The eternal masterpiece "Song of Everlasting Sorrow":
Song of Everlasting Sorrow
Introduction
"Song of Everlasting Sorrow" is a famous Tang poem by Bai Juyi and also a famous poem by Wang Anyi The novel is also a movie of the same name starring Sammi Cheng.
Original text
"Song of Everlasting Sorrow" by Bai Juyi
The emperor of Han Dynasty was obsessed with beauty and wanted to overwhelm the country, and he could not get it for many years. There is a daughter in the Yang family who has just grown up. She is raised in a boudoir and no one knows her.
It’s hard to give up on natural beauty. Once you choose it, you will be on the side of the king. Looking back and smiling, the sixth palace has no color.
In the cold spring, you can bathe in Huaqing Pool, and the hot spring water will wash away the fat. The waiter lifted her weak body up, which was the beginning of her new grace.
The flowers on the temples are swaying with golden steps, and the hibiscus tent warms the spring night. The spring night is short and the sun is high, and from now on the king will not go to court early.
There is no leisure time for Cheng Huan to serve banquets, and he spends all his time traveling from spring to night. There are three thousand beauties in the harem, and three thousand people love her.
The golden house is made up to serve as a charming servant at night, and the jade house is drunk and spring after the banquet. Sisters and brothers are all from the earth, poor and glorious.
This makes the hearts of parents all over the world not to be reborn as boys but to be reborn as girls. The blue clouds are rising from the heights of Li Palace, and the wind of fairy music can be heard everywhere.
Slow singing, graceful dancing, and silk and bamboo dances, which the king cannot see enough. Yuyang's flying dragon stirs the earth, shocking the colorful clothes and feathers.
Smoke and dust arose from the Jiuchong City Tower, and thousands of horses rode southwestward. The green flowers swayed and stopped, more than a hundred miles west of the capital.
The Sixth Army had no choice but to turn around and die in front of the horse. There is no one to collect the flowers and leaves on the ground, and the green buds and jade are scratching their heads.
The king hid his face and could not be saved. Looking back, blood and tears flowed. The yellow leaves are scattered in the wind, and the clouds linger in the sword pavilion.
There are few people walking at the foot of Mount Emei, and the flags are dull and the sun is thin. The water of the Shu River is green, the mountains of Shu are green, and the Holy Lord loves each other day and night.
Seeing the moon in the palace looks sad, and hearing the sound of broken bells in the rain at night. The sky spins and the earth turns back to Long Yu. He hesitates and cannot go.
In the soil at the foot of Mawei slope, there is no place where Yuyan died. The monarch and his ministers looked after each other with all their clothes on, and looked eastward at the capital gate to return on horseback.
After returning, the ponds and gardens are all still the same, with lotuses and willows blooming in Taiye. Hibiscus is like a face and willows are like eyebrows, how can I not shed tears about this?
The peach and plum blossoms bloom in the spring breeze, and the sycamore leaves fall in the autumn rain. There are many autumn grasses in the south of the West Palace, and the fallen leaves are full of red leaves that are not swept away.
The disciples in the Liyuan have new white hair, while the prisoner in the pepper room has old moths. The fireflies in the evening palace are quietly thinking, and the solitary lamp has been used up before they can fall asleep.
At the beginning of the long night, the stars are about to dawn. The mandarin duck tiles are frosty and heavy, and the jade quilt is cold. Who cares?
After so many years of separation between life and death, my soul never came to sleep. Linqiong Taoist priests from Hongdu can reach the soul with their sincerity.
To appreciate the king's thoughts, he taught the alchemists to search diligently. Empty and control the energy, it rushes like electricity, ascending to heaven and earth to seek everywhere.
The poor blue sky above and the yellow spring below, both places are nowhere to be seen. Suddenly I heard that there was a fairy mountain on the sea, and the mountain was ethereal.
The exquisite pavilion has five clouds rising, and there are many fairies in it. One of them has a character called Tai Zhen, and his skin and appearance are all mixed.
Knock on the jade in the west chamber of the Golden Palace, and turn to the small jade to get a double success. Hearing that the Emperor of Han Dynasty envoys, the dream soul in Jiuhua tent is frightened.
Wandering around while holding clothes and pushing pillows, the silver screen of pearls and foils spreads out. The bun in the clouds is half fresh, and the flower crown is not neat.
The wind blows and the fairy mantle is fluttering, just like the dancing of colorful clothes and feathers. The jade face is lonely and full of tears, and a branch of pear blossom brings rain in spring.
Looking at the king with affection, his voice and appearance are vague. Love is overwhelming in Zhaoyang Palace, and the sun and moon are long in Penglai Palace.
Looking back and looking down at the world, I can see the dust and mist in Chang'an. But I will express my affection for old things, and send my hairpin to the future.
I pushed open the pillow, put on my clothes and got out of bed. The silver screen and bead curtain were opened in sequence. I saw that her bun was half tilted to the side. She had just woken up and walked down the hall before the flower crown was finished. The wind blew her fairy clothes fluttering and swirling, just like the colorful feathers she danced with back then. Yu Rong's lonely pair of tears fell down, just like a pear blossom carrying rain in spring. She expressed her sincere thanks to the king: since the separation between life and death, it was difficult to see him and there was no news at all. The love in Zhaoyang Palace has been cut off from now on, and the days and moons in Penglai Palace are so long! Looking down at the human world, I only see clouds and mist and cannot see Chang'an. I can only show my deep affection with old things and bring back two things, the golden hairpin and the box. Keep one share of the gold hairpin, one share of the hairpin box, and our family will share half of it. As long as our hearts are as strong as gold and tin, we can still see each other even though we are far apart in heaven and earth! There is one more important thing to say before leaving. Only he and I know this oath. On July 7, there was no one in the Hall of Eternal Life in the middle of the night. The two of us whispered quietly: In the sky, we hope to be winged birds forever, and on the ground, we hope that water will be like branches. As time goes by, it will end one day. This hatred will last forever and will never be eliminated.
Commentary
This poem is the author's famous poem, written in the first year of Yuanhe (806). The whole poem vividly describes the love tragedy between Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei. The poet used historical figures and legends to create a moving and moving story, and through the artistic image he created, he reproduced the reality of real life and infected readers for thousands of years.
The theme of the poem is "everlasting regret". The first part begins with "The Emperor of the Han Dynasty focused on sex and wanted to overwhelm the country", describing how Xuanzong was lustful and lustful before the Anshi Rebellion, and finally got the Yang family. And because Yang was favored, his chickens and dogs ascended to heaven. He also repeatedly exaggerated Xuanzong's indulgence in lust, indulged in wine and sex, and ignored government affairs, which led to the Anshi Rebellion of "Yuyang Mo incited the earth to come". This is the basis of tragedy and the internal cause of "eternal hatred". The second part begins with "What the Six Armies Can Do Without Attacking", which describes in detail Xuanzong's hasty flight to Xishu after the An-Shi Rebellion, which caused the "Six Armies" to station on horseback and demand the removal of the noble concubine who had brought disaster to the country and the people. form. This is the key plot of the story. After Yang passed away, Xuanzong felt lonely, sad and full of lovesickness. The poem describes Xuanzong's "eternal regret" in a sour and touching tone, which is heartbreaking and makes people cry.
The third part begins with "Linqiong Taoist Hongdu Guest", which tells that Xuanzong found Yang's trace in the illusory Penglai Fairy Mountain with the help of Taoist priests. In the fairy scene, Yang's appearance of "pear blossoms in the rain" is reproduced, and he expresses affectionately, conveys the object, reiterates the previous oath, and expresses his willingness to be a "winged bird" and "linked branches", further exaggerating the "eternal regret" theme. The ending further deepens the theme with "Heaven and earth will eventually end, and this hatred will last forever" and increase the weight of "eternal hatred".
The whole poem is full of sentimentality and pathos, and the book's hatred is endless. The writing is sad and moving, the tone is melodious, and it is a famous piece through the ages that is often read and updated frequently.
Contemporary writers Ding Yi and Fang Chao believe in the article "Evaluation of (Song of Everlasting Sorrow)" that this poem is a work by Bai Juyi to express his own feelings by chanting historical figures. The article said that when the poet was young, he fell in love with Xiang Ling, a girl from an ordinary family. However, due to the obstacles of family status and customs, he could not formally get married. When they broke up, the poet wrote a sad poem: "I can't cry, but I can't part with you; I can't speak, I miss you secretly; no one knows about the two hearts... There is no end to the mutual willingness." The article pointed out that "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" was composed a few months before the author's marriage. The poet was in pain for losing the possibility of meeting Xiang Ling. For this reason, Ding and Fang believe that "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" is not a record and evaluation of history. "I would like to be a winged bird in the sky, and a twig on the ground. Sometimes the eternity of heaven and earth will end, and this hatred will last forever." It is the poet who expressed his pain and deep feelings through the tragedy of the previous emperor's concubine.
From the perspective of "poetry expresses ambition" and "poetry conveys emotion", Ding and Fang's opinions are not unreasonable. But in terms of the historical reality and social significance reflected in the work and its influence over thousands of years, we cannot but say that it is a record of history and an evaluation of historical events. As for Bai's own experience of love tragedy, it undoubtedly contributed to his understanding and analysis of Li Yang's love tragedy, which made his poems delicate in texture, sincere in emotion, and endowed with infinite artistic charm.
"The sun rises high", "does not go to bed early", "nights are full of nights", "not seen enough", etc., seem to be extremely happy, like a comedy scene. However, the extreme happiness reflects the endless hatred behind it. . Tang Xuanzong's debauchery harmed the country, which led to political tragedy, which in turn led to the love tragedy between him and Yang Guifei. The creator of the tragedy finally becomes the protagonist of the tragedy. This is a special and twisty part of the story, and it is also the reason why the hero and heroine in the poem have "eternal hatred". Many people say that "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" has an allegorical meaning. I think this is where the allegorical meaning of this poem lies. So, how does the poet express "eternal hatred"? The poet's depiction of the death of Concubine Yang Guifei in Maweipo was extremely delicate, and he vividly expressed Tang Xuanzong's inner conflicts and painful feelings that he couldn't bear to part with but couldn't save. Because of this "bloody and tearful" farewell, there is that endless hatred. Subsequently, the poet used many pens and inks to repeatedly exaggerate Tang Xuanzong's longing for Yang Guifei from all aspects. However, the storyline of the poem did not stop at one emotional point, but instead unfolded the character's inner world layer by layer, sensing his scenery. Constantly changing, moving time and the story forward, using the characters' thoughts and feelings to develop and promote the development of the plot. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty went to Shu after a farewell, and felt very sad and miserable in his heart. On the way back to Shu, he revisited old places, which brought back sad memories. After returning to the palace, he felt sad after seeing things during the day, and couldn't sleep at night. I thought about it day and night but couldn't get it, so I put my hope in dreams, but "it's been years since birth and death, and my soul has never come to dream." At this point in the poem, the "hate" of "everlasting regret" has been written very touchingly, and it seems that the story can end here. However, the poet changed his writing style, opened up a different realm, and with the help of the colorful wings of imagination, he conceived a charming and moving fairyland, pushing the plot of the tragic story to a climax, making the story more twists and turns, with ups and downs and waves. This turn of events is both unexpected and reasonable. Due to the constant conflicts and collisions between subjective desires and objective reality, the poem vividly expresses the characters' ever-changing psychology, making the story more vivid and moving.
"Song of Everlasting Regret" is a narrative poem with a strong lyrical component. The poet uses the lyrical techniques that Chinese traditional poetry is good at in narrating stories and shaping characters, harmoniously combining narrative, scene description and lyricism. , forming the lyrical looping characteristics of poetry. The poet sometimes injects the characters' thoughts and feelings into the scenery, and uses the refraction of the scenery to highlight the characters' mood; sometimes he captures the characteristic scenery and things around the characters, and expresses the inner feelings through the characters' feelings about them, rendering them layer by layer, just right. It expresses the difficult-to-reach feelings deep in the heart of the characters. From the loose yellow leaves to the green mountains of Shu, from the rainy night in the palace to the triumphant return, from day to night, from spring to autumn, I touch things and feel sad everywhere, and think about people when I see things, repeatedly exaggerating the suffering of the protagonist in the poem from all aspects Pursuit and search. If you can't find it in real life, go to the dream to find it. If you can't find it in the dream, go to the fairyland to find it. Such ups and downs and layers of rendering make the characters' emotions spiral and rise to a climax. It is through such layers of rendering that the poet repeatedly expresses emotions and goes back and forth to make the characters' thoughts and feelings more profound and rich, making the poem "delicate in texture" and more artistically appealing. As an eternal narrative poem, " The artistic achievement of "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" is very high. Throughout the ages, many people have affirmed the special artistic charm of this poem. How does "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" artistically infect and seduce readers? It is perhaps its greatest artistic feature, its melodiousness and pathos, and it is also its power that has attracted readers for thousands of years, making them infected and seduced.
The article "Eternal Regret" is charming!
Bai Letian said. It can be seen that the poet's heart really poured too much emotion into "Song of Everlasting Sorrow".
Below, the poet describes in detail the scene of the emperor's soldiers fleeing into the southwest in a hurry after the Anshi Rebellion, especially the destruction of the love between Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei during this turmoil. "The six armies had no choice but to do nothing. They died in front of the horses with their eyebrows turned. The flowers and flowers left the land without anyone to take it, and the green and green gilts and jade scratched their heads. The king hid his face and could not save him. Looking back, the blood and tears flowed harmoniously." This is what they wrote in Mawei Poe's farewell scene. "The six armies did not send out" and demanded the death of Concubine Yang because he was angry that Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty was infatuated with women and was causing harm to the country and the people. The death of Concubine Yang is a key plot in the whole story. After that, their love became a tragedy. Then, from "the yellow leaves are scattered in the wind and the wind is blowing" to "the soul never comes to dream", the poet It captures the heart-wrenching "hate" in the character's spiritual world, and uses a sour and moving tone to describe and describe Tang Xuanzong's loneliness and sadness in Shu after the death of Yang Guifei. He also reminisces about the past on the road and sees things after returning to the palace. Thinking about people, feeling emotions when touching scenes, and all kinds of feelings about things and people all year round. The lingering longing for lovesickness makes people feel heartbroken. Precisely because the poet exaggerated the emotions of the characters to such an extent, the arrival of the Taoist priests and the appearance of the fairyland later gave people a sense of reality, and they no longer thought it was just a castle in the air.
From "Linqiong Taoist Hongdu Guest" to the end of the poem, it is written that the Taoist helped Tang Xuanzong find Yang Guifei. The poet adopts a romantic approach, suddenly going up to the sky and suddenly down to the earth, "the blue sky above is poor and the yellow spring is below, and neither place can be seen". Later, Yang Guifei was found on the ethereal fairy mountain on the sea, and she reappeared in the fairyland as "a lonely jade face with tears streaming down her face, a branch of pear blossoms with spring rain", and she enthusiastically welcomed the Han family's envoys. The poem reiterates the previous oath, reflects Tang Xuanzong's longing for her, and further deepens and exaggerates the theme of "everlasting regret". At the end of the poem, it ends with "It lasts forever, and sometimes it ends, this hatred lasts forever", which points out the theme, responds to the beginning, and achieves "more than enough clear sound", giving readers room for association and aftertaste.
The first thing that gives us the enjoyment of artistic beauty in "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" is the touching and moving story in the poem, as well as the exquisite and unique artistic conception of the poem. The center of the whole article is the song "Eternal Regret", but the poet starts from the "heavy color" and tries his best to elaborate and exaggerate it. "The sun rises high", "does not go to bed early", "nights are full of nights", "not seen enough", etc., seem to be extremely happy, like a comedy scene. However, the extreme happiness reflects the endless hatred behind it. . Tang Xuanzong's debauchery harmed the country, which led to political tragedy, which in turn led to the love tragedy between him and Yang Guifei. The creator of the tragedy finally becomes the protagonist of the tragedy. This is a special and twisty part of the story, and it is also the reason why the hero and heroine in the poem have "eternal hatred". Many people have said in the past that "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" has an allegorical meaning, and this is where the allegorical meaning of this poem lies. So, how does the poet express "eternal hatred"? The poet's depiction of the death of Concubine Yang Guifei in Maweipo was extremely delicate, and he vividly expressed Tang Xuanzong's inner conflicts and painful feelings that he couldn't bear to part with but couldn't save.