shǔ蜀xiān先zhǔ主miào庙

The First Ruler was Liu Bei, who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period. His son Liu Shan was called the Later Ruler. Liu Yuxi wrote this poem when he visited a temple to Liu Bei. It is usually dated to his time as governor of Kuizhou, and the temple was in Kuizhou, today's Fengjie in Chongqing. The poet looks back on Liu Bei's life and sighs over how Shu Han rose and fell.

先主就是刘备，他是三国时蜀汉的开国皇帝。他的儿子刘禅叫后主。这首诗是刘禹锡参观蜀先主庙时写的，一般认为写于他做夔州刺史的时候，庙在夔州，就是今天重庆奉节。诗人回顾刘备的一生，感叹蜀汉兴起又灭亡。

Liu Yuxi (772–842) was a mid Tang poet and a close friend of Bai Juyi; the two were called "Liu and Bai". Because he took part in a political reform, he was sent away from the capital for over twenty years, yet he stayed cheerful and strong. He wrote many poems about the past, such as "Black Robe Lane", often using history to reflect on the rise and fall of states.

刘禹锡（772—842），字梦得，中唐诗人，和白居易很要好，人称“刘白”。他因为参加政治改革，被贬到外地二十多年，但性格乐观坚强。他写了很多怀古诗，比如《乌衣巷》《西塞山怀古》，常常借历史感叹兴亡。

The first four lines are praise. Right away the poet says Liu Bei's heroic spirit fills heaven and earth and still inspires awe a thousand years later. That is a grand opening. Then he says Liu Bei split the land three ways and tried to restore the Han, a great achievement. Lines five and six go up and then down: Liu Bei found a fine minister in Zhuge Liang and could found a state, but his son Liu Shan was a failure. The last two lines point to a story from history. After Shu fell, Wei had the dancers of Shu perform before Liu Shan. Everyone else was heartbroken, but Liu Shan laughed and said he was happy here and did not miss Shu. The poet does not scold Liu Shan directly. He only shows the dancers performing in the Wei palace, and the sadness runs even deeper.

前四句是赞美。一开头就说刘备的英雄气概充满天地，千年后还让人敬畏，气势很大。接着说他三分天下、想要复兴汉朝，功业了不起。第五、六句一扬一抑：他得到了诸葛亮这样的好丞相，才能建国；可儿子刘禅却不争气。最后两句讲一个历史故事：蜀亡后，魏国让蜀国的歌舞艺人在刘禅面前表演，旁人都很伤心，刘禅却笑着说“此间乐，不思蜀”。诗人不直接骂刘禅，只写艺人在魏宫跳舞，悲凉的感觉却更深了。