Man Bodhisattva
The flat forests are deserted and smoke curls, and cold mountains are sad and blue. When darkness enters a high-rise building, some people worry upstairs.
The jade steps stand empty, and old bird flies back. Where is way back? The long pavilion is even shorter.
This poem is said to have been written by Li Bai. The Song Dynasty monk Wenying wrote in Xiangshan Yelu: “I don't know who wrote this word at Cangshui post office in Dingzhou, and I don't know who wrote it again. Wei Daofutai saw him and fell in love. Later, when he went to Changsha, he received an ancient collection from Zizi. Xuan (Zeng Bu) Neihan's family knows that Li Bai wrote this." Later generations consider this song "Bodhisattva Man" and "Recalling Qin'e Xiao Shengyan" as "the ancestors of hundreds of generations of lyrics and music".
The theme of this poem is very clear: thoughts of travel. This poem was written at Cangshui Post Office in Dingzhou, showing that it can resonate with many tourists. In ancient times, to transfer documents and communicate with whole country, each dynasty built a network of postal roads from capital to whole country, and postal stations and pavilions were built on postal roads. "One ten mile long pavilion, one five mile short pavilion" to manage postal roads, transmit information, accompany servants, and provide resting, lodging, and eating areas for pedestrians. Therefore, post station often became last part of farewell of the ancients, and also became a symbol in Chinese literature.
As sun sets, author stands at post office, looking off into distance, all he can see is a blurry scene of flat forests and cold smoke. The mountains are endless, obscuring people's vision. The word "zhi" in sentence expresses not only blurred vision after twilight, but also expresses restless emotions of author. In this case, ruthless Qingshan also makes people sad.
This method was commonly used by ancients for empathy, that is, endowing human feelings with decorations, awareness of merging of scenes, unity of things and myself. In "Youcun Qihua" by Li Tiaoyuan of Qing Dynasty, there is: word "zhi" is most beautiful word, starting with Taibai Qi "The smoke of Pinglin Momo is like weaving." Since then, sentence "weaving" has changed. Huang Su of Qing Dynasty wrote in the Liaoyuan Qi Anthology: So, those who are "cold mountain" and "sad" are also like that.
At dusk, tired bird flies away, and author himself still stands alone on pavilion, stands on steps, what is he thinking about? What is he confusing? This situation often occurs in classical poetry. Cui Hao of Tang Dynasty wrote in Yellow Crane Tower: "Where city is at sunset and Yanbo River makes people sad"; Feng Yanxi of Five Dynasties returned from drinking and wrote, “Independent fellow. The wind on bridge is full of sleeves, and new moon people in Pinlin return after”; Liu Yong of Northern Song Dynasty also wrote, “Standing on a dangerous building, wind is thin, looking at extreme spring sadness, and sky is gloomy. In afterglow of grass and smoke, who would hope for meaning without words”.
All of above verses show confused state of author. Such a literary scene appeared not only in China, but also in West. The famous German writer Goethe once wrote a poem in a small wooden hunting lodge that reads: “The breeze gathers end of forest and group rests on mountain. The birds are sleeping peacefully, and I want to go to rest” (translated by Qian Zhongshu). Fifty years later, when I revisited place and read little poem I had written on blackboard, I could not help but burst into tears with emotion, and shortly thereafter Kant died.
Kant's "I also want to return to my rest" and "Where is return" in this poem actually have same meaning. Scholars in ancient China worked hard all their lives for careers, worried about world, and tired of everything. At same time, people feel that this road is dangerous and dangerous, and people always miss returning to their hometown, and returning to their hometown means retiring and giving up their official career. All Chinese people have Tao Yuanming stories in their hearts, and they all want to relax and have fun at home. On one hand, benefits of Confucianism to world, and on other hand, Taoism is freedom and freedom How can Chinese writers not be contradictory in their souls.
Cao Xuequan of Ming Dynasty believed that this was "Li Bai's thinking of Shu." If we could find a work with a similar thought in Li Bai's poetry, it would be Hard to Journey, which reads: "Golden sake goblets cost ten thousand dollars, and jade plates are ashamed of tens of thousands of dollars. Stopping cup and dropping chopsticks, you can't eat, draw your sword and look around in amazement. Want to cross Yellow River, which is blocked by ice, and climb snow-capped mountains of Taihang River. When you are free to fish on Bixi River, you suddenly return to boat and dream of sun. Difficult road, difficult road, and many divergent roads. Where are you now? » However, Li Bai's poetry is free and romantic, but this poem is heavier.
The scene at beginning of poem is a twilight cold mountain seen above as a backdrop; scene at end of poem is long pavilions and short pavilions in phenomenon of author. “Long pavilions are short pavilions” makes one feel distance of journey and hopelessness of way back. At end of reading, people's thoughts endlessly follow long pavilion and short pavilion.