Ancient Poems About Friendship and Their Appreciation

Presenting Wang Lun

[ Tang ] Li Bai

Li Bai was on his way in his boat when he heard the sound of singing on the shore.

The Peach Blossom Pond is a thousand feet deep, not as deep as Wang Lun's love.

Chinese tradition favors subtlety. In the Song Dynasty, the poet Yan Yu put forward the four taboos of poetic composition: "The language should not be straight, the meaning should not be shallow. The pulse is not to be exposed, and the flavor is not to be short." The Qing Dynasty poet Shi Tuhua also said that poems should be "avoiding straightness and emphasizing curvature". However, Li Bai's "Gift to Wang Lun" is characterized by frankness and directness, with very little subtlety. His "language is straight", his "veins are exposed", but the "meaning" is not shallow, and the flavor is more intense. Ancient people wrote poems, generally taboo in the poem directly call the name, thought tasteless. But "Wang Lun" from the poet called his own name to start, but also to address each other's name as a conclusion, but appears to be frank, friendly and free, very flavorful.

The first half of the poem is a narrative: first the person who is leaving, then the person who is seeing him off, showing a picture of the parting. The first line "by boat" indicates that we are following the waterway. The phrase "about to leave" indicates that the boat is about to depart. This line makes the reader feel as if seeing Li Bai bidding farewell to the people in the boat which is about to leave.

"Suddenly I heard the sound of singing on the shore," and the next line is about the people who are seeing him off. The second sentence is not as straightforward as the first sentence, but uses the curved brush, only to say that the sound of singing is heard. A group of villagers stepped on the ground for the beat, walking and singing to see off. This seems to be out of Li Bai's expectation, so he said "suddenly heard" instead of "distantly heard". Although this poem is more subtle, only heard his voice, do not see his person, but the person has been called out. Wang Lun's arrival is indeed unexpected. The voice is heard before the person arrives. This kind of farewell, side show that Li Bai and Wang Lun two friends are the same people who are not bound by the common courtesy, happy and free.

The second half of the poem is lyrical. The third line follows on from the first, further explaining that the place where the boat is released is in the Peach Blossom Pond. The phrase "a thousand feet deep" characterizes the pool, but it also foreshadows the ending line. The water of the Peach Blossom Pond is so deep and exquisite that it touches the feelings of the departed, unforgettable Wang Lun's deep love and affection, and the deep water and deep feelings are naturally connected. The ending sentence bursts out "not as good as Wang Lun sends me love", to compare the image of the material approach to express the sincere and pure feelings. The water in the pool is already a thousand feet deep, so Wang Lun's love for Li Bai must be even deeper, and this sentence is intriguing. Here is wonderful in the "less than" two words, good is good in not using a metaphor and the use of comparative techniques, change the intangible friendship for a vivid image, ethereal and aftertaste, natural and true love. The poet is very moved, so with "Peach Blossom Pond is a thousand feet deep, not as deep as Wang Lun sent me love" two lines of poetry to praise Wang Lun's admiration and love for the poet, but also expresses Li Bai's deep friendship with Wang Lun.