Appreciation of the original text and translation of Wen Tingyun's "Crossing the Water Ridge"

Original text of Crossing the Water Ridge:

The stream is merciless and seems to be sentient. It takes three days to walk in the mountains. The head of the mountain is the place where we part ways, and we say goodbye all night long. Translation and annotation of Fenshuiling

Translation The stream is ruthless but seems to have affection for me. I was able to have it accompany me during my three days in the mountains. The top of the mountain is where we parted ways. The gurgling water bid me farewell all night long.

Notes 1 Watershed: Generally refers to the mountain that separates two river basins. This refers to Jizhong Mountain in the southeast of today's Lueyang County, Shaanxi Province. It is the watershed of the Han River and the Jialing River. 2 Lingtou: the top of the mountain. Separate: separate; break up. "Wenyuan Yinghua" is called "Diversion". 3. Chan Yuan: The way the river flows slowly. This refers to the sound of flowing water. Appreciation beyond the watershed

Transforming ruthless things into emotions is often an artistic method that makes ordinary things poetic and beautiful. This short poem by Wen Tingyun can illustrate this point very well.

The watershed described in the poem is a must-pass place for people between Qin, Shu or Qin and Liang. It was a famous traffic artery in the Tang Dynasty, so it is generally called the watershed instead of its location. The title "Crossing the Watershed" is actually about a relationship with the stream during the trip to the watershed, and the poetic feelings caused by it.

The first sentence starts from the stream. Streams are natural objects without emotions, but the stream in front of me seems to have emotions. Here, "merciless" is used to introduce "affectionate" and highlight "affectionate". The word "affection" is an eye-catcher, and the following three sentences are specifically described around it. The word "like" is used just right, and it implies that this is just a subjective feeling that sometimes emerges from the poet. If you change it to the word "que", it feels like it is too emphatic and solid, but it can affirm and emphasize the affection of the stream, giving the stream a touching human beauty; changing it to the word "Yi" will inevitably cover up the priority and make the word "ruthless" Equally equal to "affectionate". Only this word "like" has a lively and light meaning, and is consistent with the plain and affectionate style of the whole poem. While this sentence points out the word "affectionate", it also sets up suspense and has the effect of guiding readers to pay attention to the answer below.

The second sentence narrates the reason why the stream "seems to be sentimental" is felt in the dark spot. Jizhong Mountain is the watershed between the Han River and the Jialing River. Because of the depth of the mountain, it takes "three days in the mountain" to reach the top of the mountain. The mountain road is winding and winding, running beside the stream, so travelers feel that the stream is always walking beside them. In fact, when you enter the mountain, you go up, but the water flow always goes down. The direction of the stream is not the same as the direction of pedestrians. However, although the stream keeps flowing in the opposite direction, its gurgling sound is accompanied all the way. Because the deep mountains are deserted and no one is around, the stream that accompanies travelers along the way becomes particularly friendly, as if it is intentionally staying around, comforting the travelers' loneliness with its clear face, flowing figure and crisp sound. The word "de" in "get to go together" fully shows the poet's joy in meeting a good companion during his lonely journey; and the "affection" felt by the stream can also be seen from the word "de".

"The top of the mountain is the place where we part, and we bid farewell to the gurgling sound all night long." During the "three days in the mountain" and the journey of companionship, the feeling of "the stream is full of love" will inevitably increase day by day, so when we climb to the top of the mountain, When we were about to part ways with the stream, we couldn't help but feel a sense of farewell. But I don’t write it from my own perspective, but from the perspective of the stream, using its “parting” to further describe its “sentiment”. Lingtou is a stop on the journey, and the poet stayed at Lingtou that night. In the silent night in the mountains, the only thing I could hear was the gurgling sound of the water on the mountain top, which continued all night long, as if I was saying goodbye to my friend who had been traveling with me for three days. The five words "gurgling all night long" allude to what was heard day and night during the "three-day journey". The sound of the stream is still the same, but when it is time to say goodbye, it is very natural to feel that the "sound of the stream gurgling all night long" is like its affectionate farewell sound. Here, the poet cleverly makes use of the natural characteristics of the watershed. The "ridge head" leads to the "parting" of the traveler and the stream, and the "parting" leads to the "farewell". Because of the farewell, he appreciates the sound of the stream. The rich twists and turns of association and the natural simplicity of expression achieve harmonious unity.

At this point in writing, the "affectionateness" of the stream has reached its extreme, and the poet's deep affection for the stream is self-evident.

The water flowing under the watershed has been flowing like this for thousands of years. Because Wen Tingyun had deep experience in military life and valued the friendship between friends, he was able to discover a companion like Xi Shui and endow it with a touching human beauty. Rather than saying that the poetic beauty of objective things triggers the poet's emotions, it is better to say that the poet transfers his beautiful feelings to objective things. The creative background of the watershed

This poem was written by Wen Tingyun when he passed the watershed eighty miles southeast of Lueyang County, Hanzhong Prefecture (now part of Shaanxi) on his way from Qin (Shaanxi) to Shu (Sichuan). The time was Emperor Wenzong of the Tang Dynasty In the autumn and winter of the fourth year of Yamato (830).

Poetry: Crossing the Watershed Poetry Author: Wen Tingyun, Tang Dynasty Poetry Category: Writing about Water, Lyrical