Spring River Flower Moon Night () Zhang Baotong 2018.6.11

In 705 AD, a major event occurred in Chinese history, on February 20 (the 22nd day of the first lunar month), the crown prince Li Xian, the prime minister Zhang Khan Zhi and Cui Xuanwei and other ministers launched a mutiny, forcing the empress Wu Zetian to abdicate and restore the Li dynasty. Therefore, this year is called the first year of Shenlong.

In March of the lunar calendar of the first year of Shenlong, Zhang Ruoxu took a boat down the river from Jiangcheng on official business and rushed to Jiujiang. On March 13, the boat came to Pengcheng. Pengcheng is a small town where Dongting Lake flows into the Yangtze River. This place is busy with waterways since the beginning of Yin Shang, fishermen and traders are endless, 15 miles away from Yuezhou City in the south, Bashu in the west, Ninghu in the east, Central Plains in the north, Lingnan in the south, and the place where the goods of the three Hunan and four rivers are distributed in ancient times. "Notes on the Book of Water" says: "The right side of the river will be Xiangshui, the river will be east, and the left will be Erxiapu, commonly known as the West River Estuary." The east path is also taboo in the south of the mountain, and Shandong is the hidden mouth of Pu. On the right bank of the river, there is Chengling Mountain, and the mountain has the old city. Pengcheng was also a place of exile for the imperial court, and many people and civil officials and military generals would meet here, so there was a saying that "the city tomb chased the end of the land, and there was also Confucianism". Therefore, he wanted to stay here for two days to enjoy the mountains and rivers here.

Staying in a hotel in the town and resting for a while, it was already evening. I learned that there is a Xiaoxiang restaurant on the cliff side of the top of the Chengling Mountain, which is a famous place for the town and is often a place for businessmen and poets to travel, so I want to go here, one is for sightseeing and watching, and the other is for drinking and having fun. So, he came out of the inn, walked from the town, and walked along a stone path to the top of the castle.

Zhang Ruoxu has passed the age of confusion and served as the Yanzhou Bing Cao, an eight-rank official position, equivalent to a modern district-level leader. Although he was a bureaucrat in the army, he was proficient in poetry and writing, and was known as the "Four Soldiers of Wuzhong" along with He Zhizhang, Zhang Xu, and Bao Rong. The poems are known for their quatrains, and the style of writing scenes and expressions is unique, fresh and free. I heard that there are poems and paintings of celebrities and inkmen in the restaurant, so I want to drink and read them to relieve the dust of the journey.

From the slope of the river to the top of the mountain, you will arrive in front of the Xiaoxiang Restaurant. Looking up, this four-story restaurant is simple and simple, and the vicissitudes of time have passed. Because it occupies a corner of the green mountain, facing the river and facing the wall, this building is tall and strong, the sun and the moon are hanging in the air, and the momentum is dangerous. However, there are dense forests and green bamboos and red leaves, which add a lot of aura to this building, and there is a kind of tranquility and serenity outside the world.

The clerk saw that he was seven feet five inches tall, dressed in a cyan eight-grade official uniform, wearing a black gauze hat, handsome and bold, and had an extraordinary bearing, so he took him to the top floor very politely. The top floor is a box seat, simple and exquisite, magnificent, hanging celebrity calligraphy and painting everywhere, every article is very valuable. There is a large observation deck outside the box, and you can see the end of the river and the distant mountains from a high vantage point.

At this time, the sun is setting, the red glow is overwhelming, the return is dazzling, and the golden light is blurred. Half of the spacious river is golden and half shady. On the opposite side of the river is a flat wilderness meadow, with large patches of red mountains. The mountain flowers are connected with the green slope, and the green slope reflects the mountain flowers, bright red and gorgeous, stretching for several miles, as if red all over the sky. The river breeze blows in gusts, and you can smell the rich aroma. There is a remote island in the middle of the river, and sand gulls gather, sometimes flying over the sky in flocks, sometimes leisurely stopping on the beach. Full of green mountains and green fields, few people, the river and sky are the same color, the spring flowers are gorgeous, and the scenery of dusk and sunset is intoxicating.

I heard that Zhang Ruoxu was coming, and the shopkeeper came to visit, first invited Zhang Ruoxu to the banquet, and then invited Zhang Ruoxu to watch the poems, words and paintings of celebrities in the past dynasties. The literati and celebrities who have come here are not famous, but the poems and paintings left behind are wonderful and unique, poetic and picturesque. The theme is mostly the moonlit night of the spring river, and the flowers are beautiful.

When we returned to the observation deck on the roof, it was already dark. The moon has not yet come out, only a few stars can be seen on the horizon, and the river and flowers have disappeared into the night. On the observation deck is a square wooden table, next to which a large red lantern hangs, and the bright light of the lantern shines on the table. On the table was a jug of old wine and a wine glass.

When he sat down at the table, a beautiful woman came over and poured him wine, and then stood aside. Two young women walked to a bench at the table and sat down, and began to play the pipa and the moon harp. They play popular folk songs and dances and dance music from Yuefu. Some of the songs he was already familiar with, and some of them were local folk songs that he had never heard of. But the two women are skilled and handy, and they play each piece of music in a simple and clever way, which makes people sometimes feel like an empty valley orchid, sometimes feel like a mountain stream and a spring, sometimes feel like an epiphany, and sometimes feel like a colorful cloud.

At this time, the night sky is clear and full of stars. After a few glasses of wine, Zhang Ruoxu was already a little drunk, and he looked into the distance, as if he saw the spring river tide surging and mighty, connected with the sea, and a bright moon rose from the sea, shining on the thousands of spring rivers. The river surrounds the flowers, the bright moon shines on the pine forest, the river is one color, and the moon hangs high.

Facing the bright moon of the spring river and the fragrance of flowers at night, Zhang Ruoxu couldn't help but think about his lover, and sighed about parting sorrowfully: the lonely wheel and bright moon, the frosty sky is the same color, the river is meandering, and the lonely boat under the moon. Looking at the Yangtze River, there are thousands of thoughts, looking at the bright moon with tears and hazy eyes, I don't know how many people can take advantage of the moonlight to go home, only the moon that sets in the west swaying and parting, sprinkled all over the woods by the river.

Thinking of this, an uncontrollable passion surged in his chest, and he wanted to write down this homesickness for comfort. He asked the woman pouring the wine to spread out the paper on the next few cases, take a pen and grind the ink, and hold the lamp on the side. He touched the scene, was full of emotion, full of juice and ink, waved his pen and wrote:

The tide of the spring river is even with the sea, and the bright moon on the sea is born together.

Thousands of miles with the waves, where there is no moon in the spring river!

The river flows around Fangdian, and the moonlit flowers and forests are like hail.

The frost in the air does not fly, and the white sand on the Ting cannot be seen.

Jiangtian is colorless and dustless, and the lonely moon wheel in the bright sky.

Who first saw the moon on the riverside? When did the river moon shine at the beginning of the year?

Parting with love is the eternal theme of ancient literati writing poems and lyrics. And this dreamlike spring river and bright night made the poet can't help but feel deep affection for his family. Looking back on the past, running around for a lifetime, at this time it is more than half a hundred years old, but it is very famous, recalling the parting with the family for many years, feeling the fragrance of moon dreams and flowers, and feeling more and more lonely and sad in my heart. I was so grateful that a burst of sadness hit my heart, and tears blurred my eyes.

Zhang Ruoxu is a native of Yangzhou, his parents are nearly seventy years old, the woman is in her thirties, and she has a son and a daughter, a son is seventeen, and a daughter is eleven today. It has been twenty-seven years since he went abroad to seek fame at the age of eighteen. In the past 27 years, due to the mountains and rivers, he has traveled thousands of miles, and he has only returned home a few times. He misses the woman the most, and he loves the woman the most.

The woman Jin Feng, originally a singing singer in the Chunxiao Teahouse in Yangzhou, was born beautiful, intelligent and clever, since she was a child, she was influenced by the art of the family, practiced a golden voice, often followed her father to the Chunxiao Teahouse to sing, whenever the father's jade flute blows, she sings a song, suddenly, the whole Chunxiao Teahouse is fascinated. But Zhang Ruoxu only heard about it, but did not see it with his own eyes.

Twenty years ago, when he was twenty-five years old, he was already an official in Zhongxia County, Henan. In the spring of that year, he sought fame and returned to his hometown, and his parents were very happy, but they were also very worried that he had never married. Although many rich ladies came to meet them, they were all rejected by him one by one because of their unattractive appearance, indecent appearance or too coquettishness. This makes parents very distressed and worried.

Yangzhou is the prosperous city of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and the ancient canal ferry is a land and water fortress and a goods market. Since ancient times, the streets have been occupied by government dignitaries and celebrities, and are covered with high-rise houses with blue bricks and gray tiles. The buildings are carved with beams and paintings, and the eaves are arched, delicate and gorgeous, and the momentum is magnificent. On both sides of the street, there are wine shops, teahouses, restaurants, hostels, pharmacies, grocery stores, and oil and salt shops, one after another. Pedestrians and tourists, people and cars come and go, and there is an endless stream. At night, the shops are brightly lit, the fragrance is full of streets, red dust is everywhere, and beautiful women are like clouds. Everywhere is a bustling scene of singing and dancing.

One day, although it was not too late to get dark, after drinking with his old friends, he walked in front of the Chunxiao Teahouse on the street and heard someone singing "Backyard Flowers". "Backyard Flowers" is also called "Yushu Backyard Flowers", with flowers as the title of the song, which is a kind of love song of Yuefu folk songs. Chen Shubao, the last emperor of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, filled in the new word, the word "Liyu Fanglin to the high pavilion, the new makeup is glamorous." Yinghu Ning Jiao didn't go in at first, and greeted him with a smile when he came out. The face of the enchantress is like a flower with dew, and the jade tree shines in the backyard. The flowers do not bloom for long, and they fall red and fall all over the ground and return to silence. This song is a classic of the palace music, and it can be heard by the people, which naturally makes Zhang Ruoxu feel surprised. He listened attentively, and the song was poignant and beautiful, lingering with resentment.

So, he couldn't help but enter the teahouse, and saw that the teahouse was full of people, and in the middle of dozens of tea tables, there was a middle-aged man playing a flute, which was eloquent. A young woman sang in Qingge Man, affectionately. The song is like a warbler crying and a phoenix singing, and the aftermath lingers, as if it is about to melt people's hearts. Looking at the woman's appearance again, it is even more clear and beautiful, beautiful as a flower, which makes people look at it, and there must be no sigh and surprise of "looking at the city, and then looking at the country". Because all the tea tables were ordered, he had to stand in the aisle and stare intently at the woman. He inquired about others and learned that the woman's name was Jin Feng, who was 17 years old and unmarried.

At night, Zhang Ruoxu's mind was full of only the golden phoenix girl, thinking about her bright smiling face, thinking about her golden song and jade throat, and never slept all night. The next day, before dark, he came to the teahouse early, asked for the table closest to the singing place, and waited. When the singing began, he sang "Backyard Flowers" three times in a row, which naturally attracted the attention of the Golden Phoenix girl. For three days and five days in a row, Jin Feng naturally saw the deep affection and infatuation of this dignified man in a nine-grade official uniform for her, and she was also admiring his elegance and handsomeness. When Zhang Jaixu gave her a courtship love poem, she quickly replied to him with a poem, euphemistically expressing her yearning for the union and the lotus and the mandarin ducks.