Spring is far, far away
Where the sun slants its ray.
If orioles have tear,
Wet highest flowers here!
Original Poem:
「天涯」
李商隐
春日在天涯，天涯日又斜。
莺啼如有泪，为湿最高花。
Interpretation:
This poem is about the poet's fall to the end of the world, and at the same time about the sadness when spring is coming to an end.
In the first two lines, the blossoming spring is alone at the end of the world, and the red sun at the end of the world is gradually slanting to the west.
Charming spring light and traveler's sadness are intertwined together, the more wonderful and lovely spring, the far away from the end of the world, the poet feels more melancholy. The end of the world, walking alone, the sadness of the poor sadness of the atmosphere, the day will pass, which will give the beautiful spring scenery shrouded in a layer of lethargy and bleak shadow.
Flowery spring, and the sinking of the sun, even though the cover is colorful, but no more time, will eventually sink in the pale twilight. Day after day, the spring will also end up red Ying fall, quietly return to the past. The easy passing of the light, the flowers will wither, and the poet's life on the road of disappointment and wasted time, is the same as the dead.
These two lines contain both the meaning of the beautiful things unlimitedly cherish, but also contains the life will wither the sadness of helplessness.
The last two lines: beautiful yellow warbler ah you have tears, please sprinkle for me to the highest branch of the delicate flowers.
The warbler's cry is very pleasant, but because of this situation, the poet feels like crying. The yellow warbler that cries loudly, if you have tears, please drop them on the petals of the highest flower on the branch for me! This is because the poet's wax torch has turned to ashes and his tears have dried up, so he can only send his hatred to the crying warbler.
Why did this flower arouse such a deep concern of the poet? This is because the flower on the top of the tree, that is, the last flower, means that the spring has been over, the beautiful things are about to die, the warbler's cry is also doubly mournful. Treetop flowers, no shelter, wind and rain, the company's easy to break, which and all the beautiful things in the world easily damaged how similar to the fate, and our talented, ambitious and downtrodden poet's fate and how similar.
The poet's grief has far exceeded the sorrow of the end of the world, but is deeply impregnated with the pain of life's frustration and disillusionment.
Poem translator:
Xu Yuan-chong (许渊冲)
About the poet:
Li Shangyin (李商隐), 813-858 AD, was a great poet of the late Tang Dynasty. His poems were on a par with those of Du Mu, and he was known as "Little Li Du". Li Shangyin was a native of Qinyang, Jiaozuo City, Henan Province. When he was a teenager, he lost his father at the age of nine, and was called "Zheshui East and West, half a century of wandering".
