This poem is a classic of Shi Shuo Xin Yu:
Xie Taifu (An) got together on a cold snowy day and talked with his children about the meaning of paper. Soon, it snowed heavily, and the guardian said happily, "What kind of snow is this?" ? "Brother Tiger (Xie Lang) said:" The difference between sprinkling salt and air can be simulated. " His eldest brother's daughter said, "Catkin can dance with the wind better than the wind." . "Guardian of the empire laughed.
For a long time, the phrase "sprinkling salt in the air can be imitated" has become the laughing stock of many literati, and everyone is admiring Xie Daowen's talent and poetry. This poem by Xie Lang has become a wonderful satire to set off the poetess.
As a woman, I admire Xie Daowen very much. A poem made her immortal. Even Cao Xueqin used her to describe the heroine Lin Daiyu in A Dream of Red Mansions:
It's a pity to stop working, but it's a pity to praise talents.
The jade belt hangs down the forest, and the golden hairpin buries the snow.
Cao Xueqin generously gave Lin Daiyu the evaluation of chanting willow, which shows the position of this sentence in his mind.
When it comes to poetry, "If catkins rise from the wind" is indeed more artistic than "Sprinkling salt in the air can be imitated". The goose feather snow all over the sky is like catkins flying in late spring, soft and elegant, like a dream; Vaguely, it seems to be my daughter's feelings, which makes people confused.
Today, I suddenly fell in love with the sentence "The difference between salt and air can be simulated", because I saw snow.
Snowflakes, no, should be snow particles, coming with the whistling north wind. The ground is not white and soft, but small particles. If you want to use a poem to describe the scene at this time, only "salt air can be simulated" is the most real.
The whiteness of salt, the texture of salt, and the intensity of sprinkling salt all fully show such a heavy snow.
If we have to use some artistic words to describe such a snow, at least catkins are not suitable.
Catkin is too light and soft, so snowflakes should fly slowly in the windless sky. In that case, you should greet the snowflakes in the sky with your hands and observe them carefully.
However, the snow like salt does not bring poetry, but it is absolutely mental stress, which is hard to sigh.
In any case, this kind of snow should not be described as "no catkins, because the wind is blowing".