与李白的对话

In a language class the teacher introduced to the pupils a work titled Night Thoughts by the great Tang Dynasty （618—907）poet Li Bai（李白）. The teachers words aroused Miao Miaos interest in the Tang Dynasty， but when it came to doing the exercises， while all the other pupils were busy Miao Miao was so tired that he was slumped over（沉重地倒下） his desk asleep， oblivious to all around him...

Miao Miao seemed to be in a strange place. It was not his own home， but more like an inn. All the furnishings were different， too， with an antique flavor. He opened the woodenframed window， and saw a full moon.

“Where am I？” he wondered aloud.

The door opened， and a young man in his twenties entered. He had a pair of bright piercing（敏銳的）eyes. He wore a long robe， and a precious sword hung at his waist.“What are you doing in my room？” the man asked.

Then Miao Miao understood that he had been transported over a thousand years back in time， to the Tang Dynasty. This handsome and elegant young man was the great poet Li Bai！ Miao Miao exclaimed excitedly： “You must be Li Bai！ Today in language class we studied your Night Thoughts. Almost everybody knows by heart the Tang poems that you wrote！”

“Is that so？” exclaimed Li Bai with a contented smile.“I thought that only people of the Tang Dynasty learned my poems； I never thought that they would still be popular over a thousand years later！”

“That explains how truly well written your poems are，”said MiaoMiao. “How did you come to think of writing Night Thoughts at that time？”

“Its a long story，” said the poet. “In that year I left home to travel and study south of The Yangtze River. By the time I reached Yangzhou， I had run out of money. Moreover， I fell seriously ill. That night there was a full moon. I lay on the bed， but could not sleep as my head was full of thoughts of home. I took up my writing brush， and wrote this poem.”

“Really？” said Miao Miao. “Even though your poem does not mention home-sickness， I knew you were thinking of home. You see， in the poem it says ‘With bowed head， thoughts of my native place. Isnt that expressive of homesickness？” Miao Miao smiled as he said this.

Li Bai nodded， and said， “I can see you are well acquainted with that poem. Now I want to ask you： that poem only has four lines， and each line only has five characters. The meaning is very simple. Why does everyone say that such a simple poem is so well written？”

Miao Miao made a great effort to remember the teachers explanation in the classroom. He then recited the poem again. When he reached the line“I thought there was frost on the floor，” the answer dawned on him. “I know. This poem is infused with imagination. The moonlight is imagined to be white frost， and the reader gets a feeling of coldness.”

Li Bai gave Miao Miao a hearty thumbs-up sign.“What a bright boy！ ” he said. “I not only put imagination into that poem， ” he continued， “I also linked the moonlight and home-sickness together in the last two lines.”

Miao Miao exclaimed， “A night with a full moon is a time for thinking of home； this tradition has lasted for a thousand years， and the artistic attraction of Tang poetry has greatly contributed to this.”

“Miao Miao... wake up！ Youre not supposed to sleep in class.”

Miao Miao opened his eyes， and saw the angry face of his language teacher. Just then， the bell rang for the end of the class. The teacher mounted the podium， and said， “Children， as a closure to the class， we will all recite in unison the poem Night Thoughts which we studied today.”

“Moonlight before my bed，

Looks like frosty ground.

I look up at the bright moon，

With drooped head think of home.”

语文课上，老师给同学们讲了唐代诗人李白的名诗《静夜思》。通过老师的讲解，苗苗对唐诗产生了兴趣。这节课是习题课，大家都在做题，苗苗实在太困，趴在桌子上睡着了。周围的一切好像都不一样了……

苗苗感觉自己来到了一个陌生的地方，不是自己家里，倒像是一间客栈。周围的摆设也变得古香古色。苗苗推开木窗，看到一轮圆月挂在窗外。

“这是哪里呀？”苗苗大声喊道。

“是谁进了我李太白的屋里？”房门被推开，进来一位20多岁的青年，双眼炯炯有神。他穿着一件长袍，腰中佩带着一把宝剑。

苗苗这才明白，原来自己回到了1000多年前的唐朝。眼前这位英俊潇洒的青年就是大诗人李白！苗苗激动地说：“您就是李白啊！今天我们学了《静夜思》。您写的这首诗，几乎人人都会背呢！”

“是吗？”李白得意地笑了。“我只知道自己的诗在唐朝人人会背，没想到过了1000多年还是很流行啊！”

“說明这首诗确实写得好！您当时是怎么想到要写这首诗呢？”苗苗问。

“说来话长啊！当年我离开家乡到江南一带游学，走到扬州这个地方，钱也没了，又生了一场大病。那天晚上也是一个月圆之夜，我躺在床上，太想念家乡了，怎么都睡不着，提笔就写下了这首诗。”

“原来如此！其实您不说，我也知道您想家了。您看，诗中‘低头思故乡不是在说想家吗？”苗苗笑着说。

李白点点头：“看来你理解得不错。那我问你，这首诗只有4句，每句只有5个字，意思又很简单。为什么这么简单的诗大家都说写得好呢？”

苗苗努力回忆着课堂上老师的讲解，又读了一遍诗。读到“疑是地上霜”，他恍然大悟：“我知道了。您在这首诗里加入了想象，把月光想象成白霜，这样就让读者感受到一种发自内心的寒意。”

李白竖起大拇指：“孺子可教啊！我不但加入了想象，还在诗的后两句把月亮和思乡联系到了一起。”

“月圆之夜也是思乡之时，这个传统竟然保留了上千年。唐诗的艺术魅力真大呀！”苗苗感叹。

“苗苗……快起来，上课时不许睡觉！”苗苗睁开眼，看到语文老师生气的脸。这时下课铃响了，老师走上讲台说：“同学们，下课之前我们再一起背诵一次今天学习的这首《静夜思》。”

“床前明月光，疑是地上霜。举头望明月，低头思故乡。”

注：中英文部分皆选自《用英文说中国故事》。原文有删改。