The source of these two sentences is "Augmenting the Sages and Part I".
The Zengguang Xianwen is a bibliography of children's enlightenment in the Ming Dynasty of China, which has a deep Confucian nature and is compiled in rhymed proverbs and literary sentences. Its content is very extensive, from etiquette and morality, canonical system to customs and allusions, astronomical geography, almost all-encompassing, but the sentences are smooth and easy to understand, and the center is to talk about the philosophy of life and the way of dealing with the world.
And the poem "The ancients did not see the present time and the moon, and this month once followed the ancients" has actually existed for a long time, but why do we say that it is selected from the "Augmented Sages"?
Because its original work has been modified orally in circulation, we must understand this sentence and directly interpret it literally. This is equivalent to the vernacular text, flowing water sentence, the meaning is simple and clear.
People in ancient times could not see today's moon, but today's moon once illuminated the ancients.
The deep meaning behind it is precisely the idea of the boundlessness of time and space and the smallness of sentient beings expounded by Su Shi in "Former Chibi Fu".
The deceased is like si, but not the past; the surplus is like the other, and the pawn is like the long. Gai will look at it from its change, then the heavens and the earth will not be able to look at it in an instant; from its unchanging one, then things and I will be endless, and what envy!
The moon has clouds and clouds, but it is eternal and long. We have never changed from our own point of view of the moon and the earth, but if we look at sentient beings from the perspective of the heavens, the earth, and the moon, it is only an instant of life and death!
Compared with Su Dongpo's text, "this month was once according to the ancients" is more straightforward and simple, revealing that the thinking realm of time and space is vast and life is small. The simplicity of expression allows more people to substitute for the situation and lament life, so they can be selected to enter the "Augmentation of Sages" as enlightenment knowledge.
In fact, these two poems are from an ancient style of Li Bai, but they may have been unintentional or intentionally changed in circulation.
"Ask the wine to ask the moon, the late Jia ChunLing"
Li bai
When the moon comes in the blue sky, I stop the cup today and ask.
People climb the moon and cannot get it, but the moon walks with people.
It was like a flying mirror approaching Dan Que, and the green smoke was extinguished.
But seeing that the night came from the sea, Ning knew that xiang yun was not there.
The white rabbit pounds medicine in autumn and spring, and Chang'e is lonely with whom neighbors.
Today's people do not see the ancient time and month, but this month once looked at the ancients.
If the ancients and today's people flowed water, they all looked at the bright moon together.
May the moonlight shine on the golden bottle when the song is against the wine.
Li Bai's original sentence is "Today's people do not see the ancient time and moon, this month once illuminated the ancients" - today's people, ah, have not seen the moon of ancient times, but today's moon, but through time and space, clear ancient and modern.
We can see that the sentences collected in the "Augmented Sages" are exactly the same as those of Li Bai, and the difference is only that the "present" and "ancient" in the sentence "Today's people do not see the ancient time and moon" are reversed, becoming "the ancients do not see the present time and the moon", which is no different from the overall thinking, so why does this change occur?
In fact, it is very simple, it is a reason for not going well.
Li Bai's original sentence does not exist alone, it is a link in the whole poem, when we read his works, we will first adjust our mentality and enter a state of poetry chanting, then many places will follow the overall sense of rhythm. Under the influence of the up-down link, the smoothness of a single sentence will be weakened to fit the whole work, as long as it is not too serious, the small mouth may be ignored - not to mention the Tang and Song tones, coupled with the difference in regional pronunciation, the original work itself may also be smooth.
But it is clear that when this union is taken out separately as a proverb, a colloquialism, and enters the state of vernacular (common language) communication, without the sense of chanting created by the overall poem, the awkwardness of a single sentence may be highlighted.
We use today's Mandarin pingshu to analyze (different eras, different accents, consistent principles).
"Today's people do not see the ancient time and month" ping 仄 is "平平仄仄仄平仄", which is the fifth word change of "平平仄仄平平仄". And "the ancients did not see the present time and month" is the first word regardless of "仄平仄仄平平仄". It is obvious that the latter is more in line with the rules, although Li Bai's original sentence does not come out of the law, but the more standard sentence is to read more smoothly.
This can be seen from the simple text exchange and flat change of "the ancients did not see the present time and the moon", and the final result is judged by whether the chanting is fluent or not.
The compilation of altered poems and immortals in the "Augmented Xianwen" is a clear proof that the oral transmission of the common people has a higher rhyme than that of the works of the poetry immortals. It is also a clear proof that the grammar is rigorous and the pronunciation is more reasonable.
The sentences of the poetry immortals are not impossible to change, and some lofty friends should have a broader heart. Those who open their mouths are "Li Bai is not as good as you?" Du Fu is not as good as you" keyboard bar, we must make it clear that today's people are far above the ancients in terms of thinking, talent, and insight, but the world is too big and the knowledge is too wide, and the vast majority of people are no longer limited to literary expression and are no longer limited to poetry creation.
The ancients did not see the present time and the moon, and this month once looked at the ancients.
Shi Xian Li Bai sought the ancient, so he lamented that the present people did not see the ancient moon.
The "Augmentation of the Sages" is still in the present, so it is clearly stated that the ancients did not see this month.
The moon is the same moon, but time is moving forward, people are constantly evolving, and the level of social culture is constantly improving.
Don't look down on the ancients, but don't look down on yourself, and don't look down on our future.