The sunset is infinitely beautiful, but it is almost dusk. The complete poem is as follows:

Le Youyuan/Deng Le Youyuan

The author is Li Shangyin? Dynasty Tang Dynasty

Xiang Wan felt unwell and drove to Guyuan.

The sunset is infinitely beautiful, but it’s almost dusk.

"Le Youyuan" is a poem by Li Shangyin, a poet of the Tang Dynasty. This poem is a five-character quatrain.

This poem praises the wilderness scenery before dusk and expresses my feelings. The first two sentences point out the reason for visiting Guyuan: because I felt uncomfortable at dusk, I drove up to Guyuan; the last two sentences praise the beauty of the evening scene: under the afterglow of the setting sun, the world is painted with a layer of gold. The last two lines of poetry have always been popular, with rich connotations and extremely high aesthetic and ideological values. The language of the whole poem is as clear as words, without any embellishments, the rhythm is lively, the sentiments are deep, and it is full of philosophy.

Word annotation

⑴Leyouyuan: In the south of Chang'an (today's Xi'an), it was the highest land in Chang'an City in the Tang Dynasty. Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty established Leyou Temple, also known as Leyou Garden. Climb it to see the city of Chang'an. Leyou was originally part of Yichun Garden in the Qin Dynasty and got its name in the early Western Han Dynasty. "Book of Han: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan" records that "in the third year of Shenjue's reign, he started to enjoy the garden." Xu, the first queen of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, died after giving birth and was buried here. Since "Yuan" and "Yuan" are homophonic, Leyou Garden was passed down as "Leyou Yuan". There is a record of this in "Guanzhong Chronicles": "Emperor Xu was buried in Leyouli, Chang'an County, and a temple was built in the north of Qujiang Pond. It was called Leyou Temple, and it was named after Yuan ("Chang'an Chronicles" mistakenly used the word "burial").

⑵ Xiangwan: evening. Discomfort: displeasure, displeasure.

⑶Guyuan: refers to Leyouyuan.

⑷Nearly: soon. ?

Vernacular translation

In the evening, I felt unhappy and drove to Guyuan.

The sunset is infinitely beautiful, but it is close to dusk.

Creative background

Leyou was originally a tourist attraction in the Tang Dynasty. Until the turn of the middle and late Tang Dynasty, Leyou was still a good place for people in the capital to visit. At the same time, because of its high location and easy sightseeing, literati often came here to write poems and express their feelings. The poets of the Tang Dynasty left nearly a hundred pearl quatrains in Leyouyuan, which have always been praised by people. The poet Li Shangyin is one of them.

Li Shangyin lived in the late Tang Dynasty when the national destiny was about to end. Although he had ambitions, he was unable to implement them and was very frustrated. When Li Shangyin was twenty-five years old, he was recommended as a Jinshi by Linghu Chu's son Linghu Gui. Soon after Linghu Chu died, he gained the respect of Wang Maozhi, who married his daughter to him. Because Wang Maozhi was an important figure in the Li Party, Li Shangyin was unable to extricate himself from the partisan struggle between Niu and Li, and was extremely frustrated in the officialdom. This song "Le Youyuan" is a true portrayal of his depression.

Literary Appreciation

This poem reflects the author's sad mood. When the poet climbed up to Leyouyuan to relieve his "uncomfortable" feelings, he saw a brilliant sunset and was filled with emotion.

The first two lines of this poem, "Feeling unwell towards the evening, drove to Guyuan by car" point out the time and reason for climbing Guyuan. "Xiangwan" means that it is getting dark, and "discomfort" means displeasure. The poet was in a melancholy mood. In order to relieve his boredom, he drove out to look at the scenery and climbed to the ancient plain, Leyouyuan. Since ancient times, poets and poets have been sensitive to thoughts and thoughts. Whenever they climb high and look into the distance, they are more likely to arouse endless thoughts: the sorrow of family and country, the feeling of life experience, the feelings of ancient and modern times, and the thoughts of man and nature. They are often intricately intertwined, and they are full of sorrow. Thousands, almost hard to describe. As soon as Chen Zi'ang climbed onto the ancient platform of Youzhou, he sighed, "Thinking of the heaven and the earth." This is probably the most representative example. Li Shangyin drove to Guyuan this time, not to seek emotion, but to relieve his current "feeling unwell".

The last two sentences "The sunset is infinitely beautiful, but it is almost dusk" describe such a picture: the afterglow shines, the sunset glows in the sky, the mountains are rouge, and the weather is myriad. The poet blends the feeling of the decline of the times, the pain of the decline of his family and country, and the sorrow of his old age into the scenery under the dusk and sunset. "Infinitely Good" is a warm praise for the scene under the sunset. However, with the word "just", the writing turned to a deep sadness. This is the poet's profound lament about his inability to retain beautiful things. These two sentences are ancient sayings with deep philosophical meaning, which contain the following meaning: The reason why the scenery is so enchanting is that it only looks infinitely beautiful when it is close to dusk. This almost aphoristic sigh has a profound meaning. Some people think that the setting sun is a sigh of lamentation about old age, poverty, and the end of the light; others think that this is the poet's love for life, persistence in the world, and his undying spirit, which is a positive and optimistic spirit. In fact, this place is not only a tribute to the natural scene under the sunset, but also a sigh for the times. The poet Li Shangyin foresaw the serious social crisis through the temporary prosperity of the Tang Empire at that time, and used this to express his inner helplessness. The broad and profound philosophical meaning contained in these two lines of poetry has been widely quoted in later generations and applied to all aspects of human society; it has also been extended, sublimated and even reversed, turning negative into positive, turning decay into magic. Create a whole new meaning. Therefore it has extremely high aesthetic and ideological value.

About the author

Li Shangyin Li Shangyin (about 813-about 858) was a poet in the Tang Dynasty. The courtesy name is Yishan, and the nicknames are Yuxisheng and Fan Nansheng. A native of Hanoi, Huaizhou (now Qinyang, Henan). In 837 AD, he was awarded the title of Jinshi. He once served as county captain, secretary Lang and Dongchuan Jiedushi judge.

Caught in the middle of the partisan struggle between Niu and Li, he was ostracized and lived in despair for the rest of his life. His poetry achievements are very high. Many of his "historical" poems are based on ancient times and satirized. His "untitled" poems are very famous. He is good at law and jue, rich in literary talent, and has a unique style. However, he suffers from too many allusions and obscure meanings. There is "Li Yishan Poetry Collection".