Re: 一片清心在玉瓶

Posted by futari on 2006/11/5 23:47:37

And in English:

A cold rain mingled with the Eastern Stream at night;
At dawn you leave the Southern hills lonely in haze
If my friends in the North should ask if I'm all right,
My heart is free of stain as ice in crystal vase.

This farewell poem was written when the poet was demoted to Jiangning (today's Nanjing) and he was seeing his good friend Xin Jian off, who was going to Luoyang for his post.

The first two lines describe the scene of parting. The last two lines convey the poet's aspirations that he would not change his original intention and that he would keep up his lofty moral characters despite the demotion. ...

...The last two lines are particularly well-known, in which the poet vividly expresses a profound meaning with unique figure of speech. "If my relatives and friends ask after me" shows that the poet's kinsfolk were thinking about him and were very concerned about his life and work. Hie reply was, "My heart is like a clear piece of ice in a jade pot." Although treated unfairly, he never regretted nor grieved, firmly believing that his views and practice were right, and his heart was as pure and noble as a piece of crystal - clear ice in a flawless and elegant jade pot. The poet's answer fully conveys his deep feelings towards his relatives and friends and his confidence in himself.
It also shows his strong will of defying the brute forces, not playing up to those in power and holding firmly to the truth. Today, people often quote the lines to express their unswerving, pure and noble beliefs and feelings.

(細細體會, 句子是柔中有剛且擲地有聲, 令人頓生敬佩之情。 現代人常借這句詩表達自己矢志不渝、純潔高尚的信念與感情。)