How much sorrow can you have? Just like a river of spring water flowing eastward. meaning

It means: Ask me how much sadness is in my heart, just like the endless spring water flowing eastward. ?

From "The Poppy: When Will the Spring Flowers and Autumn Moon Come" written by Li Yu, the later leader of the Southern Tang Dynasty. The original text is:

When will the Spring Flower and Autumn Moon come? How much do you know about the past? There was an east wind in the small building last night, and the motherland cannot bear to look back at the bright moon!

The carved railings and jade inlays should still be there, but the beauty has been changed. How much sorrow can you have? Just like a river of spring water flowing eastward.

Translation:

When will this year end? How much do you know about the past? Last night, the spring breeze blew again from the small building. On this night with the bright moon in the sky, how could I bear the pain of recalling my motherland!

The finely carved railings and jade steps should still be there, but the person I miss is already aging. Ask me how much sadness is in my heart, just like the endless spring water flowing eastward.

Extended information

Creative background:

This poem was written before Li Yu was poisoned to death, in the third year of Taiping and Xingguo's reign (978), the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Northern Song Dynasty. It has been nearly three years since Li Yu returned to Song Dynasty.

Appreciation of the main theme:

This word is a lament for life. By contrasting the sharp contradiction between the eternity of nature and the impermanence of life, the author expresses the sadness of feeling the loss of life after the subjugation of the country. .

The reason why Li Yu's words can arouse widespread public praise is largely due to the contagious and symbolic metaphors used in the concluding sentence to both visualize and express his sorrow. Abstraction: The author did not clearly write the true meaning of his melancholy: nostalgic for the hedonistic life of the past, but only showed its external form: "Just like a river of spring water flowing eastward.

In this way, people It is easy to get some kind of spiritual echo from it and use it to express similar emotions, because although people's sorrows have different connotations, they can all have the appearance of "just like a river of spring water flowing eastward". Often greater than thoughts, Li Yu's words can produce a wide range of resonance and have been passed down through the ages.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Poppy·When will the spring flowers and autumn moon