The road is long and long, and I will go up and down to search. What does it mean?

Interpretation of the original meaning of "The road is long and long, I will search up and down"

Yi Zhi

For this chapter in Qu Yuan's "Li Sao" The 97-line poem has become a famous line that many people use to encourage themselves throughout the ages. Most people now understand it as: "In terms of pursuing the truth, the road ahead is still long, but I will persevere and spare no effort to pursue and explore." Foolishly thought that this was no longer the original meaning of this sentence in the original poem. It was just a misinterpretation of this sentence by some descendants who did not understand ancient Chinese and had no poetry literacy before understanding the whole poem. Just show your understanding. Although it is very heroic, very powerful and can inspire people's ambition, it has lost its original artistic charm and looks pale, monotonous and dogmatic. And when you hear it, you will feel that there is a cold and evil spirit of "seeking the end at any cost". If you put this sentence back into the original poem and understand it together with the context, without taking it out of context or using quotations at will, you can come into contact with the perfect artistic connotation that Qu Yuan wanted to express to future generations, and see a full, vivid, reasonable and reasonable poem. artistic image. The benefits will be far greater than just shouting it as a slogan, and it can also remove the violence and stubbornness in the mainstream understanding.

97. The road is long and long, and I will search up and down. (Original poem)

It can be seen from the classical Chinese structure of the sentence: Manman: unclear, vague; Qi: refers to the "road" mentioned above; Xiuyuan: long and narrow.

97. The road is blurry and narrow, I have to distinguish it carefully. (Correct translation and interpretation) Explore the road while it’s still dark!

Based on the context, the meaning is: dusk is approaching, and I want to spend the night in the temple, but it is dark, so I have to walk slowly in order to find the narrow mountain road to the temple. What Qu Yuan wanted to search up and down here was the road, the narrow mountain road that could reach the temple that seemed blurry in the darkness, not some "truth" made up by someone! The following is the translation of the verse section in which this sentence is located and its literal interpretation.

Five Rules? Qu Yuan Kowtowed to the Sky (6)

Riding a phoenix up to the wind, holding an orchid in front of the palace.

Chasing the setting sun alone, calling the sky open late at night.

The palace guard leans on the door and looks at it, and the wise king sleeps on the pillow.

Dark clouds suddenly gathered and dispersed, and heavy rain fell.

Chapter 3 "Try Again" 92 to 129. After reflection, I felt that only by promoting American politics could the dynasty have a way out, so I continued to seek progress.

(8) Knock on the Heavenly Gate. 92 to 107. 16 lines.

It is divided into three sections: "Traveling during the day", "Resting at night", and "Following the rain". The last line of the third section summarizes.

92. Heyi knelt down and swore that I would insist on pursuing beautiful policies. Determination is strong. Line 6

93. Riding a phoenix and riding a white dragon, I ride on the wind and fly into the sky. Explain the means of transportation and travel "flying". Metaphor: urgency.

94. Set off from Cangwu in the morning and arrive at Kunlun Wonderland in the evening. Cangwu and Kunlun Mountains. Emphasizing the high lofty and difficult times;

95. I want to find a place to stay in the spiritual palace, but the sun is setting and the night is approaching. Spiritual Hall, dusk. Pointing out the place to stay, emphasizing that it is late;

96. My name is Xihe and I am slowly whipping Xi, and I am slowly advancing towards the sunset. Whip slowly, advance slowly. Emphasis on caution.

97. The road is blurry and narrow, I have to distinguish it carefully. Explore the road while it’s still dark.

98. Let your horse drink from the salty pond, and tie your horse next to the hibiscus tree. After arriving at the spiritual hall before sunset, we drank and rested our horses. 4 lines

99. Break mulberry branches to catch up with the sun, and relax and lie down. After the sun completely sets, sleep peacefully.

100. The moon god leads the way, and the wind god rushes behind. Late at night a strong wind suddenly came up.

101. The bird and phoenix screamed in alarm, and the God of Thunder reminded me to bring rain clothes. Thunder rumbles, Luan Feng is uneasy, it is about to rain heavily.

102. I make the phoenix fly soaring and fly at night while the sky is open. He hurriedly got up and started on his way, hoping to reach Tiangong before it rained. Line 6

103. The strong wind whirled and swirled, and dark clouds rolled in. At this time, dark clouds gathered in the sky with strong winds.

104. Clouds gather and disperse, rolling and changing colors.

Dark clouds are rolling in and heavy rain is coming.

105. I called the guard to open the Tianmen, but he leaned against the door and ignored me. Finally we arrived in front of Tianmen, but the door wouldn't open.

106. The sky is completely covered with rain, and I am in a daze holding the orchid. Immediately it rained heavily and all roads to heaven were closed. Qu Yuan stood in the rain holding the bunch of orchids that he wanted to offer to the Emperor of Heaven. Using a bouquet of orchids as a metaphor for "beautiful politics" echoes the "centeredness" of the first sentence.

107. Lament that the world is turbid and beauty is covered up by jealousy. (Summary) I sighed deeply because I could not see the Emperor of Heaven.