长歌行
青青园中葵，朝露待日晞。
阳春布德泽，万物生光辉。
常恐秋节至，焜黄华叶衰。
百川东到海，何时复西归？
少壮不努力，老大徒伤悲。
A Slow Song
The mallow in the garden green in hue
Awaits the sun to dry the morning dew.
The radiant spring spreads its nourishing light;
All living things become then fresh and bright.
I dread the coming of the autumn drear
When leaves turn yellow and red flowers sere.
A hundred streams flow eastwards to the sea.
When to return to the west can they be free?
If one does not make good use of his youth,
In vain will he pass his old age in ruth.
(Translated by Xu Yuanchong)
The main idea of this folk song is to encourage people to value (珍惜) their youth. This idea is presented straightforwardly in the last two lines. These lines are the most famous part of the poem.
It would be boring if the poem lectured (说教) readers right from the beginning. So the author chose to write about other topics first before arriving at the main point of the poem. This writing style, called qixing (起兴), is commonly used in yuefu poetry.
For example, the first half of A Slow Song is about the life of a sunflower. Upon reading this, readers can understand how quickly time flies and how valuable life is. Another yuefu poem, A Pair of Peacocks Southeast Fly (《孔雀东南飞》), tells the story of two lovers who take their own lives. But its first two lines are about two peacocks lingering (徘徊) and looking back, implying a sad ending for the couple.
Did you know?
A Slow Song is an example of 'yuefu poetry'. Yuefu can be translated as 'music bureau'. It was a government office that was created during the Western Han Dynasty (202 B.C.-8 A.D.). This bureau collected folk songs and music from across the country. Since the author of each of these works is unknown, these works are referred to in general as yuefu poetry. Compared with poems written by professional (专业的) poets, yuefu poetry is usually written in a bold (大胆直白的) and simple style.
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