"The solitary smoke rises straight into the sky in the vast desert, and the setting sun becomes round on the long river." This is a famous saying that has been passed down through the ages. It describes the loneliness, silence and depression outside the Great Wall, giving people a desolate feeling.
Analysis of "The solitary smoke is straight in the desert, and the sun is setting in the long river"
Analysis 1:
The boundless desert can only be described by the word "big" Its landscape; on this pure and desolate background, a single puff of smoke rising in the distance not only looks lonely, but also particularly eye-catching, and only the word "lone smoke" can describe its charm. "Guyan" is followed by the word "straight", making the scenery suddenly become upright, tough, upright and powerful. "The sun sets over the long river", in the vast desert, there are no mountains or trees, only the Yellow River runs through it. As far as the eye can see, the desert is boundless and the Yellow River is endless. The word "long" naturally comes to the author's mind. And above the "Long River" is the round sunset. The word "round" here and the word "straight" in front are both used so realistically and vividly that it is difficult to describe their beauty. It's just like what Xiang Ling said in "A Dream of Red Mansions": "The word 'straight' seems unreasonable, and the word 'round' seems too vulgar. When I close the book and think about it, I seem to have seen this scene. If I find two more words to replace this Two, but I can't find two more words."
Analysis 2:
"The solitary smoke is straight in the desert, and the sun is setting in the long river." This is not a sentence describing a river. It is actually a sentence. It is a detailed description of the strange and magnificent scenery outside the frontier fortress. The picture is broad and the artistic conception is powerful. The border desert is vast and boundless, so the word "big" in "desert" is used. The frontier fortress is desolate and there are no wonders. The thick smoke from the beacon tower is particularly eye-catching, so it is called "lone smoke". The character "solitary" expresses the monotony of the scenery, while the character "straight" immediately following it expresses the beauty of its strength and perseverance. There are no mountains and trees in the desert, and the Yellow River that runs through it cannot express the poet's feelings without using the word "long". The sunset can easily give people a sentimental impression, but the word "round" is used here, but it gives people a warm, warm and boundless feeling. The word "round" and the word "straight" not only accurately depict the scene of the desert, but also express the author's deep feelings. The poet skillfully dissolves his loneliness into the description of the vast natural scene.
Source of the work
"The solitary smoke is straight in the desert, and the sun is setting in the long river" comes from "The Envoy to the Fortress". It is a poem written by Wang Wei, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, on his way to the border to condolences to the soldiers. A narrative poem describing the journey to the fortress and the scenery outside the fortress seen during the journey.
Original text of the work
Sent to the fortress
The bicycle wants to ask where it is, but it belongs to the country and has passed away.
Zheng Peng left Hansai, returned to Yan and entered Hutian.
The solitary smoke in the desert is straight, and the sun is setting over the long river.
Whenever Xiao Guan is waiting to ride, he will always protect Yan Ran.
Words and Sentences
⑴ Envoy to the fortress: I was ordered to send an envoy to the frontier fortress. Envoy: to send an envoy.
⑵Bicycle: A car with few vehicles. Here it is described as a light vehicle simply. Asking the border: to visit the border fortress means to express condolences to the officers and soldiers guarding the border.
⑶ Subordinate country: There are several explanations: One refers to those ethnic minorities who are affiliated with the Han court and retain their national title. Both the Han and Tang dynasties had some vassal states. The second refers to the official name. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, there was an official position called Dianshuguo. After Su Wu returned to the Han Dynasty, he was awarded the official position of Dianshuguo. Subordinate country is the abbreviation of Diansuguo. In the Han Dynasty, officials in charge of foreign affairs were called Diansuguo. In the Tang Dynasty, people sometimes used "subordinate country" to refer to envoys on border missions. Here, poets used it to refer to their identity as envoys. Juyan: Place name. It was called Juyanze in the Han Dynasty and Juyanhai in the Tang Dynasty. It is located in the northern part of Ejina Banner in Inner Mongolia today. In the Western Han Dynasty, there was Juyan County in Zhangye County (see "Hanshu Geography"), and the old city was located in the southeast of today's Ejina Banner. In addition, the Liangzhou Governor of the Eastern Han Dynasty had Zhangye in the Juyan state, and its jurisdiction was in the Juyanze area. The general annotations for this sentence say that Wang Wei passed by Juyan. However, Wang Wei's mission did not actually require passing through Juyan. Therefore, the "Selected Poems of Chinese Dynasties" compiled by Lin Geng and Feng Yuanjun believes that this sentence refers to the Tang Dynasty's "vast frontier fortress, with dependent countries extending beyond Juyan".
⑷Zhengpeng: A dry canopy flying far away in the wind, here is the poet's self-explanation.
⑸Guiyan: Geese are migratory birds, flying north in spring and south in autumn. This refers to geese flying north. Hu Tian: The territory of the Hu people. This refers to the north occupied by the Tang army.
⑹Da desert: Big desert, here roughly refers to the desert north of Liangzhou. Gu Yan: There are two interpretations in Zhao Diancheng's note: One goes that when the ancient border guards burned wolf dung, "the smoke was straight and gathered, and it did not disperse even if the wind blew." There are many whirlwinds outside the Great Wall, "smoke and sand are rising straight up". According to later generations, field investigators in Gansu and Xinjiang confirmed that there were indeed cyclones like "lone smoke rising straight up". Also: Guyan may also be a safe fire used by border guards in the Tang Dynasty. Volume 218 of "Tongdian" says: "At dusk, peace and fire will not arrive." Hu Sansheng's note: ""Liu Dian": When the garrison in Tang Town arrives, the generals will go thirty miles away. A torch of smoke is called a peaceful fire. 7. Changhe: the Yellow River; one theory refers to an inland river flowing through the desert north of Liangzhou (now Wuwei, Gansu). This river was in the Tang Dynasty. It was called Macheng River, which is suspected to be the present-day Shiyang River.
⑻Xiaoguan: The name of the ancient pass, also known as Longshan Pass, its original location is in the southeast of Guyuan, Ningxia. Waiting Cavalry: Cavalry responsible for reconnaissance and communications. Wang Wei's envoy to Hexi did not pass through Xiaoguan. This is probably the meaning of He Xun's poem "waiting to ride out of Xiaoguan and pursue the troops to Mayi", which is not a literal description. Waiting for riding: one means "waiting for officials".
⑼ Protectorate: The Tang Dynasty established six major protectorate offices in the northwest frontier, including Anxi and Anbei. Their officers were called protectors. Each government assigned one chief protector and two deputy governors to be responsible for all affairs in the jurisdiction. . This refers to the former enemy commander. Yanran: The name of the ancient mountain is now Hangai Mountain in Mongolia. This refers to the front line. "Book of the Later Han·Biography of Dou Xian": Xian led his army to defeat Shan Yu's army, "then climbed Yanran Mountain, marched for more than three thousand miles, carved stones to show his merits, recorded the mighty virtue of Han Dynasty, and ordered Ban Gu to write an inscription." The meaning of these two sentences is that in On the way, he met the waiting cavalry and learned that the commander was still at the front after defeating the enemy.
Vernacular translation of the work
I wanted to visit the border by bicycle, but the vassal country I passed passed Juyan.
Thousands of miles of flying pods have also floated out of Hansai, and the wild geese returning to the north are soaring in the sky.
The solitary smoke rises straight up in the vast desert, and the sun sets perfectly on the endless Yellow River.
Go to Xiaoguan and meet the scouting knight and tell me that the Protector is already in Yanran.
Creative background
In the 24th year of Kaiyuan (736) of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Tubo sent troops to attack Xiaobolu (in the north of present-day Kashmir), a tributary state of the Tang Dynasty. In the spring of the twenty-fifth year of Kaiyuan (737), Cui Xiyi, deputy ambassador of Hexi Jiedu, defeated the Tibetan army in Qingdixi. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty ordered Wang Wei to serve as an envoy to Liangzhou as a supervisory censor, go to the fortress to express condolences, inspect the military situation, and serve as the judge of the Hexi Jiedu Envoy. In fact, Wang Wei was excluded from the imperial court. This poem was written on the way out of the fortress.
Appreciation of Works
"The Envoy to the Fortress" is published in Volume 126 of "Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty". This poem describes the difficult conditions of being sent to the frontier and expresses the author's tragic feelings and loneliness of wandering around the world.
The two lines of the first couplet explain the purpose of the trip and the place of arrival, and why the poem was written; the two lines of the chin couplet contain multiple connotations, using the fluffy grass to express the feeling of wandering; the two lines of the neck couplet describe the scene in the border desert. The magnificent scene, the realm is vast and the atmosphere is majestic; the two sentences at the end of the couplet imply that the war has been won, showing admiration for the protector. This poem not only reflects the life in the frontier, but also expresses the poet's loneliness, loneliness, and sadness caused by being excluded, as well as the generous and tragic feelings that arise after his emotions are nurtured, purified, and sublimated in the majestic scenery of the desert. An open-minded feeling.
"The bicycle wants to ask about the side", and the light vehicle goes there, and the place it goes is: "The country is passing Juyan." Juyan is in the northwest of Zhangye County, Gansu Province, far away from the northwest frontier.
"Zheng Peng leaves Hansai, returning wild geese enter Hutian." The poet compares himself with "Peng" and "wild geese", saying that he came to "Hansai" like a fluffy grass blown away by the wind. Entering "Hu Tian" like the "Gui Yan" flying north. In ancient poems, flying puffs are often used to describe wanderers, but here they are used to describe a minister with a mission to the court, which is a metaphor for the poet's inner anger and depression. Echoes the "bicycle" in the first sentence. A journey of thousands of miles was conveyed in just ten words.
Then we capture the typical scenery in the desert and describe it: "The solitary smoke is straight in the desert, and the sun is setting in the long river."
The last two sentences are written when arriving at the frontier fortress: "Xiao Guan is waiting to ride, The guard is at Yanran." When they arrived at the frontier fortress, they did not meet the general. The scout told the envoy that the general was at the front line at Yanran.
The poet focused his pen and ink on what he was best at winning - describing scenes. The author's mission happened to be in spring. On the way, he saw several lines of returning geese flying north. The poet created a metaphor based on the scene and used the returning geese to compare himself. He not only narrated the story but also described the scenery. It was two strokes in one stroke, which was appropriate and natural. In particular, the couplet "The solitary smoke is straight in the desert, and the sun sets over the long river" describes the strange and magnificent scenery outside the frontier fortress seen after entering the frontier fortress. The border desert is vast and boundless, so the word "big" in "desert" is used. The frontier fortress is desolate and there are no wonders. The thick smoke from the beacon tower is particularly eye-catching, so it is called "lone smoke". The character "solitary" expresses the monotony of the scenery, while the character "straight" immediately following it expresses the beauty of its strength and perseverance. There are no mountains and trees in the desert, and the Yellow River that runs through it cannot express the poet's feelings without using the word "long". The sunset can easily give people a sentimental impression, but the word "round" is used here, but it gives people a warm, warm and boundless feeling. The word "round" and the word "straight" not only accurately depict the scene of the desert, but also express the author's deep feelings. The poet skillfully dissolves his loneliness into the description of the vast natural scene.
Comments by famous experts
Qu Fu's "The Formation of Tang Poetry" commented on this poem: "The first four describe the faraway place, so there are the characters "Guo" and "Out" and "In". The words "lone smoke", "sunset", "zhi" and "yuan" are used to write that there is no one there, and the words "zhi" and "yuan" are used, and the words "fear" are doubled, and then the words "qi and 8" are used, which is very powerful."
Xu Zeng's "Er'an Shuo Tang Poems" commented on this poem: "The couplet of 'Desert' and 'Long River' is unique throughout the ages."
Wang Shizhen's "Tang Xian Samadhi Collection of Jianjiang" commented on this poem: "' The two characters "Zhi" and "Yuan" are extremely tempered and very natural. It is wrong for later generations to only talk about the method of making characters; it is also wrong to not talk about the method of making characters. "
In "A Dream of Red Mansions" by Cao Xueqin. The character Xiang Ling in the book commented on this poem: "'The solitary smoke in the desert is straight, and the sun sets round in the long river.' How can the smoke be straight? The sun is naturally round. The word 'straight' seems unreasonable, and the word 'round' seems too vulgar. "I have to look for two more words to replace these two, but I can't find two more words." "The advantage of poetry is that it has meaning that cannot be expressed in words, but it is realistic when you think about it, and it seems unreasonable. It is reasonable and sentimental to want to go."
Zhao Diancheng commented on the two lines of this poem's neck couplet in "Wang Youcheng's Collection of Notes" and said: "Those who see the scenery in person will know how good the word 'zhi' is."
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Wang Guowei spoke highly of the two lines of this poem's neck couplet in "Human Words": "'The bright moon shines on the snow,' 'The river flows day and night,' 'The bright moon hangs in the sky,' 'The sun sets on the Yellow River,' such as The realm can be described as spectacular through the ages. Looking for lyrics, the only ones written by Nalan Rongruo are works by Sai Shang, such as "Thousands of tents with lights in the night" in "Long Love", and "Thousands of tents and huts are drunk, and the figures are crumbling" in "Like a Dream" are not close. ”
About the author
Wang Wei, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, was named Mojie. He was originally from Qi (now part of Shanxi), and his father moved to Puzhou (which governs the west of Yongji, now Shanxi). He was a native of Hedong. He was a Jinshi during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (713-741). He was also called Wang Youcheng because he lived in Lantian and Wangchuan in his later years and lived a leisurely life as an official and a hermit. His poems were as famous as Meng Haoran's, and he was also called "Wang Meng" in his early years. The most important works are landscape poems, which promote the hermit life and Buddhist Zen philosophy through the depiction of pastoral landscapes. They have exquisite bodywork and vivid descriptions, and have unique achievements in music and calligraphy and painting.