Farewell to Meng Haoran on the way to Yangzhou from Yellow Crane Tower.
Li Bai [Tang Dynasty]
Old friends frequently waved to me, bid farewell to the Yellow Crane Tower, and traveled to Yangzhou in this beautiful spring filled with catkins and flowers.
My friend's sail shadow faded away and disappeared at the end of the blue sky, only seeing the first line of the Yangtze River and heading for the distant horizon.
Vernacular translation:
My friend said goodbye to me at the Yellow Crane Tower, and went to Yangzhou for a long trip in the spring of March when catkins were like smoke and flowers were like flowers.
The shadow of the solitary sail gradually disappeared at the end of the blue sky, only to see the rolling Yangtze River heading for the sky.
Comment on words and phrases:
Yellow Crane Tower: Yellow Chicken located in Sheshan, Wuchang, Wuhan City, Hubei Province. According to legend, Feiyi in the Three Kingdoms period ascended to immortality here and left by yellow crane, so it was called Yellow Crane Tower. Meng Haoran: a poet in the Tang Dynasty and a good friend of Li Bai. One: Go, arrive. Guangling: Yangzhou.
Old friend: Old friend, this refers to Meng Haoran. He is older than Li Bai and enjoys a high reputation in the field of poetry. Li Bai admires him very much and has deep feelings for each other, so he is called an "old friend". Remarks: Goodbye.
Fireworks: describes the misty, catkin-like and flowery scenery in spring, and refers to the gorgeous spring. Down: Down the river.
Clear sky: Disappear in the blue sky. Blue sky, a "blue mountain". Finally, it disappeared.
Just look: just look. Sky Flow: Flowing to the horizon. Horizon, horizon, the end of the sky.
Appreciation of works:
The opening sentence of the poem, "An old friend stayed in the Yellow Crane Tower in the West", closely follows the theme and points out the place of farewell and his relationship with the person who was sent away. The word "old friend" illustrates the profound friendship between the two poets. "Yellow Crane Tower" is a world-famous scenic spot, a place where poets hang out and meet, and also a legendary place where immortals ascend to heaven by crane. Now two elegant poets say goodbye here, which is more poetic and romantic. The second sentence, "Fireworks will descend in Yangzhou in March", followed by the first sentence. Write down the time of seeing off and the place where the person who was sent will go. "Yangzhou" is a metropolis in the southeast, which has been prosperous since ancient times. "March" is a season of beautiful spring and blooming flowers. The poet decorated "March" with "fireworks", which not only vividly wrote the gorgeous face of Yangchun, but also reminded people of the prosperous and peaceful scene of Yangzhou with flowers and embroidered curtains. The place where Meng Haoran is going is really a good place and the time is right. Li Bai naturally envies his friend's trip very much. The beautiful and vivid poem "Fireworks in March in Yangzhou" expresses the poet's inner happiness and yearning. However, Li Bai is also an emotional poet. When a friend sails, the feeling of parting arises spontaneously. From Li Taibai's poems, we can see that there are many poems between Li Bai and Meng Haoran. In a letter to Meng Haoran, Li Bai wrote: "Master, I sincerely salute you. Your reputation has risen to the sky. In the rosy youth, you gave up the importance of hats and chariots and chose pine trees and clouds; Now, whitehead. " It can be seen how much Li Bai admires Meng Haoran and how deep their friendship is.
The third and fourth sentences of the poem are exactly the farewell feelings of Li Bai when he bid farewell to his poetry friends. "Lonely sails sail in the blue sky, and only the Yangtze River flows in the sky." On the surface, these two poems are all about scenery, but in fact they have distinct poet images. "Lonely Sail" does not mean that there is only one sailboat on the vast Yangtze River, but that all the poet's attention and feelings are focused on the sailboat that his friends are riding. The poet saw off at the Yellow Crane Tower, watching his friend's boat with sails drifting away, getting smaller and blurred, leaving only a little shadow, and finally disappearing at the junction of water and sky. The poet still stood for a long time, watching the river flow to the sky, as if entrusting his affection to the river, accompanying the accompanying boat and sending his friend to his destination. What a profound friendship these two poems express, but the word "friendship" can't be found in them. The poet skillfully pinned his deep affection for parting on the dynamic description of natural scenery, and completely integrated his feelings with the scenery, which really made him memorable.
Creative background:
In the fifteenth year of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (727), Li Baidong returned to Anlu, Hubei, at the age of 27. He lived in Anlu for ten years, but most of the time, he made friends with poetry and traveled abroad. In his own words, "wine is safe and secure, and ten years are wasted." That is, while living in Anlu, Li Bai met Meng Haoran who was twelve years older than him. Meng Haoran admired Li Bai very much and they soon became close friends. In March of the 18th year of Kaiyuan (730), when Li Bai learned that Meng Haoran was going to Guangling (now Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province), he sent a letter to meet Meng Haoran in Jiangxia (now Wuchang District, Wuhan City). A few days later, Meng Haoran took a boat to the east, and Li Bai personally sent it to the river. When I was leaving, I wrote this song "Farewell to Meng Haoran on the way to Yangzhou by the Yellow Crane Tower". It is said that this poem was written in the 16th year of Kaiyuan (728).
About the author:
Li Bai (70 1-762), a great romantic poet in the Tang Dynasty, was called "Poet Fairy" by later generations and "Du Li" with Du Fu. In order to distinguish himself from two other poets, Li Shangyin and Du Mu, that is, "Little Du Li", Du Fu and Li Bai were also called together. According to the Book of the New Tang Dynasty, Li Bai is the ninth grandson of Gui Li, the king of Liang, and he is a descendant of all kings. He is cheerful and generous, loves to drink and write poems, and likes to make friends. Li Bai was deeply influenced by Huang Lao's idea of sorting out villages, such as Li Taibai Collection handed down from generation to generation. Most of his poems were written when he was drunk, and his representative works include Looking at Lushan Waterfall, Difficult Walking, Difficult Road, Drinking, Early Making a City of Baidi, etc.