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岳陽樓記 analysis (Part 2/5)

予觀夫巴陵勝狀在洞庭一湖銜遠山吞長江浩浩湯湯橫無際涯朝暉夕陰氣象萬千此則岳陽樓之大觀也前人之述備矣然則北通巫峽南極瀟湘遷客騷人多會於此覽物之情得無異乎

The second paragraph describes the magnificent scenery and myriad phenomena visible from 岳陽樓 Yueyang Tower, imagining how the emotions of the visitors would vary under the influence of the scenery. From 予觀夫巴陵勝狀 "I observed the splendid state of Baling" to 氣象萬千 "myriad phenomena," it describes the magnificent scenery visible from 岳陽樓 Yueyang Tower. 范仲淹 Fan Zhongyan had never been to 岳州 Yueyang, but when 滕宗諒 Teng Zongliang asked him to write this account, he included the 洞庭晚秋圖 "Late Autumn on Dongting Lake" painting. With rich imagination, he depicts distant mountains, the 長江 Yangtze River, and the morning and evening scenes that are difficult to appreciate at once. The paragraph begins with 予觀夫 "I observed," targeting Dongting Lake's geographical environment, focusing on the distant mountains and the Yangtze River, presenting the vast water and boundless view visible from Yueyang Tower, i.e. 銜遠山吞長江浩浩湯湯橫無際涯. 朝暉夕陰氣象萬千 "Morning sun and evening shadows, myriad phenomena" generally describe how the landscape changes due to morning and evening weather conditions. This passage succinctly summarizes the grand view of Yueyang Tower and sets the stage for more detail. The concluding two sentences summarize the previous text, responding to the earlier statement of 刻唐賢今人詩賦於其上 "inscribing poems and essays by Tang and contemporary literati on it," and then smoothly transitioning the narrative. 然則北通巫峽 "Then, how about the northern passage to Wuchang?" to 得無異乎 "What if it is not different?" correspond to the geographical environment where the northern and southern waterways converge, imagining the feelings of the unsuccessful literati who have gathered here over the years, ascending 岳陽樓 Yueyang Tower to view the scenery, whose emotions would inevitably be influenced by the scenery. 遷客騷人 "Wandering guests and wandering poets" refers to literati throughout history, echoing the previous reference to Tang and contemporary literati, including the then disgraced 滕宗諒 Teng Zongliang and the author himself. 覽物之情得無異乎 "The feelings when viewing things, are they that different?" uses a rhetorical question to introduce the following text.

to be continued...