This poem comes from Looking at Tianmen Mountain, a well-known poem by Li Bai, a poet in the Tang Dynasty. The original text of this poem is as follows:
The Yangtze River splits the Tianmen Peak like a giant axe, and the green river flows around the island.
The green hills on both sides are neck and neck, and a boat meets leisurely from the horizon.
What does this poem mean? This poem is translated into vernacular Chinese as follows:
Like a giant axe, the Yangtze River splits the male peak of Tianmen, where the Qingjiang River flows eastward and then northward.
The green hills on both sides of the strait are opposite, and beauty cannot be separated. A ship came from the sunset in the west.
What is the background of the author's writing this poem?
Looking at Tianmen Mountain was written by Li Baichu on his way to Jiangdong via Dangtu (now Anhui) in 725 AD (13th year of Kaiyuan).
Understand the creative background of this poem, let's appreciate the background of this poem together:
This poem describes clear water and green mountains, white sails and red sun, which are reflected in a colorful picture. But this picture is not static, but flowing. As the poet sails and sails, the mountains break the river, the east water flows backwards, the green hills meet, and the daytime sails alone, and the scenery unfolds from far and near to far. Six verbs are used in the poem, namely "breaking, opening, flowing, returning and coming", and the landscape presents an urgent dynamic, depicting the grandeur and vastness of Tianmen Mountain. One or two sentences describe the majestic, steep and unstoppable momentum of Tianmen Mountain, which gives people a thrilling feeling; Three or four sentences are enough to write about the vast water potential.
"Tianmen breaks the Chu River, and Higashi Shimizu flows." These two lines overlook the magnificent scene of Tianmen Mountain facing Jiajiang River. The river passes through Tianmen Mountain, and the water is rushing. The first sentence is closely related to the topic, always writing Tianmen Mountain, with the focus on the magnificent momentum of the eastern flow of the Chu River. It gives people rich associations: Tianmen Mountain and Tianmen Mountain were originally a whole, blocking the turbulent river. Due to the impact of the surging waves of the Chu River, Tianmen was knocked open and interrupted, becoming two mountains. This is quite similar to the scene described by the author in "Song of Yuntai in Xiyue to Send Dan Qiu Zi": "Genie (river god) roared and broke two mountains (referring to Huashan in Hexi and shouyangshan in Hedong), and Hongbo sprayed into the East China Sea." But the former is hidden and the latter is obvious. In the author's pen, the Chu River seems to be a thing with strong vitality, showing the magical power to overcome all obstacles, and Tianmen Mountain seems to quietly make way for it.
The second sentence is about the river under Tianmen Mountain. In turn, it focuses on the binding force and reaction of Tianmen Mountain, which is facing Jiajiang, to the surging Chu River. Because two mountains are sandwiched in the middle, the vast Yangtze River flows through the narrow passage between the two mountains, causing a whirlpool and forming a choppy spectacle. If the last sentence is written by the mountain, then this sentence is the adventure of the mountain to the water potential. Some notebooks "return here" as "straight north", and the interpreter thought that the Yangtze River flowing eastward turned north in this area. This may be a fine explanation of the flow direction of the Yangtze River, but it is not a poem, nor can it show the momentum of Tianmen. Can be compared with "Xiyue Yuntai Song to Dan Qiu Zi": "Xiyue is magnificent! The Yellow River is like a silk sky. The Wan Li of the Yellow River touches the mountain, and the vortex hub turns to Qin Mine. " "Vortex Turn", that is, "Higashi Shimizu flows to this back", also depicts the scene when the rivers in Wan Li are cut off by Qifeng, but as a seven-character ancient poem, it is written incisively and vividly. From the comparison, we can see that Wang Tianmen Mountain, as a quatrain, advocates simplicity and has profound implications.
"The green hills on both sides of the strait are opposite, and the sails are alone." These two sentences are an inseparable whole. The third sentence inherits the majestic posture of Tianmen and two mountains seen in the first sentence; The fourth sentence carries forward the vision of the Yangtze River written in the previous second sentence, awakens the foothold of "hope" and expresses the poet's dripping joy. The poet is not standing somewhere on the shore overlooking Tianmen Mountain, but his foothold is a "lone sail" coming from Japan. Most people who read this poem appreciate the word "Chu" because it brings dynamic beauty to the motionless mountain, but seldom consider why the poet feels "Chu". If you stand on a fixed foothold on the shore, "looking at Tianmen Mountain in the distance" will probably only produce a static feeling of "the green hills on both sides of the strait are opposite". On the contrary, the ship sailed down the river, looking at Tianmen and two distant mountains, showing an increasingly clear posture, and this feeling of "green mountains on both sides of the strait are opposite" is very prominent. The word "Chu" not only vividly shows the unique gesture of "overlooking Tianmen Mountain" when taking a boat tour, but also contains the fresh and pleasant feeling of the people on board. Tianmen Mountain, facing the Jiajiang River, seems to be coming towards itself, expressing its welcome to the visitors from the river. Since Qingshan is so affectionate to distant guests, they should be more cheerful.
The Lonely Sail Comes from the Sun vividly depicts the lonely sail riding the wind and waves, getting closer and closer to Tianmen Mountain, and the poet's joy at seeing the famous mountains and scenic spots. Because the last sentence is full of the poet's passion in the narrative, this poem highlights the poet's heroic, unrestrained, free and unrestrained self-image while depicting the magnificent scenery of Tianmen Mountain.
This poem has broad artistic conception, heroic spirit, harmonious and smooth syllables, vivid language and bright colors. Although there are only four short sentences and twenty-eight words, the artistic conception it constitutes is beautiful and magnificent, which makes people feel immersive after reading the poem. The poet leads the reader's vision along the foggy Yangtze River to the infinite world, which makes people feel open-minded and broad-minded. From this poem, we can see the bold spirit of the poet Li Bai and his broad mind that he doesn't want to confine himself to Xiaotian.