Listen to this articleEarly Autumn in (Taiyuan) Shaanxi
Year’s end, the flowers now rest
The season of the fleeting Fire Star
On the Frontier, the mighty frost is early and
Autumn’s colorful clouds have crossed the River
Dreams circle the city’s walls
In autumn my heart flies homeward
My thoughts returning south, like the Fen River
Everyday, all day long
Early Autumn in (Taiyuan) Shaanxi
Year’s end, the flowers now rest
The season of the fleeting Fire Star
On the Frontier, the mighty frost is early and
Autumn’s colorful clouds have crossed the River
Dreams circle the city’s walls
In autumn my heart flies homeward
My thoughts returning south, like the Fen River
Everyday, all day long
The stars his only companions.
Li Bai was destined to spend most of his life wandering from place to place. He also married four times. His first marriage was in 727, in Anlu, Hubei Province, to the granddaughter of a former government minister. Autumn in the year 735 finds him in northern Taiyun, the capital of Hedong Province (present day Shanxi)* wishing he was home.
*It is possible but speculative that Li Bai was visiting the politically powerful Pei Clan in hopes of an Imperial appointment.
Notes on Translation
Shaanxi, Shanxi, Taiyuan
English translations often use Shaanxi in the title for the sake of convenience. But Li Bai’s title is 太 原 早 秋 and 太 原 refers to Tàiyuán. This is in fact the capital of Shanxi province, which is today sometimes interchangeably confused with the similar contiguous province of Shaanxi. In Li Bai’s time, Shanxi was known as Hedong, meaning east of the Yellow River.
The character for Autumn, Qiu 秋, appears in the title and twice in the poem. The season is a transition from summer to winter, from joy to melancholy.
The Fire Star, my guess is that this refers to the Perseid Meteor Showers which peak in autumn. A second possibility is the red planet, Mars (Short for 火星, Huǒxīng), hence the name Fire Star. The star is fleeting because its lop-sided orbit causes the planet’s glow to wax and wane. There is also a legendary tale of the Yan Emperors from this region who used the titles “flame emperors”.
Hé 河, in line 4, refers to the Yellow River.
Fén shuǐ 汾水, seventh line. Fen River runs north to south through Shanxi Province, eventually joining the Yellow River.
Chinese and Pinyin
太 原 早 秋
岁 落 众 芳 歇
时 当 大 火 流
霜 威 出 塞 早
云 色 渡 河 秋
梦 绕 边 城 月
心 飞 故 国 秋
思 归 若 汾 水
无 日 不 悠 悠
Taiyuan Zao Qiu
Sui man zhong fang xie
Shi dang da huo liu.
Shuang wei qu sai zao
Yun se du he qiu.
Meng rao bian cheng yue
Xin fei gu guo qiu.
Si gui ruo fenshui
Wu ri bu you you.
太原早秋
李白 〔唐代〕
岁落众芳歇，时当大火流。
霜威出塞早，云色渡河秋。
梦绕边城月，心飞故国楼。
思归若汾水，无日不悠悠。
译文及注释
译文
光阴逝去，花草渐渐凋零；随着大火星渐渐西移，夏天慢慢离去。
秋霜早早地从北方来到这里，黄河以北已经呈出一派秋天的气息。
夜夜秋梦都缠绕着边城上空的月亮，心却随着月光回到了家乡的楼上。
思乡之情就像这绵绵不断的汾河水，无时无刻不在悠悠地流向家乡。
注释
太原：即并州，唐时隶河东道。
岁落：光阴逝去。众芳歇：花草已凋零。
大火：星名，二十八宿之一，即心宿。《诗经·七月》“七月流火”即指此星。这颗星每年夏历五月的黄昏出现于正南方，位置最高，六七月开始向下行，故称“流火”。时当大火流，即时当夏历七月之后。张衡《定情歌》：“大火流兮草虫鸣。”《图书编》：“大火，心星 也。以六月之昏，加于地之南，至七月之昏，则下而西流矣。”
塞：关塞，指长城。李白北游曾到雁门一带的关塞上。秋天了，他想到塞外，当早感霜威。
云色渡河秋：云彩飘过黄河，也呈现秋色。
故国：家乡。
汾水：汾河。黄河第二大支流，发源于山西宁武县管涔山，流经山西中部、南部入黄河。《唐六典注》：汾水出忻州，历太原、汾、晋、绛、蒲五州，入河。《太平寰宇记》：汾水，出静乐县北管涔山，东流入太原郡界。
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translation
As time goes by, flowers and plants gradually wither; As the Great Mars gradually moves westward, the summer slowly leaves.
The autumn frost came here early from the north, and the north of the Yellow River has shown a breath of autumn.
Every night and every autumn dream twines around the moon above the border town, but my heart returns to the upstairs of my hometown with the moonlight.
The feeling of homesickness is like the continuous Fen River, which flows to my hometown all the time.
赏析
这首诗通过对早秋自然环境的描写，表现了诗人羁旅他乡，无时无刻不在思念着自己的家乡河亲人，以及渴望归乡的急切心情。这首诗设喻新奇巧妙，结构严整，感情真挚，格调高远。
首联“岁落众芳歇，时当大火流”。“众芳歇”中“芳”指花，就是说很多的花儿已经凋落了。在自然界中，花草之类，逢春而荣，遇秋而衰，这是自然规律。“大火”指星名，二十八星宿之一，也就是“心宿星”，居于正南，“流”指向下行，这里点出了时至七月了。诗歌开头两句借自然景物含蓄地表明了诗歌所描写的季节——早秋。从律诗的结构来说，这一联是起。
接着进入颔联，承接首联的“早秋”。“霜威出塞早，云色渡河秋。” “威”就是威力、威风，在此指秋霜很浓。“出塞”、“渡河”是地域位置。“塞”指边塞。“河”指黄河。这两句直接描写了太原早秋的自然气候。特别要注意的是诗人为了更好地表现太原自然地理条件的特点，除了用词语描写外，诗人还运用了镶嵌的修辞手法，也就是在两句末镶嵌了“早”、“秋”两字，巧妙点题。
所谓镶嵌的修辞手法，谭永祥教授在《汉语修辞美学》中说过：“将特定的字、词镶嵌在特定的文句中，以便收到多种表达效果，这种修辞手法叫‘镶嵌’。”同时又说：“将特定的字、词置于句首或句尾者叫‘镶’，置于句中者叫‘嵌’。”这种修辞手法的表达效果不但具有突出和强调意义的作用，而且在是文章增强趣味性和视觉的感染性。在这首诗歌中，标题中“早秋”在诗句中得到形式和内容上的照应，而且把两句通过“早”和“秋”联系起来，不但强调了诗人所描绘的“早秋”景色特点，而且在形式上得到相照应，形成对偶，使之构成一个完整的整体。
进入颈联，这一联转写作者自己。“梦”指作者的归乡之梦，“边城”指太原。对于一个远行在外作客他乡的游子来说，一到夜晚“举头望明月 低头思故乡”。思归之情悠然而生，但是这个愿望不能马上实现，只能绕着边城的月亮来旋转。“故国”指故乡。虽然归家的愿望不能立即实现，但是却归心似箭，诗人的那颗心早已飞回了故乡的家园。
尾联是合。“思归若汾水，无日不悠悠”。“悠悠”就是本是忧郁的意思，但也有情悠悠，思悠悠之意。同时，联系上一句“思归若汾水”来看，“悠悠”也有绵延不断的意思。这两句的意思是说，我思念归家之情时时刻刻萦绕心头，就如同汾河水一样，没有一天断绝过啊。以水喻情，这是古代诗歌中常用的方法，也是“流水”这一意象所蕴含的意义之一。如，李煜的“问君能有几多愁，恰似一江春水向东流”；张说的“闻道神仙不可接，心随湖水共悠悠”；李白的“孤帆远影碧山尽，唯见长江天际流”。在这首诗里，诗人为了强调自己的“思归”之情的深远，也通过日夜不停的汾河水不停流淌为喻，形象而生动地表现出了自己日夜思归的情怀。
在艺术手法上，这首诗注重了文题相映，特别是在颔联运用镶嵌的修辞手法，在两句的末尾分别用了“早”、“秋”两个字，匠心独运地点题并照应诗题。其次，后两句运用了明喻的修辞手法，生动形象地把抽象的思归之情形象化，以水喻情，连绵不断，明确表达了自己的思归不断的情怀。
appreciation
Through the description of the natural environment in early autumn, this poem shows the poet’s eagerness to travel to other countries, miss his hometown and relatives all the time, and desire to return home. This poem assumes that it is novel and ingenious, with strict structure, sincere feelings and lofty style.
The first couplet “When the year is over, people will rest, and when the fire is flowing”. “Fragrance” refers to flowers, which means that many flowers have withered. In nature, it is a natural law that flowers and plants flourish in spring and decline in autumn. “Fire” refers to the name of the star. One of the 28 constellations, also known as “Xinxiu”, is located in the south, and “flow” points downward. It is up to July. The first two sentences of the poem implicitly indicate the season described in the poem – early autumn by means of natural scenery. From the structure of the metrical poem, this couplet is the beginning.
Then enter the Support Federation to undertake the “early autumn” of the first couplet. “Frost power goes out of the fortress early, and clouds cross the river in autumn.” “Power” means power and prestige. Here, it refers to the thick autumn frost. “Going out of the fortress” and “crossing the river” are geographical locations. The “plug” refers to the frontier fortress. “River” refers to the Yellow River. These two sentences directly describe the natural climate of Taiyuan in early autumn. In particular, in order to better express the characteristics of Taiyuan’s natural and geographical conditions, the poet, in addition to using words to describe, also used inlaid rhetoric, that is, at the end of the two sentences, inlaid the words “early” and “autumn” to skillfully point out the topic.
Professor Tan Yongxiang said in the Aesthetics of Chinese Rhetoric, “Embedding specific characters and words in specific sentences in order to receive multiple expression effects. This rhetorical technique is called ‘inlay’.” At the same time, he said: “The person who places a specific word or word at the beginning or end of a sentence is called ‘inlay’, and the person who places it in a sentence is called ‘inlay’.” The expression effect of this rhetorical device not only highlights and emphasizes the significance, but also enhances the interest and visual appeal of the article. In this poem, “Early Autumn” in the title gets the reference in form and content in the poem sentences, and connects the two sentences through “Early Autumn” and “Autumn”, which not only emphasizes the characteristics of the “Early Autumn” scenery described by the poet, but also gets the reference in form, forming a duality, making it form a complete whole.
Enter the neck couplet, which transcribes the author himself. “Dream” refers to the author’s dream of returning home, and “Border Town” refers to Taiyuan. For a traveler who travels far away to visit his hometown, he “looks up at the bright moon and looks down at his hometown” at night. The feeling of yearning for return came into being leisurely, but this wish could not be realized immediately. It could only revolve around the moon in the border town. “Homeland” refers to hometown. Although the desire to return home could not be realized immediately, the poet’s heart was like an arrow. The poet’s heart had already flown back to his hometown.
The tail couplet is joint. “The thought of returning is like the Fenshui River, which is leisurely every day.”. “Youyou” is originally meant to be melancholy, but it also means to be sentimental. At the same time, according to the last sentence, “Think of yourself as Fenshui”, “Youyou” also has a continuous meaning. These two sentences mean that my yearning for home haunts me all the time, just like the Fenhe River, which has never been cut off one day. Using water to describe feelings is a common method in ancient poetry, and it is also one of the meanings contained in the image of “flowing water”. For example, Li Yu’s “Ask how much sorrow you can have, just like a river flowing eastward”; Zhang said, “The immortals can’t be picked up when they smell, and their hearts are long with the lake”; Li Bai’s “A lone sail casts shadows over the blue mountains, and only the Yangtze River flows across the sky”. In this poem, the poet, in order to emphasize the profound feeling of his “homesickness”, vividly expresses his feelings of homesickness day and night by analogy with the incessant flow of Fenhe River.
In terms of artistic techniques, the poem pays attention to the matching of the theme, especially the use of inlaid rhetorical devices in the couplet of support. At the end of the two sentences, the words “early” and “autumn” are respectively used, which are ingeniously used to place the theme and correspond to the poem theme. Secondly, the last two sentences use simile rhetoric to vividly visualize the abstract feeling of yearning, and use water to describe the feeling, which is continuous, to clearly express their feelings of constant yearning.
