The famous saying of "Drinking the First Sunny and Later Rain on the Lake" is: If you want to compare the West Lake to the West, it is always better to put on heavy makeup and light makeup.

Drinking on the lake, the first clear and then the rain

Su Shi [Song Dynasty]

The water is clear only when the water is shining, and the mountains are empty and rainy, which is also strange.

If you want to compare the West Lake to the West, it is always better to put on light makeup and heavy makeup.

Translation

Under the bright sunshine, the water of the West Lake is sparkling and beautiful, and it looks beautiful; on rainy days, under the cover of the rain curtain, the mountains around the West Lake Confused, if there is nothing, it also seems very strange.

If the West Lake is compared to the beauty Xi Shi, it is very suitable to wear light makeup and heavy makeup.

Notes

Lake: the West Lake in Hangzhou.

潋滟(liàn ??yàn): the appearance of flashing waves on the water surface.

Fang Hao: It looks very beautiful.

Kongmeng: a confused and ethereal look.

Xizi: Xishi, a famous beauty in the Yue Kingdom during the Spring and Autumn Period. Her original name was Shi Yiguang, or Xian Shi. She ranked first among the four beauties in ancient times (Xi Shi, Wang Zhaojun, Diao Chan, and Yang Yuhuan). He lived in the west of Huanshaxi Village (in today's Zhuji City, Zhejiang Province), so he was called Xishi.

Xiangyi: It also looks very beautiful.

This is a poem praising the beauty of West Lake. This poem is not a description of a single scene or a momentary scene of the West Lake, but a comprehensive description and summary of the beautiful scenery of the West Lake. Especially the last two sentences are considered to be an appropriate comment on the West Lake. The author took a tour of the West Lake from morning to night, admiring the beautiful scenery of the lake and mountains while drinking and imagining his thoughts. So he wrote this masterpiece that has been passed down for a while.