Original text of Wu Qi Qu:

When Wu Qi was sitting on the stage in Gusu, Xi Shi was drunk in the palace of King Wu. The dance of Wu and Chu has not yet finished, and the green mountains are about to hold half of the sun. The golden pot with silver arrows leaks a lot of water, and I look up at the autumn moon falling into the river waves. The east is getting higher and higher, what a joy! Translation and annotation of Wuqi Qu

Translation At sunset in Wuqi, the outline of the Wu Palace on the Gusu Platform and the beauty of the palace, Xi Shi, are in a drunken and hazy state. Singing and dancing, his face slightly flushed, King Wu was still in the excitement of enjoyment, but suddenly he found that the mountain peaks in the west had swallowed up half of the red sun, and dusk was about to fall. King Wu and Xi Shi's pursuit of fun has slowly come to an end. The copper kettle is leaking more and more, and the scale of the silver arrow is rising higher and higher. An autumn moon crosses the sky, and it is almost dawn.

Notes 1. Wuqi Qu: The name of a Western tune in Yuefu's "Qing Shang Qu Ci". 2. Gusu Terrace: On Gusu Mountain, thirty miles west of Wu County, it was built by Fu Chai, King of Wu, and the Chunxiao Palace was built on it for long-night drinking. It is also called Tianchi, in which a green dragon boat is built, music is played, and the sun and Xi Shi play in the water (see "Shu Yi Ji"). "Wu Qi Shi" refers to the time when crows rest, which refers to dusk. 3. King Wu: That is King Fu Chai of Wu. Fu Chai was defeated by the Yue Kingdom and took in the beauty Xi Shi from the Yue Kingdom to build the Gusu Terrace. The old site of Gusu Terrace is in today's Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. According to "Shu Yi Ji", the terrace is surrounded by twists and turns and spans five miles. It was decorated with earth and wood and was very labor-intensive. It took three years to complete. It was filled with thousands of court prostitutes, and the Chunxiao Palace was also built. Thousands of stone wine bells were built, and a large pool was built. In the pool, green dragon boats were built, and prostitutes were entertained. The King of Wu and Xi Shi had a long night of fun. 4. Wu Ge and Chu Dance: the songs and dances of Wu and Chu. "The green hills hold half of the sun in their arms" describes the scene when the sun is about to set. 5. Silver Arrow and Gold Pot: Finger-engraved leak, an ancient timekeeping tool. To make it, use a copper pot to hold water, and the water will leak under the water. An arrow with a degree engraved on it is placed in the water, and the timing is determined according to the drop of the water surface. 6. The autumn moon falls on the river waves: a scene at dawn. "The east is getting higher and higher." The sun in the east is gradually rising. Appreciation of Wuqi Qu

"Wuqi Qu" is an old title of Yuefu's "Qing Shang Qu Ci·Xi Qu Ge". The existing ancient inscriptions written by Emperor Liang Jianwen, Xu Ling and others in the Southern Dynasty are mostly more colorful in content, and the form is seven characters and four sentences, with two sentences changing rhyme. In this chapter, Li Bai not only changed the content from singing about erotic love to satirizing the life of court officials, but also made bold innovations in form.

According to legend, King Wu Fucha spent a lot of manpower and material resources and spent three years building the Gusu Terrace (the original site is on Gusu Mountain in the southwest of Suzhou City today), which spans five miles, and built the Chunxiao Palace on it, along with his beloved concubine. Xi Shi drank in the palace for a long night. The first two sentences of the poem do not describe the luxury of Wu Palace and the excitement of palace life in detail, but use refined and connotative brushwork to outline the outline and palace of Wu Palace on Gusu Terrace at sunset. A drunken and hazy silhouette of a Chinese-American Xi Shi. "Wu Qi Shi" corresponds to the title and also points out the time. The poet set the Wu Palace in the background of the dusk forest and dusk crows, which invisibly gave "Wu Qi Shi" a certain symbolic color, making people vaguely feel the dark atmosphere surrounding the Wu Palace, and thinking of the decline of the Wu Kingdom at dusk. trend. This kind of environmental atmosphere is in sharp contrast to the indulgent and enjoyable scene of "Drunken Xi Shi in King Wu's Palace", implying the connotation of extreme joy and sorrow. This layer of extraneous meaning runs through the whole article, but it is expressed in a very subtle and implicit way.

"The song and dance of Wu and Chu have not yet ended, and the green mountains are about to hold half of the sun." I only mention the song and dance of Wu Palace in vain, focusing on the role of time in the process of feasting. passage. People who are immersed in the bliss of carnival often do not realize this. Singing and dancing, her face was slightly flushed, and she was still in the climax of enjoyment, but suddenly and unexpectedly found that the mountain peaks in the west had swallowed up half of the red sun, and dusk was about to fall. The words "wei" and "desire" closely echo each other, subtly and vividly showing the regret and regret of King Wu. And the scene of the setting sun hugging the mountain, like the "Wu Qi Shi" in the second sentence, vaguely reveals the decline of the times, making the description of "the joy is not over" but the time is already dusk, with the feeling that it is hard to enjoy it for a long time. Ominous hint.

"The golden pot with silver arrows leaks a lot, and I can see the autumn moon falling into the river waves." Continues the story of the debauched night in Wu Palace. Authors of palace-style poems are often keen on displaying luxurious and decadent life, but Li Bai cleverly writes lightly from the side. "Silver Arrows and Golden Pots" refers to the copper kettle and hourglass used to keep time in the palace. The copper pot is leaking more and more, and the scale of the silver arrow is also rising higher and higher, implying that the long autumn night is gradually disappearing, and the scenes of King Wu and Xi Shi having fun this night have all faded into the background. An autumn moon crossed the sky in the silent passage of time. At this moment, it had gradually dimmed and fell into the river waves. It was almost dawn.

Here, the word "look" is included in the description of the scenery, which not only highlights the activities of people behind the environment formed by the scenery, but also hints at the obscenity and ugliness hidden in the quiet and bright autumn night, and also reveals the psychology of the hedonist. They always feel that the time for enjoyment is too short. During the day, they look forward to the long rope tied to the sun, and at night, they look forward to the moon standing in the sky. Therefore, when he "starts to watch the autumn moon falling into the river waves", he can't help but feel indescribable resentment and helplessness in his heart. sorrow. This was the unique decadent mentality of the last rulers. The sad and lonely image of "Autumn Moon Falling into the River Waves" corresponds to the sunset scene above, making the sad atmosphere that permeates the whole poem become more and more intense as it goes back and forth.

The poet's satirical writing style did not stop there. He deliberately broke through the old format of ending the even sentences of "Wu Qi Qu", changed the even ones into odd ones, and gave the poem a meaningful theme. Ending: "The east is getting higher and higher, but there is no joy!" "Gao" is a borrowed word for "Hao". The east has turned white, daybreak is coming, and the fun can no longer go on. This lonely sentence is not only like the sigh of the King of Wu who hates the shortness of the long night, but also likes the poet's warning to the unconscious King of Wu. The poem suddenly comes to an end at this cold question, which is particularly eye-catching and thought-provoking.

This poem has a remarkable feature in conception, that is, it uses the passage of time as a clue to describe the process of Wu Gong's prostitute life from sun to dusk, and from dusk to dusk. The poet does not describe the various scenes in this process in detail, but closely follows the passage of time and the change of scenery to hint at the debauched day and night in the Wu Palace, to reveal the drunken life and death of the King of Wu, and through the crows in the cold forest. Sceneries rich in symbolic and suggestive colors, such as the setting sun on the mountain and the autumn moon falling on the river, imply the tragic ending of the dissolute and indulgent person. The entire article is purely objectively narrated, without a single derogatory word, but the irony is sharp and cold, penetrating deeply into the spirit and soul of the subject. "Poems of the Tang and Song Dynasties" commented on this poem: "The meaning of extreme joy leading to sorrow is written in a subtle way. Soon the elk wandered in Gusu. It is not said at all, but it can be said to have a profound and subtle interest. ... There is a single sentence at the end, which is very interesting. "It's so wonderful." This is a comment that captures the characteristics of this article.

Li Bai’s seven-character ancient poems and songs are generally written in a majestic and unrestrained style, but this song "Wuqi Song" is more restrained, subtle, and subtle, making it one of his seven-character poems. Don't tune it out. The predecessors may have thought that it used Wu Palace's debauchery to satirize Tang Xuanzong's indulgence in sex and infatuation with Yang Fei. This is possible. Xuanzong worked hard to govern in the early period, but was dissolute and derelict in the later period. There are similarities with Fucha who first worked hard to strengthen himself, revived Wu and defeated Yue, and then indulged in sensuality and debauchery, which led to his collapse. According to Tang Mengqi's "Original Poems", when Li Bai first arrived in Chang'an, He Zhizhang saw his "Wuqi Qu" and admired his bitter recitation, saying: "This poem can make people weep about ghosts and gods." It seems that He Zhizhang's comment about "weeping ghosts and gods" is not simple. It’s from an artistic perspective. Background of the creation of Wuqi Qu

This poem was written by Li Bai when he was roaming in the Wuyue area in the 19th year of Kaiyuan (731). This is the place where King Wu Fu Chai and the beautiful Xi Shi sang and danced day and night. Li Bai was nostalgic for the past. Feeling inspired, he wrote an epic poem "Wu Qi Qu". On the surface, the poem is about the King of Wu, but in fact it is a satire on Tang Xuanzong. Poetry works: Wuqi Qu Poetry author: Li Bai of the Tang Dynasty Poetry classification: Yuefu, chanting history and remembering the past, satire