"Suddenly like a spring breeze coming overnight" comes from "Baixuege Sends Judge Wu Back to the Capital" by Cen Shen of the Tang Dynasty.

Original text

Bai Xuege sends Magistrate Wu back to the capital

Cen Shen? [Tang Dynasty]

The north wind blows and the white grass breaks, It snows in Hutian in August.

Suddenly a spring breeze came overnight, and thousands of pear trees bloomed.

The pearl curtains are scattered and wet, and the fox fur is not warm and the brocade quilt is thin.

The general's horns and bows cannot be controlled, and the guards' iron coats are cold and cold.

The vast sea is covered with hundreds of feet of ice, and the gloomy clouds condense thousands of miles away.

The Chinese army prepares wine and drinks for returning guests, as well as playing fiddles, lutes, and lutes.

The snow falls one after another at the camp gate, and the red flag is blown by the wind and does not turn over due to the freezing cold.

I saw you off at the east gate of Luntai. When you left, the Tianshan Road was covered with snow.

You can't be seen on the mountain winding road, leaving a place for horses to walk in the sky above the snow.

Translation

The north wind swept across the land and broke the white grass, and heavy snow fell from the sky in the northern part of the country in August.

As if the spring breeze blew overnight, pear blossoms bloomed on the trees.

Snowflakes flew into the bead curtain and wet the silk curtain. The brocade quilt was too thin even if the fox fur was not keeping warm.

The general and soldiers were too cold to draw their bows, and their armor was too cold to put on.

The boundless desert is covered with thick ice, and the sky is filled with bleak and gloomy clouds.

In the coach's tent, wine was placed to bid farewell to the returning guests, and an ensemble of fiddles, pipa, lutes and flutes was played to entertain the guests.

In the evening, heavy snow kept falling in front of the camp gate, and the red flag was frozen and could not be pulled by the wind.

Outside the east gate of Luntai I send you off to Beijing. When you left, the Tianshan Road was covered with heavy snow.

You are no longer visible on the winding mountain road, leaving only a line of horse hoof prints on the snow.

Notes

Judge Wu: Unknown name. Judge, official title. In the Tang Dynasty, the Jiedushi envoys and other ambassadors sent by the imperial court could appoint staff to assist in judging official matters. They were called judges, and they were staff members such as Jiedushi envoys and observation envoys.

White grass: the name of pasture grass in the Western Regions, which turns white in autumn.

Hu Tian: refers to the sky in the north of Saibei. Hu is the common name used by the ancient Han people for all ethnic groups in the north.

Pear blossom: blooms in spring with white flowers. Here it is a metaphor for snowflakes accumulating on branches, like pear blossoms in bloom.

Bead curtain: a curtain strung with or decorated with pearls. Describe the beauty of the curtain. Luomu: A tent made of silk fabrics. Describe the beauty of the tabernacle. This sentence says that snowflakes fly into the bead curtain and wet the curtain. "Bead curtain" and "Luo curtain" are all beautification terms.

Fox fur (qiú): fox fur robe.

Brand quilt (qīn): a quilt made of brocade.

The brocade quilt is thin (bó): The silk quilt looks thin (because of the cold). Describe that the weather is very cold.

Horned bow: a hard bow decorated with animal horns at both ends, also known as a "carved bow". Unable to control: (The weather is too cold and it is too cold) to draw (the bow). Control: Pull away.

Du (dū) protector: This is a general reference to the chief who guards the border town, and is intertextual with the "general" above.

Tie Yi: Armor.

Nanzhu (zhuó): One word is "still holding". Author: Also written as "author".

Hanhai (hàn): desert. Linqian: criss-crossed.

Baizhang: One means "hundred feet" and the other means "thousand feet".

Bleak: dim and dull.

Chinese Army: Called the general or headquarters. In ancient times, the army was divided into three armies: center, left and right. The center army was the commander's camp.

Drinking as a guest: A person returning to the capital with a banquet refers to Judge Wu. Drink, verb, feast.

Huqin, Pipa and Qiang (qiāng) flute: Huqin, etc. were all musical instruments of the fraternal ethnic groups in the Western Regions at that time.

Qiang flute: a wind instrument of the Qiang people.

Yuanmen: the door of the military camp. In ancient times, the army camped and surrounded it with chariots. At the entrance and exit, two chariot shafts stood facing each other, shaped like doors. This refers to the outer gate of Shuai Yamen.

Wind switch (chè): The red flag is frozen due to snow, and the wind cannot blow it. Pull: pull, pull.

Frozen: The flag is blown in one direction by the wind, giving people the feeling of being frozen.

Luntai: Tang Luntai is located in Miquan County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region today, and is not the same place as Han Luntai.

Full: full. Conjugate adjectives into verbs.

Mountain Loop: The mountain loops around and the road twists and turns.

Appreciation

This poem is a representative work of Cen Shen's frontier fortress poems, written during his second trip to the fortress. At this time, he was highly regarded by Feng Changqing, the governor of Anxi, and most of his frontier fortress poems were written during this period.

This poem describes the magnificent scenery of August snow in the Western Regions. It expresses the feeling of seeing off guests outside the Great Wall and seeing off guests in the snow. It expresses the sorrow of separation and homesickness, but it is full of whimsy and does not make people feel sad. The romantic ideals and magnificent feelings expressed in the poem make people feel that the wind and snow outside the Great Wall have become an object of appreciation. The whole poem has rich and broad connotations, magnificent and romantic colors, majestic momentum, distinct and unique artistic conception, and strong artistic appeal. It can be called the masterpiece of frontier poems in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Among them, poems such as "Suddenly a spring breeze comes overnight, and thousands of pear blossoms bloom on thousands of trees" have become famous lines that have been passed down through the ages.

The whole poem uses the changes in the snow scene throughout the day as a clue to describe the process of bidding farewell to the envoys returning to Beijing. The poem is broad-minded and well-structured. ***Divided into three parts.

The first four sentences are the first part, describing the beautiful snow scene that I saw when I woke up in the morning and the sudden cold that I felt. In the poet's eyes, the snow hanging on the branches turned into pear blossoms that bloomed overnight, arriving together with the beautiful spring. The first four sentences mainly describe the beauty of the scenery. Words such as "Ji" and "Suddenly" vividly and accurately express the situation when you suddenly see the snow scene when you wake up in the morning. After a night, the earth was covered with silver and took on a new look. Then his eyes gradually shifted from outside the tent to inside the tent. The flying snow entered the bead curtain and wet the military tent. It is appropriate for the poet to choose daily activities such as living, sleeping, dressing, and drawing a bow to express the cold, just as it is appropriate to choose watching snow in the morning to express the strangeness. Although the weather was cold, the soldiers had no complaints. Moreover, he is "out of control" and even trains when the weather is cold, and he is still practicing with his bow. On the surface, it is written as cold, but in fact, it is used to contrast the heat in the hearts of the soldiers, and to show the optimistic and passionate fighting mood of the soldiers. He writes about the severe cold through people's feelings, and his technique is concrete and realistic, not just an abstract concept. The poet talks about the strange cold so much that people don't feel the bitterness, but feel that the cold is fresh and interesting. This is another manifestation of the poet's "curious" personality.

The middle two sentences are the second part, describing the majesty of the snow scene during the day and the grand occasion of the farewell banquet. "The vast sea is bounded by hundreds of feet of ice, and the gloomy clouds are thousands of miles away." It uses romantic and exaggerated techniques to majestically outline the magnificent sand and snow scenery, which contrasts with the joyous scenes below and reflects the positive significance of the soldiers' singing and dancing. "The Chinese army prepares wine and drinks for returning guests, huqin, pipa and Qiang flute". It seems clumsy to juxtapose three musical instruments without writing about the music itself, but it can still indirectly convey a scene of urgent pipes and numerous strings, and "always farewell to the old mountains." " means. A banquet was held in the commander's camp, and all kinds of musical instruments were brought in. There was singing, dancing, and drinking. The banquet lasted until dusk. The inner passion of the first part bursts out here and reaches the climax of joy.

The last three sentences are the third part, writing about bidding farewell to friends in the evening and embarking on the return journey. "Twilight snow falls on the camp gate one after another, and the red flag is frozen in the wind." The returning guests stepped out of the tent in the twilight against the heavy snow. The bright flags frozen in the air looked gorgeous in the white snow. The image of the flag unwavering and unyielding in the cold wind is a symbol of soldiers. These two sentences, one moving and one still, set off each other, making the picture vivid and colorful. "I will see you off at the east gate of Luntai, and the road to the Tianshan Mountains will be covered with snow when you leave." Even though we are reluctant to leave, it is time to break up after all. "You can't be seen on the mountain winding road, but there is a place for horses to walk in the sky above the snow." It uses plain and simple language to express the sincere feelings of the soldiers for their comrades. Every word is vivid, implicit and meaningful. This part describes the feeling of saying goodbye to friends.

This poem uses the beautiful and changeable snow scene, the vertical and horizontal vigorous writing force, the free opening and closing structure, and the ups and downs of rhythm to accurately, clearly and vividly create the beauty of the strange and the strange of the beautiful. The beautiful artistic conception is not only written with appropriate voice and color, relaxed and relaxed, but also hard and soft, quick and slow, making it a rare masterpiece of a frontier fortress. The whole poem constantly changes the scene of white snow, turning the scene into emotion, generous, tragic, and vigorous. It expresses the poet's attachment to his friend and the melancholy caused by his friend's return to Beijing.

Creative background

Cen Shen came to Beiting in the 13th year of Emperor Xuanzong's Tianbao reign in the Tang Dynasty (754 AD, the thirteenth year of Tianbao reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty). 757) returned eastward at the turn of spring and summer. In the Thirteenth Year of Tianbao, Cen Shen went out to the fortress for the second time and served as the judge of Feng Changqing, the Jiedu envoy of Anbeiting (the official of Jiedushi), and Judge Wu was his predecessor. The poet sent him back to the capital in Luntai (the capital of the Tang Dynasty). Chang'an) and wrote this poem.

Appreciation

This poem is a poem dedicated to snow as a gift. Du Fu said in his poem "Xing Mipei": "Brothers Cen Shen are all curious." This poem embodies the word "odd" everywhere.

The beginning of this poem is surprising. The rumor spread before Bai Xue. The so-called "the breath has been swallowed before the pen reaches it" is all the spirit of Feixue. Heavy snow must come with the wind. The four words "north wind rolls over the ground" mean that the snow comes from the wind. "Baicao", according to the ancient annotation of Yan Shi in "Book of Han·Biography of the Western Regions", is the name of a grass in the northwest. Wang Xianqian added that it has a very tough nature. However, frost-resistant grass is brittle, so it can be broken (if it is spring grass, it cannot be "broken" when it is tilted by the wind). "Baicao Zhe" shows that the wind is coming fiercely again. Autumn is high in August, and the sky in the north is already covered with snow. "Hu Tian is about to snow in August", the word "that is" vividly expresses the unusual and strange tone of surprise of people from the south.

About the author

Cen Shen (718?-769?), a native of Jiangling, Jingzhou (now Jiangling County, Hubei Province) or Jiyang, Nanyang (now Nanyang City, Henan Province), Tang Dynasty The poet, together with Gao Shi, is called "Gao Cen". In the third year of Tianbao (744), Cen Shen passed the imperial examination. After three years of guarding the election, he was awarded the title of "You Nei" to lead the army of Cao Shenjun. He later joined the army twice in the frontier fortress. He first served as secretary of the shogunate of Anxi Jiedushi Gao Xianzhi, and later in the last years of Tianbao he was appointed as northwest Anxi. Ting Jiedushi was granted the title of Changqing shogunate judge. During the reign of Emperor Daizong of the Tang Dynasty, Cen Shen served as the governor of Jiazhou (now Leshan City, Sichuan), and was known as "Cen Jiazhou" in his old life. In the autumn and winter of the fourth year of the Dali calendar (769), Cen Shen died in Chengdu at the age of about fifty-two (51 years old). In terms of literary creation, Cen Shen is good at seven-character poetry. He has a close feeling for the scenery of the frontier fortress, military life, and the cultural customs of foreign lands. He has many excellent frontier fortress poems in particular.