In their understanding of the word "romantic", the ancients tended to be deeper than we are today. Our romance today is probably to send a box of chocolates, send a bouquet of flowers, or directly turn 520 pieces. But romance in the world of poetry is much more interesting.
"The so-called Yi people, on the side of the water", the road is obstructed and long, but also swim to your hand, this is the romance of the "Book of Poetry"; "If the two feelings are long, they are in the twilight of the dynasty", this is the ancient famous sentence in Qin Guan's "Queqiao Immortal", only this "in the twilight of the dynasty" 6 words, is how many romantic vows in the heart of long-distance love. In addition, there are "willow tips on the moon, people about after dusk", and "red letters in small characters, saying that the business is flat", the romance of the ancients is indeed enough to make us look beyond reach.
What Xiaomei wants to talk to you about in this issue is a classic romantic image in ancient poetry: the west window of the rain, from Li Shangyin's classic poem "Night Rain Sends North". Let's look at the whole poem:
"Night Rain Sends North"
Junwen returned to the autumn pond at night.
He Dang cut the candle in the west window together, but when it rained at night.
This is a classic poem by Li Shangyin. As for who it was written to, there is still controversy, and some people say that Li Shangyin wrote it to his wife. But some people think that it is written for relatives and friends in the north, and it cannot be concluded that it is a love poem, and it may also be written about friendship. Although there are two solutions, everyone seems to be more willing to accept that this is a love poem, because from the perspective of the poetry, the whole text is entangled in pity, and friendship poems are indeed rarely written like this, not to mention that Li Shangyin is originally a master of love poetry.
The whole poem is 28 words, the whole text is a famous sentence throughout the ages, especially the last 14 words, which has always been respected by future generations. But to this day, many people do not fully understand the meaning of these last two verses.
At the poetry conference, there was a question such as: "Why should we cut the candles in the west window together, but when it rains at night on the mountain", the purpose of cutting candles?
A: Dim the candlelight B: Turn on the candlelight C: Extinguish the candlelight
The answer to this question is to choose B, and the so-called "candle cutting" is to turn on the candlelight. At that time, the player on the field was a small talented woman named Li Xingyi, who stood out from the crowd and passed all the way to this link, which was also a master, but unfortunately she finally answered this question incorrectly. In the group of 100 people on the spot, there are many wrong people.
In fact, whether you choose A or C, you do not understand the meaning of "cutting candles". The ancients used candle lamps, and only by cutting off the burned candle wicks would the candlelight be brighter. Many players will answer incorrectly, one is not clear about this candle lamp, and the other is not understanding the romance of the ancients.
The first two sentences of the poem, writing the other party to ask when to return, the poet faces the night rain of this bashan, thinking that it should be a rainy day when they meet again! In the last two sentences, imagine the situation when he sees each other, and then he will be able to talk to the other party freely under the candlelight of the west window, talk about today's night rain on Bashan Mountain, and complain about lovesickness.
According to our understanding of romance today, when we reunite in the hazy night, it is natural to extinguish the candlelight or dim the candlelight to sleep together, why should we turn on the candlelight? If it is really as we understand it today, it would be very boring. In fact, turning on the candlelight and the rain in the west window is exactly the high-level romance of the ancients. Turning on the candlelight shows that they have spoken a lot before this, and now the words are not finished. I write this to illustrate the depth of lovesickness, and second, to render the beauty of the artistic conception.
Since then, "cutting the candle in the west window" has become an idiom and has been widely used by later generations. The "West Window Talk Rain" has also become one of the most commonly used imagery in ancient poetry, which represents acacia and represents romance. In the lyrics of Li Qingzhao, Naran Zhide and others, the image of cutting candles is mentioned many times.
I don't know if you encounter this question, can you answer it correctly? Through this question, everyone should understand that the romance of the ancients is very advanced. Now many young men like to light candles with stars when they confess, which is quite romantic. But this image, Li Shangyin used it as early as a thousand years ago, and people not only have candlelight, but also the rain in the west window, which is much more meaningful than we are now. Are you right? Discussion is welcome.