Translation and appreciation of Qingcao Lake in Longyang County

"Inscribed on Qingcao Lake in Longyang County" is a seven-character quatrain written by Tang Gong, a poet in the late Yuan Dynasty.

Translation

The autumn wind blows strongly, and the water of Dongting Lake seems to have aged a lot; after a night of melancholy, Mr. Xiang also has white hair.

Drunk and lying on the boat, I saw a world with bright stars, which seemed both illusion and reality, misty and blurred. I don’t know if the stars in the sky are reflected in the water, or if I am in a dream?

Vernacular translation: The autumn wind rustled, and the water of Dongting Lake was filled with waves, as if Mr. Xiang had turned his head full of white hair due to worry overnight. When I was drunk, I couldn't tell whether I was on the lake or in the sky. I just felt that the boat was floating on the Milky Way in a clear dream, surrounded by stars.

Appreciation

In the first and second sentences, the poet's deep and wide feeling of the natural scenery in front of him arouses his yearning for the people in the myth, and uses his fantasy of the myth to reflect the state of the time. gradually deepen. "The west wind blows the old Dongting waves, and Xiangjun has many white hairs overnight." The realm in the poem is brought about by the word "old". The autumn wind is rustling, and the water of Dongting Lake is vague and indistinct. That scene, compared with the rippling and tranquil blue water in spring, is a profound life on the other side of the harmonious world. The poet's thoughts and memories gradually deepened. No matter how detailed I describe what I have thought and understood, I can only express my admiration for the white-haired Xiangjun. The transformation of the country and life is so profound! Legend has it that the king of Xiang heard that Emperor Shun died in the wilderness of Cangwu. He couldn't follow him and was stained with tears. How could he reach his fate? Dongting is old at this night. What can the Lord of Xiang say in such a situation as promised? This kind of profound and broad state of mind, the deep and vast autumn scenery of Dongting can be said to have met a close friend. My thoughts are so heavy that I have an illusion. The day and dawn are peaceful in the world, but this night I have changed to the human world. Express emotions with spirit, place thoughts on the scenery, and reach the illusion of depth.

“When I’m drunk, I don’t know that the sky is in the water, and the boat is full of clear dreams that overwhelm the stars.” The autumn wind has been blowing for a long time, and I gradually forget to appreciate the scenery. Does it matter whether it is a star in the sky or a star in the water? When you think deeply at night, how do you know when you are drunk? In the past, Du Fu had Chang'an in his heart, and his eyes were devastated, and "a boat on the spring water was like sitting in the sky." However, he was so sad that he had no choice but to live, so he had no chance to be so deeply drunk and peaceful in his sleep. Parking a boat, parking a dream, the Milky Way may be called the Milky Way, the scene may be called the environment, the thoughts may be said to be forgotten. The poet's dream, the boat full of clear dreams, is the life the poet is thinking about. However, it is joyful to see each other in Qiuhu Lake, with nothing in the way and everything at ease. One or two sentences are both real and illusory, and the clearer they become, the more infatuated they become; the three or four sentences are in the center, but they become deeper and more unrestrained. Therefore, when the realm is deep, you will dream at night. This is the best realm in real life.

Original text

The west wind blew the old Dongting waves, and Mr. Xiang had many gray hairs overnight.

After being drunk, I don’t know that the sky is in the water, and the boat is full of clear dreams that overwhelm the stars.

Notes

⑴Longyang County: Today's Hanshou County, Hunan Province.

⑵ Qingcao Lake: Located in the southeast of Dongting Lake, it is named after Qingcao Mountain to the south of the lake. It is connected to Dongting Lake, so it is also written as "Dongting" in the poem.

⑶Chuilao: blowing wrinkles, stacking, and waves.

⑷Xiangjun: The god of Xiangshui. It is said that he was Shun who died in Cangwu while patrolling the south.

⑸The sky is in the water: The Milky Way in the sky is reflected in the water.

Content Center

This is a very personal and sentimental quatrain. Although it is only four short sentences, it has a novel and unique conception, a light and romantic style, and a poetic mood. It's ethereal and fantastic, and has been highly praised by critics. The poet uses the method of combining virtuality and reality to combine the bleak autumn scenery of Dongting Lake with the poet's ethereal dream after drunkenness, conveying his feelings about the twilight years.

Creative background

This is the poet's only extant poem. Regarding the creation time, there have been two views: the Tang Dynasty and the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasties.

One is the theory of the Tang Dynasty. Volume 772 of "Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty" contains this poem, titled "Inscribed on Qingcao Lake, Longyang County". Although the author is recorded as Tang Wenru, his life is unknown and "no second rank can be verified".

The theory of duality at the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. According to research by Chen Yongzheng, a professor at Sun Yat-sen University, this poem was first included in the "Daya Collection" compiled by Lai Liang of the Yuan Dynasty, titled "Crossing the Dongting". The works included in the "Daya Collection" were all written by people of the Yuan Dynasty, so this book The poem was written in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties. Professor Chen's point of view is extremely informative and the "Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty" actually included this poem by mistake.

About the author

Tang Gong, courtesy name Wen Ru, was a poet in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty. A native of Shanyin in Kuaiji (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang).

"Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty" thinks that he was from the late Tang Dynasty, but this is wrong according to research. His life is only briefly found in the biographies "Name Jue Li" and "Supplement to the Selected Poems of the Yuan Dynasty" in the first volume of "Yuan Shi Xuan".