Gift to Hua Qing

Du Fu

The silk tubes in Jincheng are flowing day by day, half into the river wind and half into the clouds.

This song should only exist in heaven, and can only be heard several times in the human world.

This quatrain is literally as clear as words, but its purport has always been controversial among commentators. Some people think that it is just a piece of praise music without any subtext; but Yang Shen's "Sheng'an Poetry Talk" says: "Hua Qing used the emperor's rituals and music arrogantly in Shu, and Zimei made a mockery of it, but the meaning was implicit in the words, which was the poet's intention." Shen Deqian. "Shuo Shi Yu Yu" also said: "Poetry is precious and involves meaning. If there is something to say here and the meaning is there, Du Shaoling tattooed flowers and Jingding's plagiarism, and he wanted to create new music in the sky." Yang and Shen Zhi's theory is more preferable.

In China's feudal society, the etiquette system was extremely strict, and even music had extremely clear hierarchical boundaries. According to the "Old Book of Tang", after the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan ordered Taichang Shaoqing's ancestor Xiaosun to study the elegant music of the Tang Dynasty. "Zou Chenghe;..." These detailed music systems are all established laws of the dynasty. Any slight violation will be disordered and treasonous.

Hua Qing, named Jingding, was a subordinate of Yin Cui Guangyuan in Chengdu. He had made outstanding achievements in suppressing rebellions. However, he was arrogant and lawless, and allowed his soldiers to plunder Eastern Shu. He also had no regard for the imperial court and arbitrarily used the emperor's music. Du Fu sent poems to express tactful satire.

What is intriguing is that the author did not criticize Hua Qing explicitly, but adopted a clever trick of pun. On paper, this is an excellent musical hymn. You see: "Jincheng silk pipes are in abundance", Jincheng, that is, Chengdu; silk pipes, finger string instruments and wind instruments; the original meaning is numerous and chaotic, usually used to describe those things that can be seen and touched. It is a concrete thing, but here it is used to describe abstract music that is invisible and intangible. From the perspective of human auditory and visual synaesthesia, the intangible is transformed into tangible, and the kind of string and pipe is described extremely accurately and vividly. Light, soft, complex and harmonious music effect. "Half into the river wind and half into the clouds" is also written in the same way: the melodious and beautiful music flew out from the banquet of Hua Qing's family, rippled on the Jinjiang River with the wind, and slowly floated into the blue sky and white clouds. These two poems make us truly feel the beauty of the music like "moving clouds and flowing water". The two words "half" are airy and flexible, adding a lot of interest to the whole poem.

The music is so beautiful that the author couldn't help but sigh and said: "This music can only exist in heaven, and it can only be heard several times in the world." Of course, the fairy music in heaven is rarely heard in the world. It is rare to hear it, but it is rare to hear it. It's amazing to see how wonderful it is.

There are four sentences in the whole poem. The first two sentences describe the music in a concrete way, which is a realistic description; the last two sentences praise the music in the sky, which is a daydream. Because of reality and virtuality, virtuality and reality complement each other, which praises the beauty of the music to the extreme.

However, this is only a literal meaning, and the implication is profound. This can be seen from the words "heaven" and "earth". "Heaven" refers to the palace where the emperor lives; "human" refers to the place outside the palace. This is a very common pun in feudal society. It is said that music belongs to "heaven", and the word "should only be" is added to qualify it. Since it is "should only be in heaven", then of course it should not be "heard" in the "human world". Instead of "hearing", he actually "heard", not only "several times", but "every day". Therefore, the author's satirical purpose is derived from this contradictory opposition, which is both implicit and tactful as well as precise and powerful. manifested.

Zhang Tianjue, a man of the Song Dynasty, once said about irony in poetry: "You should not be angry when you are ironic, because when you are angry, your muscles and bones will be exposed." (Quoted in Volume 9 of "Poet's Jade Chips") Du Fu's poem has a softness to it. Hard, there is a needle hidden in the cotton, it is ironic and flattering, the meaning is hidden behind the words, the words are loyal but not offensive, it can be said that it is done just right. As Yang Lun commented: "It is both flattering and sarcastic. The so-called person who speaks is not guilty, and the person who hears it is a warning. How can these quatrains be reduced to Longbiao (Wang Changling) and Worship (Li Bai)." ("Du Shi Jingquan")