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We cannot wash away our worries with wine or words.

This is the short two line message Li Bai conveys in a long poem called, Farewell to Uncle Yun at Xietiao Tower in Xuanzhou. The message is remarkable for the repetition of the “chou” sound which, in line one, means withdraw 抽 Chōu, followed by the similar sounding word for water, 水 Shuǐ. The context being to withdraw one’s sword to cut the water. Line two repeats the sound with the repetition of worry 愁 Chóu. 愁更愁, chou geng chou, worry upon worry, the idea being that worries beget more worries.

Though I withdraw my sword to cut the water, it still runs
I toast to dispel worry, and create more worry…

The water still flows, though we cut it with our swords,
And sorrow returns, though we drown it with wine…

Li Bai in Xuanzhou with Shūyún

Xuanzhou is modern day Xuancheng, east of Wuhan, west of Shanghai,in southeastern Anhui Province. ShūyúnLi Bai’s uncle Yun, was the Imperial archivist.

The Title: 宣州谢朓楼饯别校书叔云

Xuānzhōu xiètiǎo lóu jiànbié xiào shū shūyún.

Shūyún 叔云, was Li Bai’s uncle Shū 叔. He was an archivist in the Xietao Tower (lóu 楼, storied building) in XuānzhōuXiào shū 校书, literally school book, but also an archivist or librarian. The title and full poem are an oblique reference to the rhyming 5th century poet Xiè tiǎo.

Jiànbié 饯别 is a farewell or parting; broadly speaking, to give a farewell dinner.

Chinese and Pinyin

抽刀断水水更流
举杯消愁愁更愁

chou dao duan shui shui geng liu
ju bei xiao chou chou geng chou

宣州谢朓楼饯别校书叔云

李白 〔唐代〕

弃我去者,昨日之日不可留;
乱我心者,今日之日多烦忧。
长风万里送秋雁,对此可以酣高楼。
蓬莱文章建安骨,中间小谢又清发。
俱怀逸兴壮思飞,欲上青天揽明月。(揽 一作:览;明月 一作:日月)
抽刀断水水更流,举杯消愁愁更愁。(消愁 一作:销愁)
人生在世不称意,明朝散发弄扁舟。

译文及注释

译文
弃我而去的昨天,早已不可挽留。
乱我心绪的今天,使人无限烦忧。
万里长风吹送南归的鸿雁,面对此景,正可以登上高楼开怀畅饮。
先生的文章颇具建安风骨,而我的诗风,也像谢朓那样清新秀丽。
我们都满怀豪情逸兴,飞跃的神思像要腾空而上高高的青天,去摘取那皎洁的明月。
拔刀断水水却更加汹涌奔流,举杯消愁愁情上却更加浓烈。
人生在世不能称心如意,不如披头散发,登上长江一叶扁舟。

注释
此诗《文苑英华》题作《陪侍御叔华登楼歌》,则所别者为李云(官秘书省校书郎),李华(文学家)。李白另有五言诗《饯校书叔云》,作于某春季,且无登楼事,与此诗无涉。
宣州:今安徽宣城一带。
谢朓(tiǎo)楼:又名北楼、谢公楼,在陵阳山上,谢朓任宣城太守时所建,并改名为叠嶂楼。
饯别:以酒食送行。
校(jiào)书:官名,即秘书省校书郎,掌管朝廷的图书整理工作。
叔云:李云,又名李华(此诗《文苑英华》题作《陪侍御叔华登楼歌》),是当时著名的古文家,任秘书省校书郎,专门负责校对图书。李白称他为叔,但并非族亲关系。
长风:远风,大风。
此:指上句的长风秋雁的景色。
酣(hān)高楼:畅饮于高楼。
蓬莱:此指东汉时藏书之东观。《后汉书》卷二三《窦融列传》附窦章传:“是时学者称东观为老氏藏室,道家蓬莱山”。李贤注:“言东观经籍多也。蓬莱,海中神山,为仙府,幽经秘籍并皆在也。”蓬莱文章:借指李云的文章。建安骨:汉末建安(汉献帝年号,196—220)年间,“三曹”和“七子”等作家所作之诗风骨遒上,后人称之为“建安风骨”。
小谢:指谢朓,字玄晖,南朝齐诗人。后人将他和谢灵运称为大谢、小谢。这里用以自喻。
清发(fā):指清新秀发的诗风。发:秀发,诗文俊逸。
俱怀:两人都怀有。
逸兴(xìng):飘逸豪放的兴致,多指山水游兴,超远的意兴。王勃《滕王阁序》:“遥襟甫畅,逸兴遄飞”。李白《送贺宾客归越》:“镜湖流水漾清波,狂客归舟逸兴多。”壮思飞:卢思道《卢记室诔》:“丽词泉涌,壮思云飞。”
壮思:雄心壮志,豪壮的意思。
揽:摘取。
销:另一版本为“消”。。
称(chèn)意:称心如意。
明朝(zhāo):明天。
散发(fà):不束冠,意谓不做官。这里是形容狂放不羁。古人束发戴冠,散发表示闲适自在。
弄扁(piān)舟:乘小舟归隐江湖。扁舟:小舟,小船。春秋末年,范蠡辞别越王勾践,“乘扁舟浮于江湖”(《史记·货殖列传》)。▲

赏析

  本诗是作者在宣州谢朓楼上的饯别之作。诗人感怀万千,既满怀豪情逸兴,又时时掩抑不住郁闷和不平,感情回复跌宕,一波三折。语言明朗,似脱口而出,音调激越高昂。

  此诗发端既不写楼,更不叙别,而是陡起壁立,直抒郁结。“昨日之日”与“今日之日”,是指许许多多个弃我而去的“昨日”和接踵而至的“今日”。也就是说,每一天都深感日月不居,时光难驻,心烦意乱,忧愤郁悒。这里既蕴含了“功业莫从就,岁光屡奔迫”的精神苦闷,也融铸着诗人对污浊的政治现实的感受。他的“烦忧”既不自“今日”始,他所“烦忧”者也非止一端。不妨说,这是对他长期以来政治遭遇和政治感受的一个艺术概括。忧愤之深广、强烈,正反映出天宝以来朝政的愈趋腐败和李白个人遭遇的愈趋困窘。理想与现实的尖锐矛盾所引起的强烈精神苦闷,在这里找到了适合的表现形式。破空而来的发端,重叠复沓的语言(既说“弃我去”,又说“不可留”;既言“乱我心”,又称“多烦忧”),以及一气鼓荡、长达十一字的句式,都极生动形象地显示出诗人郁结之深、忧愤之烈、心绪之乱,以及一触即发、发则不可抑止的感情状态。

  “长风万里送秋雁,对此可以酣高楼。”两句突作转折:而对着寥廓明净的秋空,遥望万里长风吹送鸿雁的壮美景色,不由得激起酣饮高楼的豪情逸兴。这两句在读者面前展现出一幅壮阔明朗的万里秋空画图,也展示出诗人豪迈阔大的胸襟。从极端苦闷忽然转到朗爽壮阔的境界,仿佛变化无端,不可思议。但这正是李白之所以为李白。正因为他素怀远大的理想抱负,又长期为黑暗污浊的环境所压抑,所以时刻都向往着广大的可以自由驰骋的空间。目接“长风万里送秋雁”之境,不觉精神为之一爽,烦忧为之一扫,感到一种心、境契合的舒畅,“酣饮高楼”的豪情逸兴也就油然而生了。

  “蓬莱文章建安骨,中间小谢又清发。”两句承高楼饯别分写主客双方。东汉时学者称东观(政府的藏书机构)为道家蓬莱山,唐人又多以蓬山,蓬阁指秘书省,李云是秘书省校书郎,所以这里用“蓬莱文章”借指李云的文章。建安骨,指刚健遒劲的“建安风骨”。上句赞美李云的文章风格刚健,下句则以“小谢”(即谢朓)自指,说自己的诗像谢朓那样,具有清新秀发的风格。李白非常推崇谢朓,这里自比小谢,正流露出对自己才能的自信。这两句自然地关合了题目中的谢朓楼和校书。

  “俱怀逸兴壮思飞,欲上青天揽明月。”两句就“酣高楼”进一步渲染双方的意兴,说彼此都怀有豪情逸兴、雄心壮志,酒酣兴发,更是飘然欲飞,想登上青天揽取明月。前面方写晴昼秋空,这里却说到“明月”,可见后者当非实景。“欲上”云云,也说明这是诗人酒酣兴发时的豪语。豪放与天真,在这里得到了和谐的统一。这正是李白的性格。上天揽月,固然是一时兴到之语,未必有所寓托,但这飞动健举的形象却让读者分明感觉到诗人对高洁理想境界的向往追求。这两句笔酣墨饱,淋漓尽致,把面对“长风万里送秋雁”的境界所激起的昂扬情绪推向最高潮,仿佛现实中一切黑暗污浊都已一扫而光,心头的一切烦忧都已丢到了九霄云外。

  “抽刀断水水更流”的比喻是奇特而富于独创性的,同时又是自然贴切而富于生活气息的。谢朓楼前,就是终年长流的宛溪水,不尽的流水与无穷的烦忧之间本就极易产生联想,因而很自然地由排遣烦忧的强烈愿望中引发出“抽刀断水”的意念。由于比喻和眼前景的联系密切,从而使它多少具有“兴”的意味,读来便感到自然天成。尽管内心的苦闷无法排遣,但“抽刀断水”这个细节却生动地显示出诗人力图摆脱精神苦闷的要求,这就和沉溺于苦闷而不能自拔者有明显区别。

  “人生在世不称意,明朝散发弄扁舟。”李白的进步理想与黑暗现实的矛盾,在当时历史条件下,是无法解决的,因此,他总是陷于“不称意”的苦闷中,而且只能找到“散发弄扁舟”这样一条摆脱苦闷的出路。这结论当然不免有些消极,甚至包含着逃避现实的成分。但历史与他所代表的社会阶层都规定了他不可能找到更好的出路。

  李白的可贵之处在于,尽管他精神上经受着苦闷的重压,但并没有因此放弃对进步理想的追求。诗中仍然贯注豪迈慷慨的情怀。“长风”二句,“俱怀”二句,更象是在悲怆的乐曲中奏出高昂乐观的音调,在黑暗的云层中露出灿烂明丽的霞光。“抽刀”二句,也在抒写强烈苦闷的同时表现出倔强的性格。因此,整首诗给人的感觉不是阴郁绝望,而是忧愤苦闷中显现出豪迈雄放的气概。这说明诗人既不屈服于环境的压抑,也不屈服于内心的重压。

  全诗如歌如诉,情感起伏涨落,韵味深长,一波三折,章法腾挪跌宕,起落无端,断续无迹,语言明朗朴素,音调激越高昂,达到了豪放与自然和谐统一的境界。▲

appreciation

This poem is the author’s farewell at Xie Tiao’s upstairs in Xuanzhou. The poet is full of feelings, not only full of pride and pleasure, but also can not hide the depression and injustice. The feelings of the poet return to ups and downs. The language is clear, like blurting out, and the tone is soaring.
At the beginning of this poem, it does not write about buildings, nor say goodbye, but rises steeply and stands on the wall to express depression. “Yesterday’s day” and “today’s day” refer to many “yesterday” and “today” that left me behind. That is to say, every day I feel that the sun and the moon are not living, the time is hard to stay, I am upset, worried and depressed. It not only contains the spiritual anguish of “Don’t follow the path of success, but also reflects the poet’s feelings about the dirty political reality.”. His “worry” does not start from “today”, and his “worry” does not end. It can be said that this is an artistic summary of his long-term political experiences and feelings. The breadth and intensity of sorrow and indignation reflect the increasing corruption of the government since Tianbao and the increasing embarrassment Li Bai has suffered personally. The intense spiritual distress caused by the sharp contradiction between ideal and reality has found a suitable form of expression here. The starting point of breaking through the void, overlapping and repeated language (both saying “abandon me” and “don’t stay”; both saying “disturb my heart” and “worry more”), as well as the sentence pattern of 11 characters, all vividly show the poet’s deep depression, intense anxiety and anger, chaos of mind, and emotional state that is triggered and unstoppable.
“The long wind sends the autumn geese far away, so you can enjoy the high buildings.” Two sentences made a sudden turn: while facing the vast and clear autumn sky, looking at the magnificent scenery of wild geese blowing by the long wind, I could not help but arouse the pride and leisure of drinking tall buildings. These two sentences show a magnificent and bright picture of the autumn sky in front of the readers, and also show the poet’s bold and broad mind. From extreme depression to the bright and magnificent realm, it seems that the change is unreasonable and inconceivable. But this is exactly why Li Bai is Li Bai. It is precisely because he always harbors lofty ideals and ambitions, and has been oppressed by the dark and dirty environment for a long time, so he always yearns for the vast space that can be freely galloped. Seeing the scene of “seeing off the autumn geese in the long wind”, one feels that one’s spirit is refreshed and worries are swept away, and one feels a kind of comfort that the heart and the scene agree with. The feeling of “drinking in tall buildings” also arises spontaneously.
“Penglai article Jian’an bone, in the middle Xie Qingfa.” Two farewell sentences from the high building are written for both the host and the guest. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, scholars called Dongguan (the government’s book collection organization) the Penglai Mountain of Taoism, and most people in the Tang Dynasty used Pengshan Mountain. Pengge refers to the secretary province, and Li Yun is the proofreader of the secretary province. Therefore, “Penglai article” here refers to Li Yun’s article. Jian’an Bones refer to the vigorous and vigorous “Jian’an Bones”. The last sentence praises Li Yun for his vigorous style, while the next sentence refers to himself as “Xiao Xie” (Xie Tiao), saying that his poems, like Xie Tiao, have a fresh and beautiful hair style. Li Bai highly esteems Xie Tiao. He compares himself to Xie and shows confidence in his talent. These two sentences naturally relate to Xie Tiao Building and the book proofreading in the title.
“We all want to go up to the sky and catch the moon.” The two sentences further exaggerate the interest of both sides by saying that they both have lofty feelings and ambitions. They are also intoxicated and eager to fly, hoping to climb the sky and catch the moon. The front side writes about the clear day and autumn sky, but here it says “bright moon”, which shows that the latter is not a real scene. The “desire to go up” cloud also shows that it is the heroic words of the poet when he is in high spirits. Bold and unrestrained and naive have been harmoniously unified here. This is Li Bai’s character. It is a popular saying to see the moon in the sky, which may not have any implication, but the image of flying and vigorous makes readers clearly feel the poet’s yearning for the lofty ideal realm. These two sentences are full of words and words, which bring the high spirited emotion aroused by the state of “sending autumn geese in the long wind thousands of miles” to the climax, as if all the darkness and filth in the reality have been swept away, and all the worries in the mind have been forgotten.
The metaphor of “cutting off the water and making the water flow more” is strange and original, and at the same time, it is natural and appropriate and full of life. In front of Xie Tiao’s building is the Wanxi River, which flows all the year round. The endless water and endless worries are easily associated, so naturally, the strong desire to relieve worries leads to the idea of “cutting off the water”. Because the metaphor is closely related to the immediate scene, it has more or less the meaning of “Xing”, which makes reading it feel natural. Although the inner anguish cannot be relieved, the detail of “cutting through the water” vividly shows the demand of the poet to get rid of the mental anguish, which is obviously different from those who are addicted to the anguish and cannot extricate themselves.
“Life is not satisfactory in this world, and the Ming Dynasty was busy making boats.” The contradiction between Li Bai’s ideal of progress and the dark reality could not be solved under the historical conditions at that time. Therefore, he was always trapped in the depression of “unsatisfactory”, and could only find a way out of the depression of “spreading out and making boats”. Of course, this conclusion is somewhat negative, and even contains an element of escapism. However, history and the social class he represented stipulated that he could not find a better way out.
Li Bai’s value lies in that he did not give up his pursuit of the ideal of progress despite the heavy pressure of depression on his spirit. The poem is still full of heroic and generous feelings. The two sentences of “Changfeng” and “Juhuai” are more like playing a high optimistic tone in the pathetic music, revealing the brilliant and bright glow in the dark clouds. The two sentences of “draw a knife” also express strong depression and stubborn character. Therefore, the feeling of the whole poem is not gloom and despair, but the heroic spirit in sorrow, anger and depression. This shows that the poet does not yield to the oppression of the environment, nor to the weight of his heart.
The whole poem is like a song, full of ups and downs of emotion, profound charm, twists and turns, ups and downs of organization, ups and downs without reason, intermittent and traceless, clear and plain language, soaring tone, reaching the realm of harmony and unity between bold and unconstrained and nature. ▲

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