Bai Juyi's seven-character quatrains of Wei Zihua

Tang Dynasty: Bai Juyi

Your papers are quiet and the bells and drums are long.

Sitting alone in the dusk, who is the companion, Ziwei Hua versus Ziweilang.

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I'm on duty at Silunge, so there's nothing to write about. There was silence around me, only the dripping sound from the bell and drum tower. Time passes too slowly.

In this evening loneliness, I sit alone. Who will accompany me? Only Ziweihua and I, a Ziweilang, were silent.

To annotate ...

Osmanthus fragrans: deciduous sub-tree, with red and purple flowers in summer and withering in autumn.

Silunge: refers to the attic where imperial edicts were written for the emperor.

Sculpture: an ancient instrument used to record the time of dripping water.

Ziweilang: the official name of the Tang Dynasty, referring to Scheeren in Chinese books. Because Zhongshu Province was renamed Wei Zi Province, it was named after Astronomical Wei Ziyuan.

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The Silun Pavilion and the Bell and Drum Tower written in this poem not only show the characteristics of the palace, but also point out that the poet "sits alone" because he is on duty in the palace. The palace at dusk is a quiet world, which makes people feel dull and boring, as if the passage of time becomes slow. But according to the rules, the officials on duty can't walk around, which makes the poet trapped in a relatively cramped environment. On the day described in the poem, the poet had nothing to do but look at the flowers and listen to the sound of carving, killing this empty and boring time and waiting for the arrival of "off work" time. In this poem, the poet implicitly expressed his disappointment with his boring work, and through the description of the palace environment, implied the dull political atmosphere at that time, and then expressed his dissatisfaction with this atmosphere.

The poem "Who sits alone in the dusk as a companion, Ziweihua versus Ziweilang" is the crowning touch of the whole poem. Through such humorous language, the poet comforted his lonely mood and mocked the emptiness and boredom of court life. The word "Dui" depicts the scene that the poet and the flower "never tire of looking at each other", which makes the scene that the poet is alone and unaccompanied more vivid, makes the image of the poet sitting idle more vivid, makes the poem more interesting, and fully shows the poet's skill in choosing words and making sentences.

The whole poem describes that the poet is on duty in Silunge, feeling long because he has nothing to do, and even more lonely because he is lonely without company. Simple writing, clear narration and clear reasoning are the greatest characteristics of white poetry.

If we compare this poem with Zhou Bida's Tea in the Palace and Hong's Left, we will find that they all wrote the silence of the imperial palace to set off the solemnity in the palace, and they all wrote flowers to highlight the nature of imperial academy's and Zhongshu's work, and they all expressed some pride to show that it was a great honor to be favored by the emperor. So it is conceivable that the writing of such poems lacks creativity.