◎The Second Inscription on the Wall of Chenghai To...
Emperor Qianlong
Note: This poem was written by Emperor Qianlong in 1743 when he came back from Shengjing after paying homage to his ancestors' mausoleum.He went to Shanhaiguan, climbed up to Chenghai Tower and watched the sea.After seeing the magnificent waves, sky, and sea, he wrote this poem.
This poem can be interpreted as follows:
A splash of a spoon of water, I created the vast sea in the east.
For eons, neither the past nor the present really matters,
Since the sea would never be defective nor overloaded.
Its waves outshine the white snow in December,
And it looks as beautiful and lovely as the autumn sky.
It engulfs rivers, large or small, becoming their destination;
It's a natural barrier, daunting but also facilitating transportation and communication.
How silly it sounds, that the Emperor Shihuang of the Qin Dynasty whipped stones into the sea in search for an elixir!
The sea melts into the sky, and the beautiful scene is lingering in my mind.
Let me clean the dust on my body, and be as crystal clear as you.