milky Way is falling from the sky to the cliff.
Original text of "Wanglu Mountain Waterfall"
Li Bai
Part One
Climb Xianglu Peak to the west and see the waterfall in the south.
The flow is three hundred feet high and the geysers flow for dozens of miles.
The water is like a flying lightning, and it is like a white rainbow rising.
The first startled river man fell, half scattered in the sky.
Look up and watch the situation turn around, it is a magnificent feat of good fortune.
The sea breeze blows constantly, and the moonlight on the river is still empty.
The air is shot randomly, washing the green walls left and right;
The flying beads scatter the light clouds, and the foam boils on the dome stones.
And I enjoy the famous mountains, and my heart is at ease with them;
No matter how I wash off the honey liquid, I still have to wash away the dust.
As long as I live in harmony, I will always wish to die in this world.
Second
The sun shines on the incense burner and produces purple smoke, and you can see the waterfall in front of the river in the distance.
The flying stream falls three thousand feet, and it is suspected that the Milky Way has fallen into the sky. Notes on "Wanglu Mountain Waterfall"
1. Lushan Mountain: also known as Kuangshan Mountain, one of the famous mountains in China. The Poyang Lake Basin is located in the north of Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province today, in the Lushan District, and stands on the shores of Poyang Lake and the Yangtze River.
2. Xianglu Peak: There are four Xianglu Peaks in Lushan Mountain. This guide to Xianglu Peak. It is named because the smoke and clouds gather and disperse like an incense burner. Regarding the location of Xianglu Peak, various commentaries have many opinions.
3. South View: One is "Looking South".
4. Three hundred feet: one is "three thousand horses".
5. "Spraying" sentence: It means that the waterfall sprays into the valley and cascades for dozens of miles. 呑(hè), pit valley.
6. Two sentences of "滻如": It means coming as fast as lightning and rising like a white rainbow. These two sentences are adapted from Shen Yue's "Eight Odes of Poems: Being Guarded by Brown in Shandong", which means "the electric current is written by dragging and flying, flying like a white rainbow". 歘(xū), rapid appearance. Flying lightning, lightning in the sky. One is "flying practice". Faint, one word is "like". White rainbow, a pale white rainbow that appears on fog.
7. Hehan: Milky Way, also known as Tianhe. One is "Galaxy".
8. "Half spilled" sentence: One is "Half spilled in the golden pool".
9. Creation: the creator of nature, this refers to nature.
10. "River Moon" sentence: It means that the waterfall looks clearer under the reflection of the river moon. Jiang Yue is also known as "Mountain Moon".
11. The two sentences "in the air": It means that the water splashed by the waterfall during the running process splashes everywhere and washes the green mountain walls on the left and right. 戈(zōng), all the waters come together.
12. Qióng stone: a tall stone.
13. Le: Hobby. Le Ming Mountain: One work "Visiting Ming Mountain".
14. Benefit: more. Leisure: broad meaning.
15. No matter: no need to say. Rinse: Rinse. Qiong liquid: the legendary drink of immortals. This refers to the clear spring in the mountain.
16. Still have to: But have to. One is "get it". Washing away the dirt: It refers to washing away the dirt stained in the world. Dusty face, a face stained with dust.
17. Two sentences of "Qie Xie": one is "The love of Jipusu will never return to the world", the other is "I love this so much that I can't return to the world". Harmony, harmony. Good place to stay, always my favorite. One interpretation is old friends. Stay, old.
18. Two sentences of "Rizhao": One is "On Lushan Mountain, there are stars, and the sun shines on the incense burner and produces purple smoke." Incense burner refers to the incense burner peak. Purple smoke refers to the sunlight passing through the clouds and mist, which looks like purple smoke from a distance. Meng Haoran's "Looking at Mount Lu from Pengli Lake": "When the incense burner comes up at the beginning of the day, the waterfall sprays into a rainbow." Look at it from a distance, look at it from a distance. Hang, hang. Maekawa is called "Changchuan". Chuan, river, here refers to waterfall.
19. Straight: straight. Three thousand feet: describes the height of a mountain. This is an exaggeration, not a real reference.
20. Doubt: doubt. Milky Way: The ancients referred to the band of stars formed by the Milky Way. Jiutian: It is said that the sky is high. The ancients believed that the sky has nine levels. Jiutian is the highest level of the sky, and Jiuzhongtian is the highest point in the sky. One work is "half a day". This sentence expresses the huge gap of the waterfall.
Appreciation of "Wanglu Mountain Waterfall"
The two poems are of different genres, one has five ancient poems, the other has seven unique poems, and some of the content is repeated. The second poem is widely circulated and was once selected into primary school Chinese textbooks. The first poem is an ancient five-character poem. This poem changes rhyme four times, the first eight lines have one rhyme; the middle eight lines have one rhyme for every four lines; the last six lines have one rhyme. Poetry can also be divided into four levels according to rhyme. The first three layers basically describe the spectacular scenery of the waterfall, which belongs to the language of scenery; only the last layer expresses one's ambitions and belongs to the language of love. The first three floors also have their own focus.
The second poem is a seven-character quatrain. The incense burner in the poem, that is, the incense burner mentioned at the beginning of the first poem, "is in the northwest of Lushan Mountain. Its peak is round and pointed, and the smoke and clouds gather and disperse, like the shape of the incense burner in Boshan" (Le Shi "Taiping Huanyu Ji"). However, in the writings of the poet Li Bai, it became a different scene: a towering incense burner slowly rose up into clouds of white smoke, misty among the green mountains and blue sky, and turned into a purple cloud under the illumination of the red sun.
Both poems are written by Li Bai, and both describe the scenery of Lushan Waterfall. Li Bai enjoyed visiting famous mountains and traveling among the beautiful mountains and rivers of Lushan Mountain throughout his life, which further shows the aura of the poet's famous name. His imagination is rich, his thoughts are endless, his momentum is magnificent, and his emotions are unrestrained, like a rushing river, but also natural and fresh, like clouds rolling in the wind. The aesthetic characteristics of his poetry are natural beauty, straightforward beauty and unrestrained free beauty. Both poems share such aesthetic characteristics. The creative background of "Wang Lushan Waterfall"
These two poems are generally believed to be written by Li Bai when he first visited Mount Lu on his way to Jinling around the 13th year of Kaiyuan (725) of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. According to Ren Hua's poem "Miscellaneous Words to Li Bai" in "Li Bai's Poetry and Prose Chronicles", Zhan Ang believes that the first poem "Wugu" was written by Li Bai before he entered Chang'an during the Kaiyuan period.
References: 1. Peng Dingqiu et al. Complete Tang Poems (Part 1)
2. Zhan Furui et al. Complete Translation of Li Bai’s Poems
3. Guan Shiguang. Li Bai New Notes on Poems
4. Xiao Difei et al. Dictionary of Appreciation of Tang Poems
5. Li Jing et al. Complete Appreciation of Tang Poems and Song Ci
6. Pei Fei. Poems of Li Bai Appreciation Collection