来青轩[1]
[清]朱彝尊
天书[2]稠叠[3]此山亭，
往事犹传翠辇[4]经。
莫倚危栏频北望，
十三陵[5]树几曾青？
注释：
[1]来青轩：明神宗皇帝命名的一座山亭，在北京香山寺内，今已废。
[2]天书：天上神仙写的书或信，这里指亭内皇帝书写的匾额。
[3]稠叠：稠密重叠，密密层层。
[4]翠辇：皇帝坐的车子。
[5]十三陵：十三个明朝皇帝的陵墓，在北京昌平天寿山。
The Green Pavilion[1]
Zhu Yizun
With royal hands the Green Pavilion beautified,
Imperial carriages often visited the hillside.
Don’t lean on balustrade now for a northern view!
E’en trees on thirteen royal tombs have lost green hue.
注释：
[1]The Green Pavilion in the Temple of Fragrant Hill was adorned with handwritings of Ming emperors, and the tombs of thirteen Ming emperors were situated to its north.
Laiqingxuan is located in Xiangshan Temple in Xishan, Beijing. The opening line is “Heavenly books are stacked on this mountain pavilion”. “Stacked” means “many”, which means that there are many emperors’ inscriptions on the pavilion in the temple. The second line is “The past is still passed down in the Cuiyan Sutra”, which means that the emperors of the Ming Dynasty had visited this place many times by car. These two lines introduce the origin of the name of Laiqingxuan and the previous situation. They are written in a realistic way and are relatively straightforward. They are ordinary brushstrokes to draw the body of the dragon; however, they shape the trunk for the following two lines, which is convenient for the subsequent text to move in the air. There is not much ink, but the effect is tight, and it also appears simple and concise. The last two lines: “Don’t lean on the dangerous railing and look north frequently. How many trees in the Thirteen Tombs have ever been green?” With a light and clever brushstroke, the whole poem becomes a circling dragon in the sky, with a lively spirit and a vivid appearance. The Thirteen Tombs are located in Changping, Beijing today, at the foot of Tianshou Mountain in the north of Xishan. From Chengzu to Sizong of the Ming Dynasty, except for Emperor Jing, a total of thirteen emperors’ tombs were built there. The poem uses the word “qing” in “laiqingxuan” as the starting point and transition point, saying that we should stop boasting about how much green mountain scenery can be seen in Xiangshan Temple. Leaning on the railing and looking north, there are not many green pines and cypresses on the mountain of the Ming Tombs. The sadness that the trees on the tombs are not green is a portrayal of the mood of people who miss their homeland. The poem naturally connects the “qing” in “laiqingxuan” and the “qing” of the Ming Tombs, without commenting, implying the contrast between the past and the present, and the pain of the country’s demise. It is written in plain language, but it is implicit and profound. The sentence “Ming Tombs” is the beginning of the painting, and the word “qing” is the finishing touch. In the light clouds and mist, the scales and claws are looming, and the dragon that the emotions are placed on is still recognizable from head to tail.
