Listen to this article张宗祥 行书：李商隐《瑶池》
【释文】阿池阿母绮窗开，黄竹歌成动地哀。八骏日行三万里，穆王何事不重来。
【款识】迩安仁兄雅属，张宗祥。
【注释】瑶池：传说中昆仑山上池名，西王母的居处。黄竹：地名。传用穆王游黄竹之丘，遇风雪，见路有冻人，作诗三章哀之。穆王：西周人。传他曾乘八匹骏马拉的车西游至昆仑山，西王母宴之于瑶池，临别对歌，相约三年后再来，但不久便死了。
【简析】
诗的开篇只写西王母的疑窦重重，而不写“黄竹歌声动地哀”的原由，给读者留出思考想象的空间，尽得含蓄之妙。“动地哀”更是双“哀”共寓、一字领篇。第一哀是遍地哀鸿之“哀”，封建帝王“不问苍生问鬼神”整天沉迷于妄求长生不老的臆想之中，老百姓又怎能过上好日子呢？哀鸿遍地，穆天子的江山社稷也不会长久。第二哀是妄求长生不老未果，仍要命归黄泉的自我欺骗之“哀”。生老病死是不可抗拒的客观规律，可是帝王们为了永享人间尊荣，硬是逆天数而动，非要借助什么“灵丹妙药”来改变生命节律，不是他骗人，就是人骗他，不是盛年早衰，就是加速灭亡。“哀”字的运用，切中了被谴责者的要害，反映出诗人驾驭语言文字的非同凡响的技巧和能力。
尽管穆天子有日行三万里的八匹骏马和无比的富贵尊荣，可他再也无法赴瑶池与西王母相会了，因为他的生命已经终结，骏马追不回，皇权换不回，西王母也等不回。纵观历史，同穆天子一样的秦始皇、汉武帝等人始终都想找到长生不老的“灵丹妙药”，但他们的努力最终都是恨水东流，荒冢一堆。歌在人却亡，马骏人无奈，这主观多情与客观无情的强烈对比，表面上是在写周穆王的悲哀和贪婪，实则是对与诗人同代的唐朝帝王们不顾天下安危、不管百姓死活，一心只想长生不老求仙拜佛恶劣行径的揭露和讽刺。
讽刺求仙，本来是颇费议论的主题，但此诗却不着一字议论。作者的用意，完全融化在西王母的动作和心理活动中，以具体生动的形象来表达，构思极为巧妙。末句是西王母心中的问号，而不是由诗人直接提出的反诘之辞。因此，诗的讽刺虽然犀利尖刻，但表现方式却是委婉曲折的，不是直截了当的挖苦嘲笑。
【Simple Translation】
The opening of the poem is only about the doubts of the Queen Mother of the West, but not about the reason why “the song of the yellow bamboo moves the earth to mourn”, leaving room for the reader to think and imagine, which is a wonderful subtlety. The “moving earth mourning” is a double “mourning” together, a word to lead the chapter. The first sorrow is the “sorrow” of mourning everywhere, the feudal emperor “does not ask the gods and ghosts” all day long indulge in the dream of immortality, how can the common people live a good life? Wailing everywhere, the Mu Tienzi’s mountains and the country will not last long. The second mourning is the “mourning” of self-deception that one has to die in the yellow spring after unsuccessfully seeking immortality. Old age, sickness and death are irresistible objective laws, but the emperors, in order to enjoy the honor and glory of the earth forever, insisted on moving against the heavenly numbers, and had to use any “elixir” to change the rhythm of life, either he cheated people, or people cheated him, either in their prime and early decline, or accelerated demise. The use of the word “mourning” hits the nail on the head of the condemned, reflecting the poet’s extraordinary skill and ability in mastering language and words.
Although Mu Tianzi had eight horses that traveled 30,000 miles a day and immense wealth and honor, he could no longer go to Yaochi to meet with the Queen Mother of the West because his life was already over, the horses could not be recovered, the royal power could not be exchanged, and the Queen Mother of the West could not wait. Throughout history, the same as Mu Tianzi Qin Shi Huang, Han Wu Di and other people have always wanted to find the “elixir” of immortality, but their efforts are ultimately hate water flowing east, a pile of barren mounds. The strong contrast between subjective sentimentality and objective ruthlessness is apparently about the sadness and greed of King Mu of Zhou, but in fact it is a revelation and satire of the bad behavior of the Tang emperors of the same generation as the poet, who disregarded the safety and security of the world, disregarded the lives of the people, and were only interested in immortality and worshiping Buddha.
The satire on the pursuit of immortality is originally a subject of much discussion, but this poem does not contain a single word of discussion. The author’s intention is completely melted into the actions and psychological activities of the Queen Mother of the West, and is expressed in concrete and vivid images, which is extremely cleverly conceived. The last line is a question mark in the mind of the Queen Mother of the West, rather than a direct rhetorical question from the poet. Therefore, although the poem’s sarcasm is sharp and biting, it is expressed in a euphemistic and twisted way, not in a straightforward sarcastic way.
