"Walking to a water-poor place, sitting and watching the clouds rise", what does this poem mean? What's the artistic conception?

"Walking to the end of the running water, sitting and watching the clouds rise" means walking casually, and unknowingly, I have reached the end of the flowing water. It seems that there is no way to go, so I simply stay where I am. Sit down and watch the storm in the sky.

Farewell to Zhongnan

The source of this sentence is Wang Wei's "Farewell to Zhongnan" in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, which is included in "Poems of the Complete Tang Dynasty"

The original text of this sentence

In his middle age, he was quite good at Taoism. In his later years, he came home to the southern border of the mountains.

When prosperity comes and goes alone, success is in vain.

Walking to a water-poor place, sit and watch the clouds rise.

I happened to be visiting Lin Sou, and we talked and laughed for a long time.

Translation of the original text of this sentence

After middle age, he had a strong heart for Taoism, and it was not until his later years that he settled on the edge of Zhongnan Mountain.

When I am interested, I often go out alone to play, and I appreciate and indulge myself in happy things.

Sometimes I go to the end of the water to find the source, and sometimes I sit and watch the rising clouds and mist change.

I accidentally met a village elder in the woods. I chatted and laughed with him and often forgot to return home.

Here are some words that I think are more important, and I will explain them to you separately

Middle-aged: middle-aged. Good (hào): like. Dao: This refers to Buddhism.

Home: settle down.

Nanshan: Zhongnan Mountain.

岲(chuí): edge, side, border.

Nanshan Frontier: refers to the location of Wangchuan Villa, meaning the foot of Zhongnan Mountain.

Shengshi: a beautiful thing.

Value: encountered. Sou (sǒu): old man.

No return period: There is no exact time for return.

Specific appreciation of the original text of this sentence

The first two sentences: "In the middle age, he was quite good at Taoism, and in his later years he came to the southern border of the mountains." It describes that the poet became tired of the secular world after middle age and embraced Buddhism. . "Wan" refers to old age; "Nanshan Frontier" refers to the location of Wangchuan Villa. This place was originally Song Zhiwen's villa. After Wang Wei got this place, he was completely intoxicated by the beautiful and quiet pastoral landscape there. He said in his letter "Di Shu in the Mountains with Pei Xiucai": "I just went to warm up the scriptures at the foot of my feet, and I didn't dare to bother with you. I went to the mountains, rested in the Xingxing Temple, and left after having dinner with the mountain monks. I traveled north to Xuanba, and the Qing Dynasty The moon reflects the sky; I climb Huazigang at night, and the water is full of ripples, rising and falling with the moon. The distant fire in the cold mountain is extinguished outside the forest; the barking of cold dogs in the deep alleys is like a leopard; the village ruins are pounding at night, and there are scattered bells at this time. Sitting alone, the boy is silent, thinking too much about the past when he joined hands to compose poems, walking along the flat path and facing the clear stream."

This description can explain the second couplet in the poem, "Every time you go alone, you will succeed. The leisurely feeling revealed in "empty self-knowledge". The previous sentence, "Going alone", describes the poet's excitement; the next sentence, "Self-knowledge", also describes the poet's pleasure in appreciating the beautiful scenery. There are not many people who have the same interests and hobbies as the poet. When he is interested, he can only travel alone, enjoy the scenery and enjoy the scenery.

The third couplet says, "You know how to win." "Walking to the end of the water" means walking casually, wherever you go, but unknowingly, you come to the end of the flowing water. Seeing that there is no way to go, you simply sit down on the spot.

"Sit and watch the clouds rise" is an expression of extreme leisure. Yun originally gives people a leisurely feeling and the impression of being careless, which is why Tao Qian said, "Yun has no care to come out of Xiu" (see "Returning Letters"). Through the description of this line, arrival, sitting and looking, the poet's leisurely state of mind at this time is clearly revealed. These two sentences were deeply appreciated by later generations of poets. Yu Biyun, a recent scholar, said: "If you walk to the end of the water and look at the clouds rising, you will see the infinite wonders. You can realize that the changes in the world are endless, and the meaning of learning is also infinite. There is a link between these two sentences. It's so wonderful." ("A Brief Introduction to Poetry") This is very insightful. From an artistic point of view, these two lines of poetry are pictures within the poem, and naturally they are a landscape painting. "Xuanhe Painting Manual" points out: "'When you walk to the waterless place, sit down and watch the clouds rise' and 'The white clouds turn back and merge, the blue mist comes in and you see nothing', etc., they are all painted according to their syntax."

Wang Wei's poems and paintings are full of Zen spirit, and he is respected as the "Buddha of Poetry" in the history of literature. He said two sentences: "Walking to a water-poor place, sitting and watching the clouds rise." What does "water-poor place" refer to? When climbing the mountain, I followed the stream upstream, and at the end the stream disappeared. One possibility is that this place is the birthplace of a mountain spring, hidden beneath the surface. Another possibility is that the stream water that collected after rain dried up here.

The climber walked until the water disappeared. He simply sat down and saw clouds rising on the mountain. It turns out that the water has reached the sky and turned into clouds, and the clouds can turn into rain. Then there will be water in the mountain streams again. Why despair?

The same is true for the realm of life. In the course of life, no matter whether you are dealing with love, career, knowledge, etc., you may move forward bravely, but later you will find that it is a dead end road that you cannot walk, and the sadness and loss of despair will inevitably occur. At this time, you might as well look to the side or back, maybe there is another way leading to somewhere else; even if there is no way to go at all, look towards the sky! Although the body is in a desperate situation, the mind can still swim in space, enjoy nature freely and happily, and experience the broad and profound realm of life without feeling that it is the end of the road.

This sentence has two artistic conceptions. The first one is, don’t be disappointed when you are in a desperate situation, because that is the beginning of hope; the water in the mountains comes from rain, and the rising of clouds means that the water will come soon. . Another realm is that it doesn't matter even if it doesn't rain now, it will rain one day. The process from water to cloud to rain is just like a person encountering great difficulties in the process of practice, including physical obstacles, psychological obstacles, and environmental obstacles. If you retreat because of this, you should return your thoughts to the point of view of your original intention. The initial motivation is when the bodhicitta is first generated. When I first set my mind to it, I had nothing, and I didn’t understand the methods or concepts of practice. If you look back at the situation at that time and then look at the present, haven't you already come a long way? So don't despair, don't give up. This kind of situation may happen at every stage of life. If we look at it in this poetic context, there will be a way to survive everywhere.

The last couplet: "I happened to visit Lin Sou by chance, and I talked and laughed forever. "The word "accidental" is highlighted. In fact, not only did I meet Lin Sou by chance, my trip was just for fun, so it was accidental. "Traveling to a poor place" is another accident. The word "accidental" runs through the entire story and has become a feature of this trip. And precisely because everything is accidental, there are "unintentional encounters" everywhere, which further shows the leisure in the heart, like clouds soaring freely, like water flowing freely, with no restraint in their movements. It describes the poet's natural elegance and aloof demeanor, which is of cognitive significance for readers to understand Wang Wei's thoughts.

This poem does not describe specific mountains and rivers, but focuses on expressing the poet's leisurely and contented state of mind when he lived in seclusion in the mountains. The first six lines of the poem are naturally quiet, and the poet's image is like that of an outsider who does not care about the world. He does not care about worldly affairs and regards the mountains as a paradise. You don’t deliberately explore in search of beauty, but you can appreciate the beauty of nature anytime and anywhere. The last two sentences introduce human activities, bring a breath of life, and make the poet's image more approachable.

Introduction to the author of this sentence

Wang Wei (701-761, one theory is 699-761), whose courtesy name was Mojie (jié) and his nickname was Mojie layman. Han nationality, a native of Puzhou, Hedong (now Yuncheng, Shanxi), and his ancestral home is Qi County, Shanxi. He was a poet of the Tang Dynasty and was known as the "Poetry Buddha". Su Shi commented on him: "When you taste Mojie's poems, there are paintings in the poems; when you look at Mojie's paintings, there are poems in the paintings." In the ninth year of Kaiyuan (721), he was promoted to Jinshi, Tai Lecheng. During the Tianbao period, he paid homage to the official doctor and gave him the title of Shizhong. During the Qianyuan period of Emperor Suzong of the Tang Dynasty, he served as Shangshu Youcheng, and was known as "Wang Youcheng" in the world. Wang Wei is a representative poet of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. He has more than 400 poems in existence today. His important poems include "Lovesickness" and "Dwelling in the Mountains in the Twilight of Autumn". Wang Wei was proficient in Buddhism and was greatly influenced by Zen Buddhism. There is a Buddhist "Vimalakīrti Sutra", which is the origin of Wang Wei's name. Wang Wei is famous for his poetry, calligraphy and painting. He is versatile and proficient in music. Together with Meng Haoran, they are collectively known as "Wang Meng".

You may not be able to understand the meaning by just reading the article, which must be interpreted in conjunction with the background at the time

This poem was written approximately after 758 AD (the first year of Emperor Suzong’s reign in the Tang Dynasty). Wang Wei's works in his later years. In his later years, Wang Wei reached the rank of Shangshu Youcheng. Due to the frequent changes in the political situation, he had already seen the hardships and dangers of his official career, and wanted to escape from this troubled world. He ate fasting, worshiped Buddha, and lived a leisurely life. After about forty years old, he began to live a life of both officialdom and seclusion.