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Farewell by Du Mu, a poet in the late Tang Dynasty, expresses the poet's nostalgia for the young singer.
original text
Two farewell songs, the first part
Du Mu? Tang dynasty
13 years of good posture is light, living like a scepter in bud in early February.
In Yangzhou, the spring breeze blows all over Sanli Long Street. With beaded curtains, no one can match her beauty.
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Thirteen-and fourteen-year-old girls are graceful, just like bean flowers in bud in February.
The spring breeze on Shili Yangzhou Road is swaying, and the beauty in the bead curtain is not comparable to hers.
To annotate ...
Neat curl: describes a woman's light and beautiful posture. Thirteen years old or older: say its age.
Cardamom: According to the "Materia Medica", cardamom peanuts are among the leaves, and southerners take those that are not fully open, which are called fetal flowers, often compared to virgins.
"Spring Breeze Two Sentences": In the bustling city of Yangzhou, there are many karaoke bars and dance pavilions on Shili Long Street, and there are also many beautiful women in the bead curtain, but none of them are as beautiful as this girl.
Distinguish and appreciate
This poem was given by the poet to a good singer. From another poem on the same topic ("affectionate but always heartless"), we have deep feelings for each other. However, that poem focuses on "farewell", but this one focuses on praising each other's beauty and causing farewell.
"More than thirteen years, cardamom in early February." The first two sentences of this poem are about thirteen-year-old, with graceful posture and light manners, just like beancurd flowers in bud in early February.
The first sentence describes: "graceful" is a light and beautiful figure, and "thirteen wonders" is a woman's age. There is neither a person nor a noun in the seven words, but it can give people a complete, vivid and vivid impression and let people witness that beautiful image. This is the only sentence in the whole poem that describes the beauty of women positively. This sentence is still evasive and superficial, and the sentence is really ethereal. In the second sentence, I didn't write about women, but I wrote about spring flowers, obviously comparing flowers with women. Cardamom is produced in the south. When its flowers become spikes, the tender leaves are rolled up, spikes are crimson, leaves are gradually unfolded, flowers are gradually released, and the color is slightly lighter. Southerners call people who pick buds "with moss flowers", which is often used to describe virgins. The "early February" cardamom flower is this kind of "moss flower", which is used as a metaphor for the "Thirteen Wonders" young singer, and its image is beautiful and appropriate. There are also flowers on the "tips" of branches, which tremble with the wind and are particularly lovely. So "cardamom tip" secretly took care of the word "graceful and restrained". The metaphor here is not only novel, but also very subtle; As if people are as beautiful as flowers, flowers are beautiful because of people. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is novel and unique. All metaphors such as "as beautiful as flowers and jade" and "falling in love with the country" will be eclipsed in front of such poems.
"The spring breeze travels ten miles along Yangzhou Road, so it is better to roll a bead curtain." The last two sentences of the poem say that I saw a young beauty in Shili Long Street in Yangzhou City, and there is nothing like her rolling up bead curtains to sell makeup.
At that time, the poet was about to leave Yangzhou, and the object of "farewell" was a Yangzhou geisha she met in the poetic life of her aides. So the third sentence is "Yangzhou Road". Yangzhou's economic and cultural prosperity in the Tang Dynasty was sometimes called "Yang Yiyi (Yizhou) II". The phrase "spring breeze" is full of enthusiasm, which renders the rich and luxurious style of the metropolis, and makes people see the ten-mile long street, full of traffic and flowers ... there are many song and dance pavilions and beautiful women like clouds. The "bead curtain" is the scenery of the Song Building. You can see the "high tea" by rolling up the bead curtain. I don't know how many bead curtains there are on Yangzhou Road, and how many beautiful women with red sleeves and green sleeves are under all the curtains, but "it's better to roll a bead curtain"! Here, the word "rolling a bead curtain" is unusual, which not only makes the conclusion of "better than nothing" more vivid and convincing; It also spread the jewel-like prosperity of Yangzhou. Poetry highlights a person's beauty by suppressing the beauty of all the beautiful women in Yangzhou, which has the effect of many stars arching the moon. Because of the first two wonderful metaphors, the writing of "strong one and weak two" here is obviously natural and wonderful.
Du Mu's poems, from lovers to flowers, from flowers to downtown in spring city, from downtown to beauty, finally set off lovers. Twenty-eight words, fluent and comfortable.
Literature and art need constant innovation. There is always no way out for old attacks. Even a figurative description is unique. Looking at Du Mu's Farewell from this angle, we have to admit that he is a talented poet.
Creation background
These two poems were written by the poet Du Mu in 835 AD (the ninth year of Daiwa). At that time, the author was suggested by the prefect of Huainan secretariat to leave Yangzhou for Chang 'an to be separated from the geisha she met in Yangzhou.
Brief introduction of the author
Du Mu (AD 803-852), born in Fanchuan, Mu Zhi, Han nationality, Jingzhao Wannian (now Xi, Shaanxi), was a poet in the Tang Dynasty. Du Mu is called "Xiao Du" to distinguish him from Du Fu. Also known as "Little Du Li" with Li Shangyin. Because he lived in South Fan Chuan Villa in Chang 'an in his later years, he was later called "Du Fanchuan" and wrote "Collected Works of Fan Chuan".