孟郊诗
Poems of Meng Jiao
Index
失意归吴因寄东台刘复侍御
Disappointment of the King's Men on Returning to Wu and Finding the Capital Destroyed
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自念西上身 忽随东归风 长安日下影 又落江湖中 |
I think of them, coming out of the west, Hurrying home like the wind, In Chang'an with sunset's shadows Or falling in the wilderness. |
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离娄岂不明 子野岂不聪 至宝非眼别 至音非耳通 |
Departing in weakness -- who does not understand? A wild master -- who does not comprehend? They never saw the greatest treasure, Never heard the most precious words. |
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因缄俗外词 仰寄高天鸿 |
I write this uncommon poem for Submission to the sky-bound geese. |
-- 孟郊
废话
Chu again. Wu was part of Chu. Then it split off and allied with the Jin who were Chu's enemies. Chu fell, leading to all that stuff that resonates with the An Lushan rebellion and the exile of Emperor Xuanzong. Then Wu becomes the dominant state. And later it declines, is defeated by Yue, and Wu's king must flee.
This poem is about those who fled returning to their ruined city. Which is not Chang'an (line 3.) Chang'an is far to the west of Wu, which was on the coast and included present day Shanghai. So, again, this isn't really about Wu or Chu. It's about the Tang, Tang's weakness, Tang's wild master(s). Geese here are the symbol of envied wanderers and their freedom. The poem is uncommon, I think, because it extends the Tang's Chu metaphor into Chu's betrayer, Wu.