唐詩
问刘十九
Bai Juyi
绿蚁新醅酒，红泥小火炉。
晚来天欲雪，能饮一杯无？
翻訳
Freshly brewed wine, green foam floating on its surface. A small red-clay stove glows with gentle fire. Evening has come, and the sky seems ready for snow. Would you come over and drink a cup with me?
解説
"Asked to Liu Nineteen" is one of Bai Juyi's warmest and most intimate short poems. It contains no grand scenery and no elaborate allusion. It presents only fresh wine, a small stove, an evening that may bring snow, and a casual invitation to a friend. The first line introduces the wine. "Green ants" refers not to actual ants, but to the tiny greenish foam that appears on newly brewed, unfiltered wine. The phrase gives the wine a fresh, homemade, slightly rustic feeling. The second line gives warmth. The small red-clay stove is modest, but it creates the physical center of the poem. The new wine can be warmed, and the room itself becomes a refuge from the cold. The third line introduces the weather. Evening is falling, and snow seems near. Bai Juyi does not need to say directly that it is cold. The approaching snow makes the warmth of wine and fire more vivid. The final line is the heart of the poem: "Would you drink a cup?" It is plain, direct, and conversational. There is no formal invitation, no ornate expression of friendship. Precisely because it is so simple, it feels real. The poem's charm lies in understatement. Bai Juyi does not tell us that friendship is precious. He creates a situation in which friendship is naturally felt: a winter evening, a small fire, new wine, and someone one wants to share it with.
作者紹介
Bai Juyi, courtesy name Letian and later known as Xiangshan Jushi, was a major poet of the Middle Tang dynasty. His ancestral home was Taiyuan, and he was born in Xinzheng, Henan. He was one of the leading figures of the New Yuefu movement, advocating poetry that used clear language, addressed social reality, and remained accessible to ordinary readers. His works are numerous and wide-ranging, from long narrative masterpieces such as "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" and "Song of the Pipa" to poems on daily life, friendship, retirement, politics, and emotion. "Asked to Liu Nineteen" is a classic example of his ability to make ordinary human warmth memorable with the simplest words.