The author of "Hu Jiage Sends Yan Zhenqing's Envoy to Helong" is Cen Shen, a litterateur of the Tang Dynasty. The full text of his ancient poem is as follows:
Don’t you hear the saddest sound of Hujia? A man with a purple beard and green eyes blows.
I am still playing a song, but I am worried about killing Loulan to conquer the garrison.
In the cool autumn and August of Xiaoguandao, the north wind blows off the Tianshan grass.
The moon is tilting in the south of Kunlun Mountain, and the Hu people are blowing Hujia to the moon.
Hu Jia is resentful and will send you off. Qinshan looks at the clouds of Longshan in the distance.
In the border town, there are many worries and dreams every night. Who likes to hear the moon-shaped bamboo slips?
Foreword
"Hu Jia Ge Sends Yan Zhenqing's Envoy to Helong" is a work by Cen Shen, a poet of the Tang Dynasty. This poem uses the sorrow of Hujia's voice to describe the desolate and tragic living environment in the border area, and expresses the poet's concern and encouragement for Yan Zhenqing. The whole poem uses different techniques from three aspects to repeatedly and deeply express the tragedy of Hu Jia. The rhyme is intricately intertwined and arranged to accurately express the ups and downs and tragic passion.
Notes
⑴Hujia: an ancient wind instrument. It was first rolled with reed leaves and blown to make music. Later, it was made of wood, decorated with birch bark, with three holes and horns on both ends. It has been popular in northern Saibei and the Western Regions since the Han Dynasty. Yan Zhenqing: a famous calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty, with the courtesy name Qingchen. He was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Prince and Grand Master, and was granted the title of Duke of Lu County. He was known as Yan Lugong.
⑵Purple beard: purple beard. Green: One is "green".
⑶ Loulan: The name of the country in the Western Regions during the Han Dynasty, located in the northeast of Ruoqiang in present-day Xinjiang.
⑷Xiaoguan: One of the four passes in Guanzhong during the Han Dynasty, it was a transportation fortress from Guanzhong to Saibei, southeast of Guyuan, Ningxia today.
⑸Tianshan: In the Tang Dynasty, the mountains to the north of Yizhou (now Hami, Xinjiang) and Xizhou (now Dakeyuanus City, Xinjiang) were called Tianshan.
⑹Kunlun Mountain: refers to the main peak of Qilian Mountain south of Jiuquan, Gansu Province.
⑺Qinshan: Zhongnan Mountain, also known as Qinling Mountains. Longshan: Also known as Longdi and Longban, it is located in the west of Longxian County, Shaanxi Province.
Translation
Haven’t you heard the most sad and melancholy music of Hujia? It is played by a barbarian with a purple beard and green eyes. The song of Hu Jia has not yet been played, and the athletes guarding the Loulan area are filled with sadness. In the cool autumn of August, the roads in Xiaoguan area are desolate and desolate, and the howling north wind breaks the dead grass on Tianshan Mountain. When the moon in the south of Kunlun Mountain was about to set in the west, the Hu people blew Hujia towards the moon. I will send you away amidst Hu Jia's plaintive voice, and stand in Qinshan, looking at the melancholy clouds on Longshan Mountain. There are many homesick and sad dreams in the border city area at night. Who would like to listen to the sound of Hujia blowing towards the moon.
Appreciation
This song "Hu Jia Song Sends Yan Zhenqing's Envoy to Helong" expresses the feeling of parting with friends from the description of the tragic sound of Hu Jia.
The sound of Hujia playing is like the mournful cry of a person. Cai Wenji in the late Han Dynasty once composed "Eighteen Beats of Hujia", which was used to sing to the accompaniment of Hujia to express the sorrow of separation. But Cen Shen's poem is both tragic and strong, showing a unique style. The poet uses different techniques to repeatedly and deeply express Hu Jia's tragedy from three aspects.
The first aspect is the first four sentences. The poet combines the sound of Hujia with the playing situation of "Hu people". The sound of Hujia is the saddest, especially when played by the "Human" with "purple beard and green eyes", the sound becomes even more sad. Before the song is finished, even the soldiers who are accustomed to fighting in Loulan in the Western Regions listen to it. , I can't help but feel sad. In the poem, the image of a "Hu man" with a red beard and green eyes is used to exaggerate the exotic mood. At the same time, the "Sadness of Killing" in "Loulan Zhengshu'er" is used to set off the sadness of Hu Jia's voice. The three words "You don't hear it" are faintly expressed. Revealing a heroic mood.
The second aspect is the middle four sentences, which combine the sound of Hujia with the desolate and desolate scene in the border area. The poet seems to be continuing to tell the story with great interest: Entering Xiaoguan in cool autumn and August, the strong north wind blows all the grass in the Tianshan Mountains, and the dawn moon is slanting in the south of Kunlun Mountain. At this time, the "Hu people" are blowing bamboo to the moon. The sound of Qingxiao is becoming more and more tragic. In these four lines, the poet arranged the sound of Hu Jia when the dawn moon was about to fall. The biting cold air and the whistling north wind merged with the sad voice of Hu Jia, seeming to fill the universe and make the world cold. Li, the desolate and cold environment of this frontier fortress makes the sound of Hujia doubly sad.
The third aspect is the last four sentences. The author directly combines the sound of Hujia with farewell. He said in the poem: Amidst the sorrow and resentment of Hu Jia, I will send you off for a long journey. From now on, I can only look at the clouds of Longshan from the mountains of Qin to express my thoughts. You live far away from your old friends. On the border, you will inevitably have parting dreams at night. When you wake up from your dreams in the clear night, looking at the frosty moonlight all over the ground, you probably don’t want to listen to the sad sound of Hujia, right? These four sentences express the poet's infinite kindness to his friends in his affectionate narration. "Qinshan looks at the clouds of Longshan in the distance" refers to my yearning for Yan Zhenqing after he left, but the clouds cover the fog and I can't see it, showing a trace of sadness, which is consistent with Hu Jia's sad voice; "There are many sad dreams every night in the border town." , and started writing from the side, hoping that Yan Zhenqing's longing for him would be directly connected to the sound of the bamboo slipper.
These two meanings naturally combine the reluctance to leave when saying goodbye with the sound of the bamboo pipes, and achieve a moving effect. Despite this, the poem does not have the sad and sad mood of the usual farewell. The words "Qinshan", "Longshan", "border town" and so on still reveal a majestic spirit. Especially the last sentence, but it ends with a question, and the meaning is not so sure. It also contains the meaning of "not liking to hear" but having to "hear". These profound aftertaste add a tragic and heroic atmosphere to the whole poem. As Mr. Zhou Xiaotian said: "The border in the poem is so sad and fascinating, and the sound of Hujia under the moon is so tear-jerking and so charming. The readers can relate to it. Most of the poets have vaguely decided to experience the ambition of visiting Saiyuan in person at this time. This poem can be said to be the prelude to its frontier fortress poems." (See "A Comprehensive Commentary on Cen's Poems")
This poem is an ancient poem with seven characters, but it begins with an eight-character sentence and is led by the three words "Jun Bu Wen". Showing a sudden momentum. The first sentence is a question, and the last sentence is also a question. The echoes between the two are very close. "Hu Jia is resentful and will be sent to you", and uses the Chu Ci sentence pattern to double the passion. The "thimble" technique is used in the middle, such as "The Hu with purple beard and green eyes plays. The song is still unfinished", "The Hu is blowing the Hu Jia to the moon. The Hu Jia will be sent to you after complaining." The tone of the poem is coherent. The whole poem changes rhyme frequently. The first four lines make one rhyme (Zhi Wei Tong rhymes), which is relatively soothing; the middle four lines and two lines change rhyme, alternating between straight and oblique, changing from slow to particularly urgent; and the last four lines make one rhyme, gradually returning to the original rhyme. Soothing. This intricate arrangement accurately expresses the ups and downs, tragic passion.