唐詩
清溪行
Li Bai
清溪清我心，水色异诸水。
借问新安江，见底何如此。
人行明镜中，鸟度屏风里。
向晚猩猩啼，空悲远游子。
翻訳
Clear Creek cleanses my heart. The color of its water is unlike any other. Let me ask the Xin'an River: though one can see to its bottom, how could it compare with this? People walk as if inside a bright mirror. Birds pass as if through painted screens. Toward evening, gibbons cry in the mountains. Their voices only stir the sorrow of a traveler far from home.
解説
"Song of Clear Creek" describes Li Bai's experience of traveling along a remarkably clear stream. The poem begins in brightness and purity, then turns toward the melancholy of a traveler at dusk. The opening line links landscape and inner state. The creek is clear, but it also clears the poet's heart. Water is not just something seen; it becomes a force of spiritual purification. "The color of its water is unlike any other" strengthens this praise. Li Bai is not merely saying the water is transparent. He suggests that the creek has a special quality, a distinct brightness and presence. The comparison with the Xin'an River further heightens the effect. The Xin'an River was famous for clear water, but Li Bai asks whether even water clear enough to show its bottom could equal this creek. The question is not objective measurement; it is poetic admiration. The central couplet is the visual heart of the poem. People walk as if inside a bright mirror, because the water reflects everything with extraordinary clarity. Birds fly as if passing through painted screens, because the surrounding mountains resemble decorative panels. Li Bai transforms the natural world into a luminous space of reflection and art. The final couplet changes the mood. At evening, gibbons cry, and their sound stirs the sorrow of the far traveler. In classical poetry, the cries of mountain animals often suggest loneliness, distance, and homesickness. The creek may cleanse the heart, but it cannot erase the sadness of wandering. The poem is powerful because of this contrast. The landscape is pure, bright, and almost magical; yet the traveler remains vulnerable to sorrow. Li Bai's mountains and waters are never merely scenic. They often become mirrors of freedom, longing, and exile.
作者紹介
Li Bai, courtesy name Taibai and literary name Qinglian Jushi, was one of the greatest poets of the Tang dynasty and is often called the "Poet Immortal." He spent much of his life traveling and became known for his bold imagination, natural fluency, romantic spirit, and love of freedom. His poetry ranges across landscape, Daoist transcendence, wine, friendship, history, frontier life, and personal aspiration. Representative works include "Bring in the Wine," "The Road to Shu Is Hard," "Quiet Night Thoughts," "Setting Out Early from Baidi City," and "Viewing the Waterfall at Mount Lu." "Song of Clear Creek" shows his ability to make landscape both brilliantly visual and emotionally resonant.