Du Fu's "Expressing My Feelings on a Night Journey" was changed into prose

Lvyuye Shuhuai

Explanation

"Lvyuye Shuhuai" is the story of Du Fu leaving Chengdu, taking his family on a boat eastward, passing through Yuzhou (Sichuan) Chongqing) and Zhongzhou (Zhongxian County, Sichuan) (765).

Although he had an ideal in his early years to "serve kings, Yao and Shun, and make customs pure", in the end he failed to achieve anything. He only ended up old and sick, with relatives and friends scattered, and he was wandering alone in such a situation. On the vast river, I seemed to be a sand gull between heaven and earth. Where should I fly to? Loneliness, loneliness! The author's emotion is very deep.

Original text

The shore is covered with thin grass and the breeze blows, and the boat is carrying a dangerous boat at night.

The stars hang down over the vast plains, and the moon surges across the river.

It is not famous to write articles. Officials should retire due to old age and illness.

What does Piao Piao look like? The sky and the earth are like sand gulls.

The breeze blew the fine grass on the river bank, and the boat with the tall mast was moored alone at night. The stars hang in the sky, the plains look wide; the moonlight surges with the waves, and the rivers roll eastward. I am famous because of my articles. I am old and sick and should retire from office. What does it look like to be wandering around by yourself? Like a lonely sand gull between heaven and earth.

The first half of the poem describes the scene of "night travel". The first and second sentences describe close-up scenes: the breeze is blowing the fine grass on the river bank, and the boat with the tall mast is moored alone on the moonlit night. At that time, Du Fu had no choice but to leave Chengdu. In the first month of this year, he resigned from his post as a staff officer to the Jiedushi Governor. In April, his friend Yan Wu, who relied on him for survival in Chengdu, died. In this lonely and helpless situation, he decided to leave Shu and go east. Therefore, here is not a general description of the scene, but an expression of emotion in the scene, showing his situation and feelings through the description of the scene: as small as the grass on the river bank, as lonely as the lonely boat in the river. The third and fourth sentences describe the distant view: the stars hang low, the plains are vast; the moon surges with the waves, and the river flows eastward. These two sentences describe the majestic and vast scenery, which has always been praised by people. What feelings of the poet are contained in these two scene-describing sentences? Some people think that it is "open and far away" (Pu Qilong's "Reading Du Xinjie"), and some people think that it expresses the feeling of "joy" (see "Collection of Tang Poetry: Du Fu's Five Rules and Regulations"). Obviously, this poem is about the miserable situation of the poet wandering in his later years, and the above two explanations only emphasize the literal meaning of the poem, which is difficult to convince. In fact, the poet writes about the vast plains, the mighty rivers, and the brilliant stars and moon, precisely to reflect his lonely image and helpless mood. This technique of using happy scenes to describe sadness is often used in classical works. For example, "The Book of Songs·Xiaoya·Plucking Wei" "I have passed away in the past, and the willows are still there", using the beautiful scenery of spring to contrast the miserable mood of the soldiers on the expedition, how touching the writing is!

The second half of the poem is "Book Love". The fifth and sixth sentences say that I am somewhat famous, but why is it because of my good articles? As an official, you should retire because of old age and illness. This is irony, and the intention is extremely implicit. The poet has always had lofty political ambitions, but they have been suppressed for a long time and cannot be used. Therefore, his reputation is based on his articles. This is really not his wish. Du Fu was indeed old and sick at this time, but his retirement was not mainly due to old age and illness, but to being marginalized. This shows the injustice in the poet's heart, and at the same time reveals that political frustration is the fundamental reason for his wandering and loneliness. Regarding the meaning of this couplet, Huang Sheng said that it is "a statement that blames nothing and blames oneself" ("Du Shi Shuo"), and Qiu Zhaoao said that "the five attributes are self-effacing and the sixth is self-explanation" ("Du Shaoling Collection") Note"), I'm afraid it's not very appropriate. The last two sentences say, what does it look like when you are so free? Just like a sand gull in the vast world. The poet expresses his sadness in the scene. The water and sky are vast, and the sand gulls are floating; people are like sand gulls, migrating to rivers and lakes. This couplet uses the scenery to express emotions, and profoundly expresses the poet's inner sadness of wandering and helpless. It is really touching every word and every tear.

Wang Fuzhi's "Jiangzhai Poetry Talk" said: "Although the scene is divided into the heart and the object, the scene creates the emotion, the emotion creates the scene...each other hides his house." Scenes hide each other's house, that is, they embody feelings. Yu Jinghe combines scenery with emotion. The former writes about scenery that is suitable for expressing the emotions that the poet wants to express, so that the emotions are hidden in the scenery; the latter does not describe the emotions abstractly, but hides the scenery in the emotions. Du Fu's poem "Walking at Night" is an example of how scenes and scenes complement each other and hide each other's homes in classical poetry. ?