The difference in lyrical style between the two poems "Yellow Crane Tower" sent to Meng Haoran in Guangling and Du Shishi's "Jiangnan"

Send Du Shishi to the south of the Yangtze River

Jingwu and Jingwu are connected by water as their hometown. When you go to the Spring River, it is far away.

Where to anchor the sail at dusk? The sight of the horizon breaks one's heart.

This is a farewell poem. Kui Zhiyuan Yang Zai's "Poetry and Legalists": "When giving people a lot of wine to express their feelings, write about the scene of the moment to cheer up, and express their gratitude with words of encouragement." If this is a common way of writing farewell poems, So, in comparison, Meng Haoran's poem seems quite out of the ordinary.

The title of the poem is "Send Du Huang Jinshi to Soochow". The so-called "Jinshi" in the Tang Dynasty was actually the so-called Juzi (Jiushi) in later generations. Those who get the rank are called "forward scholars". It seems that Du Huang went to Soochow in despair.

The poem begins with "Jing and Wu are connected by water and form a hometown" ("Jing" refers to the Jingxiang area, and "Wu" refers to Soochow). There is no hint of the title or any other words, it is all about The sender gave a comforting tone to the passers-by. "Jing and Wu are connected to each other", just like saying "the ends of the world are as close as neighbors", "who knows how to separate Cangjiang, Wu and Chu". Speaking of two places, it is actually a matter of farewell. But first of all, I offer comfort, which goes beyond the usual farewell poems, but has a unique flavor of life: Don’t people who are traveling far away from home need spiritual support and encouragement the most? This is to persuade Du Huang to broaden his horizons. The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River are known as water towns. Saying "water is hometown" instead of "water town" means something meaningful: Jingwu people, who regard water as their hometown, are accustomed to wandering life and do not regret being away temporarily. Although it means "the boat comes and goes temporarily" in this way, it does not contain a single word, and the wording is clean and implicit. At first reading, this sentence seems to be a common saying that comes out of the mouth, but if you chew it carefully, it will have endless flavor. If it is written as "Jing and Wu are connected by water," the poetic flavor will immediately "die at the end of the sentence."

"It's a long time before you go to the Spring River." This inheritance "water is the hometown" comes to the main topic, but the words are still plain. "You are leaving" is the immediate thing, and "the spring river is misty" is the foreground. It takes almost no effort to write. But this ordinary thing is connected with the ordinary scenery, and it creates an unexpected taste. The spring river is vast and it is just the right time for sailing. Is this the convenience of sailing? Do you hate that "Jun Qu" is too fast? There is emotion in the scenery, allowing readers to experience it themselves. This is the meaning of "maintaining silence and subtle subtleties" (Sikong Tu's "Poetry·Dilution").

In the third sentence, let go of the scene and fall in love. My friend had just set out, and he thought about "where to anchor the sail at dusk?", and combined with the previous sentence, this question came very naturally. The vastness of Chunjiang River and the vastness of Zhengfan form a strong contrast. The big ones become bigger, and the small ones become smaller. "I want to go thousands of miles away", I am really worried that Zhengfan will not be able to find a place to park when he comes late. The sentence shows a deep concern for friends. At the same time, by inferring the whereabouts, it can be seen that the sender's heart is chasing his friend eastward, and he also expresses a feeling of attachment and farewell. This question is really a sentimental article.

The first three sentences are full of emotion, but there is no trace of it, they are just implicit. The last sentence reveals the meaning of the chapter: farewell to my friend, "the lonely sail is far away and the shadow is gone in the blue sky". The farewell person looks to the horizon, completely blind, and can't help but feel surges in his heart. The fourth sentence raises the feeling of farewell to the climax, the so-called "crying over the wrong road" "(Jiang Zhongshu's comment). "Breaking people's hearts" points out the feelings of separation, but it does not hurt to reveal them. The reason is that the first three sentences have fully nurtured this feeling, and the conclusion is punctuated, just like the reservoir opening, and the torrent of emotion pours out in an endless stream. Without the momentum of the first three sentences, such a lasting and moving effect would not be achieved.

The first three sentences of this poem are all written in the tone of a sender, "It is as light as water, but its flavor is long", which already has the poet's self-image of being calm and relaxed. The four words "Looking to the end of the world" in the last sentence more vividly describe the sender's mood of "You are far away from the cable, but you are still standing looking forward to you" (Wang Wei's "Three Poems for Farewell to Ancestors in Qizhou"). What readers see here is, rather than "saying it is Meng Haoran's poem, it is more accurate to say it is Meng Haoran's poem" (Wen Yiduo's "Miscellaneous Comments on Tang Poetry"). The whole article is written in loose running sentences, like flowing clouds and flowing water, in the style of a close song. It is written with a lot of charm, and it is not just about the design of the article and the wording.

The Yellow Crane Tower sends Meng Haoran off to Guangling

The old friend bid farewell to the Yellow Crane Tower in the west, and fireworks descended from Yangzhou in March.

The shadow of the lone sail in the distance is gone in the blue sky, and only the Yangtze River can be seen flowing in the sky.

This farewell poem has its own special flavor. It is different from the youthful farewell in Wang Bo's "Send Off Du Shaofu to Shuchuan", and it is also different from the affectionate and considerate farewell in Wang Wei's "Weicheng Song". This poem can be said to express a poetic farewell. The reason for this is that this is the farewell of two romantic poets.

Also because this parting is associated with a prosperous era, prosperous season, and prosperous area, and the happy parting also carries the yearning of the poet Li Bai, which makes this parting extremely poetic.

Li Bai's relationship with Meng Haoran happened not long after he came out of Sichuan. When he was young and happy, the world in his eyes was almost as beautiful as gold. Meng Haoran, who was more than ten years older than Li Bai, was already famous for his poetry all over the world. The impression he gave Li Bai was that he was intoxicated among the mountains and rivers, free and happy, so Li Bai said in the poem "Gift to Meng Haoran": "I love Master Meng, and his love is known all over the world. The beauty abandons the crown, and the white head lies in the pine clouds." This departure coincided with the prosperous Kaiyuan era, which was peaceful and prosperous. The season was March, when the fireworks were at their strongest and spring was at its strongest. From the Yellow Crane Tower to Yangzhou, the road was full of flowers. And what about Yangzhou? It was the most prosperous city in the entire southeast region at that time. Li Bai was such a romantic person who loved to travel, so this parting was completely carried out in a very strong atmosphere of capriccio and lyric poetry. There was no sadness or unhappiness in Li Bai's heart. On the contrary, he felt that Meng Haoran was very happy during his trip. He yearned for Yangzhou and Meng Haoran, so while saying goodbye, his heart flew with him, and there was endless poetry in his chest rippling with the river.

"An old friend said goodbye to the Yellow Crane Tower in the West", this sentence is not only to point out the topic, but also because the Yellow Crane Tower is a famous place in the world, and it may be the place where the two poets often hang out and gather. Therefore, when the Yellow Crane Tower is mentioned, it brings out all kinds of poetic life content related to this place. And what about the Yellow Crane Tower itself? It is also a place where immortals are said to fly into the sky. This is another association with Li Bai's mind about Meng Haoran's happy trip to Yangzhou this time, adding to the pleasant and captivating atmosphere.

"Fireworks descend on Yangzhou in March", adding the word "fireworks" to "March" makes the poetic atmosphere in the farewell environment particularly rich. Fireworks are filled with misty smoke and blooming flowers. It doesn’t feel like a piece of land or a flower, but a vast expanse of spring mist that cannot be seen through. March is certainly the time for fireworks, but the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, which was prosperous during the Kaiyuan era, was not a place for fireworks. "Fireworks in March" not only reproduces the charming scenery of the bustling place in late spring, but also reveals the atmosphere of the times. This sentence has a beautiful artistic conception and beautiful writing. Sun Zhu of the Qing Dynasty praised it as "a beautiful sentence through the ages".

"The shadow of the lonely sail is gone in the blue sky, and only the Yangtze River can be seen flowing in the sky." The last two sentences of the poem seem to be describing the scenery, but the description of the scenery contains a poetic detail. Li Bai kept putting his friends on the boat, but the boat had already sailed away, and he was still watching the sails sail away from the river. Li Bai looked at the sail shadow until he saw the sail shadow gradually blurring and disappearing at the end of the blue sky, which shows that he watched for a long time. The shadow of the sail had disappeared, but Li Bai was still gazing eagerly, and then he noticed the spring water of the river flowing mightily to the far place where the water and the sky meet. "Only the Yangtze River can be seen flowing across the sky" is the scene before our eyes, but who can say that it is simply a description of the scene? Isn't Li Bai's deep affection for his friends and Li Bai's yearning reflected in this poetic and yearning gaze? The ups and downs of the poet's heart are just like the vast river of spring water flowing eastward?

In short, this very poetic farewell between two elegant and unrestrained poets, for Li Bai, was another farewell with a feeling of longing, which was used by the poet as a gorgeous spring in March. The scenery is expressed very vividly with the broad picture of the boat on the Yangtze River and the details of watching the distant shadow of the solitary sail.