The author of "Climbing Feilai Peak" is Wang Anshi, a writer of the Song Dynasty. The full text of his ancient poem is as follows:

On the Qianxun Pagoda at Feilai Peak, I hear the rooster crow and see the sun rise.

Don’t be afraid of clouds covering your eyes, just because you are at the top.

Foreword

"Climbing Feilai Peak" is a seven-character quatrain written by Wang Anshi, a poet of the Northern Song Dynasty. The author of this poem has a panoramic view of himself from the distance when he climbed to the Qianxun Tower. Direct description from his perspective to express his excitement and joy, as well as his lofty political ambitions.

Notes

⑴ Feilai Peak: Baolin Mountain outside Shaoxing, Zhejiang. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, there was Yingtian Pagoda on it, commonly known as Tashan. According to ancient legend, this mountain flew from Dongwu County, Langya County (now Zhucheng, Shandong), hence its name.

⑵Qianxun: The Jiyan Tower is high. In ancient times, eight feet was used to describe something tall.

⑶Wen: hear, hear.

⑷unafraid: not afraid, not afraid.

⑸ Floating clouds: Clouds suspended in mid-air, a metaphor for a treacherous villain.

⑹ Eye: line of sight.

⑺Yuan: Because.

⑻The highest level: the highest point.

Translation

There is a tower towering into the clouds at the top of Feilai Peak. I heard that you can see the rising sun when the rooster crows. I am not afraid of layers of clouds blocking my distant view, just because I am standing on the highest Feilai Peak here, climbing high and looking far, with a broad mind.

Appreciation

"Climbing Feilai Peak" was written by Wang Anshi when he was 30 years old. In the summer of the second year of Huangyou (1050), when he returned to his hometown in Linchuan, Jiangxi Province after completing his term as magistrate of Yin County, Zhejiang Province, he passed through Hangzhou and wrote this poem. It was his first foray into officialdom. At this time, the poet was in his prime and had great ambitions. He just took advantage of climbing Feilai Peak to express his thoughts and broad feelings, which can be regarded as a prelude to the implementation of the new law.

In the first sentence of this poem, the poet uses the exaggerated word "Qianxun" to express the height of his own foothold by referring to the height of the ancient pagoda on the peak. The second sentence of the poem cleverly simulates the glorious scene of the rising sun seen on the tower, showing the poet's vigor, ambition for reform, and full confidence in the future, which becomes the emotional tone of the whole poem.

Start a sentence with the topography of Feilai Peak. This sentence expresses the high risk of climbing. The following sentence describes how far away the goal is. To follow the quotation of the sentence, "Xuanzhong Ji" says: "There is a big tree in Taodu Mountain, called Taodu, with branches extending three thousand miles away. There is a rooster on it. When the sun shines on this tree, the rooster crows, and all the roosters in the world follow it. "If you test this, the seven words "I heard the rooster crow and saw the sun rising" not only say that his eyes are thousands of miles away, but also that his voice is heard far and wide, and it is quite powerful. Although it is a foreshadowing, it should not be taken lightly. It is a singing in the actual scene. And the author's use of words is very original. For example, in the allusion, "The sun rises and shines on this tree, and the rooster crows." This originally means "the sun rises first, and the rooster crows the day after." However, Wang Anshi did not say, "I heard the sun rises and heard the rooster crow." Instead, he said, "I heard the rooster crow and saw the sun." "rising" means "first the rooster crows, then the sun rises". Poet's use of words is often a little bit different. This cannot be forced to be smooth, or the use of words is wrong, for fear of having another meaning.

In the third sentence, the word "unafraid" is used as a solemn statement, which is impressive. "Floating clouds cover your eyes", a Chinese allusion. According to research by Professor Wu Xiaoru, people in the Western Han Dynasty often used floating clouds as a metaphor for evil villains, such as "Xinyu Shenwei Chapter": "Therefore, evil ministers shield the wise, just like floating clouds obstructing the sun." Wang's sentence uses this meaning. He also has seven verses in his poem "Impressions from Reading History", which he says in a couplet: "The darkness at that time was still a mistake, and the confusion of customs made it more confusing." If you want to achieve a great cause, the most terrifying thing is "clouds covering your eyes" and "the end of the world". "Vulgarity confuses truth", and Wang Anshi's later implementation of the new law failed just because of this. The poet's good intentions are evident in this poem.

The fourth sentence uses "being at the highest level" to elevate the poetic realm, showing a far-sighted spirit. The two sentences, the transfer and the conclusion, are wonderful love words and are also famous throughout the ages; the author’s finishing touch is the conclusion. If we talk about the situation, the word order should be "Because I am at the highest level, I am not afraid of clouds covering my eyes." However, the author reverses it, talking about the effect first and then the cause; the inversion of one cause and one effect shows the change of poetic vision. Although this is a common method of writing poetry, it also shows the depth of the author's conception. The last two sentences are the poetic vision of the whole poem, which contains profound philosophy: people cannot just focus on immediate interests, but should look at the overall situation and the long-term.

"I am not afraid of the floating clouds covering my eyes, just because I am at the highest level." and Su Shi "I don't know the true face of Mount Lu, just because I am in this mountain."

"Inherited in the same vein, the expression techniques are very similar. In terms of affirmation, Wang Shi's metaphor is a metaphor for "mastering the correct viewpoint and method, and reaching a certain height of understanding, you can see the essence through the phenomenon, and you will not be confused by the illusion of things. . "Su Shi is referring to the negative aspect, metaphorically speaking, "The reason why people are confused by the illusion of things is because they do not observe and understand things comprehensively, objectively and correctly. "Both are extremely philosophical and are often used as mottos.