One of the Twelve Sample Essays in Chinese - Wang Wei's "All Night in Autumn at Mountain Dwelling
When you are preparing for the DSE, are you worried about how to read DSE Chinese, or do you not know where to start? TodayGETUTOR Hong Kong Tutor AssociationLet's talk about Wang Wei's "All Night in a Mountain Dwelling", one of the twelve sample essays in DSE, which is one of the twelve sample essays in the Three Poems of DSE. We have compiled the full text of Wang Wei's "All Night in the Mountain Dwelling" with translation, main idea and key points for you, hoping that it will be convenient for you to revise!
Collection of worksheets on benevolence, filial piety, and being a gentleman
Wang Wei's "Autumn Night in a Mountain DwellingFull Translation
Original text:
After the new rain on the empty mountains, the weather is late for autumn.
The moon shines between the pines, the clear spring flows over the stones.
The bamboo clamour returns to the raccooness, and the lotus moves to the fishing boat.
I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to stay here, but I'm sure I'm going to be able to stay here.
Translation:
It had just rained in the open hills, and it was a cool autumn day in the evening.
The moonlight of the bright moon shines among the pine trees, and the clear water of the spring flows over the rocks of the mountain.
The noise coming from the bamboo forest is the return of the washerwoman; the lotus leaves swaying in the stream is the fisherman's boat descending from here.
Letting the flowers and grasses of spring wither, the scenery in front of us can already make the reclusive poet stay in the mountains and not have to return.
Translation
1. All night: twilight, night
2. Bamboo noise: the noise in the bamboo forest.
3. Raccoon women: washerwomen.
4. At will: This means "at will".
5. Spring fragrance: spring flowers and plants.
6. Rest: to cease, referring to the decline of flowers and plants.
7. Wangsun: Originally meaning descendant of a nobleman, it became a common name for a nobleman's son, and here it refers to a hermit like a poet.
Author's background
Wang Wei (692 AD - 761 AD), courtesy name Mojie (摩詰), known as Mojie Jushi (摩詰居士), was born in Qixian County, Shanxi Province, and was known as the "Buddha of Poetry" (詩佛). In his later years, Wang Wei grew tired of officialdom and enjoyed his life in seclusion. Therefore, the themes of Wang Wei's later works often revolved around his secluded life, landscapes, and natural scenery, and they also carried Buddhist ideas. Therefore, Wang Wei's poems are good at writing about the pleasure of quietness, especially in five lines, and they are both Zen and pictorial.
Background to the article
Wang Wei lived a semi-official and semi-private life here in his later years zxab This poem was written when Wang Wei was living in the mountain village of Liannan, and the "mountain village" in the poem is the "Lianchuan Mansion" where he lived. The poem describes a fresh, beautiful autumn evening mountain scene, and also describes the poet's desire for a quiet life in the mountains.
Article Structure
The poem is in iambic pentameter, with eight stanzas and four couplets, of which the chiasmus and cervical couplets are in contrast to each other.
Rhymes:
lit. fresh rain on an empty mountainAfter (hau6)It's late.Autumn (cau1).
lit. the bright moon shines in the midst of the pines, while the clear spring rises above the stonesStream (lau4).
Bamboo noise and the return of the raccoon lady, lotus moving down the fisherman.Boat (zau1).
If you want to have a break in spring, you can have a good time with your grandchildren.Stay (lau4).
Source:Hong Kong Education Bureau
Autumn Night in the Mountains Worksheet
Part A: Assigned Reading - Wang Wei's Autumn Night in a Mountain Dwelling (30%)
1. Explain the meaning of the following words: (4 marks)
a) After the new rain on the empty mountain: _______
b) The moon shines between the pines: _______
2. Translate the following sentences into vernacular: (4 marks)
"Returning to the view into the deep forest, restoring the light on the moss."
3. What kind of autumnal mountain scene is depicted in the poem? Please describe it. (4 marks)
4. Explain the meaning of the lines "asking for pleasantries across the water, suspected to be autumn rain" and their function in the poem. (3 marks)
5. What kind of emotion does the poet express in the poem? (3 marks)
6. What sensory descriptions are used in the poem? Please give examples. (4 marks)
7. Translate the following sentences into modern Chinese: (4 marks)
"The pineapple moon shines again, and the shadows of the green hills are moving."
8. Briefly describe the main idea of the poem and analyse how the poet expresses his state of mind through the description of the scenery. (4 marks)
Extended reading: Interpretation and Analysis of the Twelve Sample Essays of DSE in Chinese
1. The Analects of Confucius (on benevolence, filial piety and the gentleman)
2. Mencius, "What the Fish Desires.
3. Chuang Tzu's "Easy Ride" (Abridged)
4. Xunzi's "Exhortation to Learning" (extract)
5. Sima Qian, "Biography of Lian Bo (廉頗藺相如列传) (extract)
6. ZHUGE Liang's "Table of the Exodus of the Master" (出師表)
7. Han Yu's The Teacher's Discourse
8. Liu Zongyuan's Record of a Banquet in the Western Mountains
9. Fan Zhongyan's Records of Yueyang House
10. Su Xun, A Treatise on the Six Kingdoms
11. Three Poems
- Wang Wei's Autumn Night in a Mountain Dwelling
- Li Bai's "Discretion under the Moon" (I)
- Du Fu's "Ascending a Building" (登樓)
12. Three Lyrics
- Su Shi, "Nian Nu Jiao - Reminiscences of Red Cliff" (念奴嬌-赤壁懷古)
- Li Qingzhao, "The Sound of Sound. Autumn Love
- Xin Wuji, "The Case of the Green Jade..." (The Case of the Green Jade) The Night of the First Day of the Lunar New Year
