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The temperature all last week hovered in the high nineties, then it broke one hundred. Summer was early in the Midwest. The inside of the car was hard to cool. The sidewalks were like a furnace. The grass on the lawns withered and browned. It got so that I began singing to myself Phil Collins’ song, I Wish It Would Rain Down. [The video featuring a skit with Phil Collins as an unknown singer filling in, Eric Clapton on guitar, and a janitor, Chester Thomson, taking over the drums, is a must see.]

Yesterday, the blessed rain came down on me.

Bai Juyi has written two poems about Autumn Rain, not summer, but I thought they might chill the soul.

Walking in Night’s Fine Rain

Autumn clouds, vast and lonely
The night is slightly chilly.
And though my clothes are wet
I hear no sound of rain.

微雨夜行

漠漠秋云起
稍稍夜寒生
但觉衣裳湿
无点亦无声

Sleeping in an Autumn Rain

A cold night in autumn’s third month,
A lonely old man at peace within.
Lies down late, his lamp gone out,
And soundly sleeps amid the patter of rain.
The fiery ash inside the stove still warm,
Its fragrance adds warmth to his quilted covers.
As dawn comes clear and cold, he does not stir,
While frosted red leaves scattered about the steps.

秋雨夜眠

凉冷三秋夜,
安闲一老翁
卧迟灯灭后,
睡美雨声中
灰宿温瓶火,
香添暖被笼
晓晴寒未起,
霜叶满阶红

Notes on Translation

Sadly, in the English translation of the first poem, the repetition of sound and rhyme does not repeat.

Mòmò qiū yún qǐ shāoshāo yèhán shēng dàn jué yīshang shī wú diǎn yì wúshēng.

Interestingly, Mòmò, 漠漠, has a secondary meaning of confused silence, implying one who covers his ears and pretends to listen. Shāo, 稍 is a little and ShāoShāo, very little or slightly.

The melancholy nature of the poems likely dates them to between 815 and 819 when Bai Juyi exiled from the Imperial Court. Compounding his sorrow was his mother’s death and a three year mourning period. He spent his exile in Jiujiang (previously Jiangzhou), near several lakes including Longgan and the larger Poyang, on the southern shores of the Yangtze River in northwest Jiangxi Province.

Lastly, one might wonders about the focus on Autumn Rain. In China, late summer and autumn rainfalls are a typical phenomenon characterized by continuous rainy days and large rainfall amounts. Many Chinese Tang poems and stories were written about the flooding of Lake Dongting along the Yangtze.

秋雨夜眠

白居易 〔唐代〕

凉冷三秋夜,安闲一老翁。
卧迟灯灭后,睡美雨声中。
灰宿温瓶火,香添暖被笼。
晓晴寒未起,霜叶满阶红。

译文及注释

译文
秋天的夜晚带着阵阵寒意,只有我一个老头安宁自在的在家。
熄灯之后迟迟才躺下睡觉,在秋雨声中渐渐进入梦乡。
烘瓶里的燃料经夜已化为灰烬,不得不起床加点火烘烤被子。
早上天空晴朗,但寒气未消不想起床,只看到秋雨把霜叶打落得到处都是。

注释
三秋:指秋季。七月称孟秋、八月称仲秋、九月称季秋、合称三秋。
安闲:安宁清闲,安宁自在的样子。
宿(xiǔ):夜。瓶:烤火用的烘瓶。
晓:拂晓,天刚亮的时候。
阶:台阶。

赏析

  此诗抓住特定环境中人物的性格特征进行细致的描写,成功地刻画出一个安适闲淡的老翁形象。前半部分从老翁在秋雨之夜就寝情况刻画他的性格,后半部分进一步描绘老翁睡醒之后的情况。全诗在一定程度上反映了诗人暮年政治上心灰意懒、生活上孤寂闲散的状况。

  “凉冷三秋夜,安闲一老翁”,诗人用气候环境给予人的“凉冷”感觉来形容深秋之夜,这就给整首诗抹上了深秋的基调。未见风雨,尚且如此凉冷,加上秋风秋雨的袭击,自然使诗人更感到寒气逼人。运用这种衬叠手法能充分调动读者的想象力,增强诗的感染力。次句点明人物。“安闲”二字勾画出“老翁”喜静厌动、恬淡寡欲的形象。

  “卧迟灯灭后,睡美雨声中”,“卧迟”写出老翁的特性。老年人瞌睡少,宁可闲坐闭目养神,不喜早上床,免得到夜间睡不着,老翁若不是“卧迟”,恐亦难于雨声中“睡美”。以“灯灭后”三字说明“卧迟”时间,耐人玩味。窗外秋雨淅沥,屋内“老翁”安然“睡美”,正说明他心无所虚,具有闲淡的情怀。

  以上两联是从老翁在秋雨之夜就寝情况刻画他的性格。诗的下半则从老翁睡醒之后情况作进一步描绘。

  “灰宿温瓶火,香添暖被笼”,以烘瓶里的燃料经夜已化为灰烬,照应老翁的“睡美”。才三秋之夜已经要烤火,突出老翁的怕冷。夜已经过去,按理说老翁应该起床了,却还要“香添暖被笼”,打算继续躺着,生动地描绘出体衰闲散的老翁形象。

  “晓晴寒未起,霜叶满阶红”,与首句遥相呼应,写气候对花木和老翁的影响。风雨过后,深秋的气候更加寒冷,“寒”字交代了老翁“未起”的原因。“霜叶满阶红”,夜来风雨加深了“寒”意,不久前还红似二月花的树叶,一夜之间就被秋风秋雨无情地扫得飘零满阶,这是运用了反衬的手法,表现了大自然的冷酷无情。从树木移情到人,从自然想到社会,令诗人深有感触。然而“老翁”却“晓晴寒未起”,对它漫不经心,突出了老翁的心境清静淡泊。全诗紧紧把握老翁秋雨之夜安眠的特征,写得生动逼真,亲切感人,富有生活气息。▲

appreciation

This poem grasps the personality characteristics of the characters in the specific environment to describe in detail, and successfully depicts the image of an old man who is comfortable and idle. The first part depicts the old man’s character from his sleep on the autumn night, and the second part further depicts the situation after the old man wakes up. To some extent, the whole poem reflects the poet’s gloomy and lazy political heart and lonely and idle life in his old age.
“Three cold autumn nights, an old man at ease”. The poet described the late autumn night with the “cold” feeling given by the climate environment, which gave the whole poem the keynote of late autumn. Without wind and rain, it was still so cold. With the attack of autumn wind and rain, the poet naturally felt even colder. The use of this interlining technique can fully mobilize the imagination of readers and enhance the appeal of poetry. The second sentence points out the characters. The word “leisurely” depicts the image of the “old man” who likes to be quiet and tired of movement and has few desires.
“Sleeping late when the light is off, and sleeping in the rain”, “lying late” write the characteristics of the old man. The elderly are sleepy, so they prefer to sit idle and keep their eyes closed rather than go to bed early to avoid being unable to sleep at night. If the elderly are not “late in bed”, they may not be able to “sleep well” in the rain. It is interesting to explain the time of “lying late” with the words “after the light is off”. The autumn rain outside the window and the “old man” in the house “sleeping peacefully” show that he has nothing to lose and has a carefree feeling.
The above two couplets depict the old man’s character from his bedtime on the autumn night. The second half of the poem further describes the situation after the old man woke up.
“The ashes stay in the warm bottle fire, and the incense warms the quilt cage”. The fuel in the baking bottle has been turned into ashes through the night, taking care of the old man’s “sleeping beauty”. It was only the third autumn night when the fire was ready, highlighting the old man’s fear of cold. The night has passed. It is reasonable to say that the old man should get up, but he still wants to “warm the quilt with incense”. He plans to continue to lie down, vividly portraying the image of a frail and idle old man.
“The frost leaves are full of red before the dawn and cold rise” echoes the first sentence, describing the impact of climate on flowers, trees and the elderly. After the wind and rain, the climate in late autumn is colder, and the word “cold” explains why the old man “didn’t get up”. “Frost leaves are full of red steps”. The night wind and rain have deepened the “cold” meaning. Not long ago, the leaves were red like February flowers, but they were mercilessly swept away to the full steps overnight by the autumn wind and rain. This is the use of contrast techniques to show the coldness of nature. From trees to people, from nature to society, the poet is deeply touched. However, the “old man” is “cold and sunny”. He is careless about it, which highlights his calm and indifferent mind. The whole poem closely grasps the characteristics of the old man sleeping in the autumn rain night. It is vivid, touching and full of life. ▲

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