My ox horn bends, and my ox tail is bald. * * * came piccolo and whip, and Nanmu Donggang went to each other. When the sun sets, the grass is far behind, and the cows are hungry, only I know; Singing on the cow, the cow sits down, and lying next to the cow at night. I am not worried about herding cattle for many years, but I am afraid of losing rent and selling my cattle. Notes on cattle herding words
[1] Er: the meaning of "you". "Er" and "I" in the next sentence: the shepherds are commensurate with each other. [2] Bending ring: bending into a ring. [3] Bald speed: the tail hair is sparse and short. [4] but fear: I am afraid. [5] Losing rent: paying rent. Appreciation of Cowherd Ci
This poem is composed of ten sentences, which describe his life and feelings in the tone of a shepherd boy. The first eight sentences of the poem focus on the joy of the shepherd boy and the cow. The first two sentences, "My ox horn bends, and my ox tail is bald," are intended to set up a dialogue between shepherds: "Your ox horn bends, and my ox tail is thinner and less hairy." In fact, the ox horns and oxtails are all like this, so it doesn't matter whether the horns bend or not, and whether the tail is bald or not. The poet mentioned "my cow" and "my cow" together, and "the tail is bald" and "the corner is curved" in order to highlight the childlike innocence of the shepherd boy and his love for his own cow. Written in this way, it can be described as a voice. If you don't see him, you will hear his voice first, and the image of a shepherd boy will be vividly portrayed.
the third and fourth sentences "* * * plucked piccolo and whip, and the southern Longdong hills chased each other", following the first two sentences, write that the shepherds meet to go out to herd cattle in the morning, and they drive the cattle with piccolo and whip in their hands, or chase and play with each other on the ridges in the south or on the hills in the east. These two sentences rest on the word "phase by phase". "chasing each other" means chasing and playing with each other. "Piccolo" is a common wind instrument used by shepherd boys; The "whip" was originally a tool used by shepherd boys to drive cattle, but here it and piccolo became their toys. "Nanlong" and "Donggang" point out the places where shepherd boys "chase each other". Of course, this is not necessarily a real reference, but only a general reference to the chasing and playing of shepherd boys everywhere. Here, the poet vividly reproduces the scene of frolicking between shepherds with the help of line drawing.
The next four sentences are "I know that the sun is setting, the grass is far behind, and the cows are hungry. Singing on the cow, the cow sits down and returns to the cow at night, focusing on the joy of the shepherd boy and the cow. The word "sunset" in the poem is generally understood as the setting sun, that is, the sun in the evening. The author thinks that the "sun setting" here should be understood as an oblique sunlight, which refers to the morning. In the morning, after the sun rises from the horizon, people look from the ground and the sun seems to hang obliquely in the sky. Therefore, it is very vivid to express the morning with "sunset". Besides, it is consistent with the shepherd boy's going out to herd cattle, and it is also in line with the following "returning at night". If the "sunset" is understood as the setting sun and sunset, then the cows are full at this time, and it is unreasonable to follow the "sunset" with "the grass is far away and the cows are late", which is repeated with the meaning of "night" in the following "night return". In these words, it is still with the help of line drawing to describe the joy of the shepherd boy and the cow. As the saying goes, "The sun sets, the grass is far away, and the cattle are late", and the shepherds know well the toil and hunger of the cattle. When they are herding cattle, they sing on their backs or sit beside them to have a rest. "Go home at night", and they sleep next to the cow. It is this series of descriptions that vividly describe the joy of the shepherd boy and the cow.
The ninth sentence of the poem, "I don't worry about herding cattle for many years", summarizes the above, and leads to the key conclusion: "But I am afraid of losing and renting and selling my cattle". The contrast between "fear of fear" and "no worries" highlighted the worries of the shepherd boy and reflected the heavy taxation of the society at that time. Obviously, this poem focuses on creating a happy scene and exaggerating the joy of the shepherd boy with thick ink, just to contrast the worries of the shepherd boy. In the Qing Dynasty, Wang Fuzhi's "Jiang Zhai Shi Hua" has a cloud: "Writing mourning with a happy scene and mourning for Syaraku will double its sorrow and joy." 1 Gao Qi's "Cowherd Ci" uses the brushwork of writing sorrow with joy. The whole poem, with the joy of the shepherd boy playing and the joy of the shepherd boy and the cow, deeply writes about the shepherd boy's worries, and then vividly exposes the cruelty of feudal exploitation, which also makes the conception of this poem significantly higher than those poems that simply reflect childlike innocence.
Before Gao Qi's "Pastoral Ci", the Tang Dynasty poet Zhang Ji wrote a poem "Pastoral Ci": "Pastoral cattle far away, surrounded by thick grass and millet around the village. Hunger in the vicious circle pecked at the cow's back, which prevented me from playing with the dragon's head. When entering the vicious grass, many cows scatter, and when they are white, they sing to the reeds. "The leaves were blown across the embankment in response to the companions, and the whip was whipped three or four times. Niu Niu did not touch the grass, and the official cut his head off. This poem is also about the life and feelings of a shepherd boy. The shepherd boy "herded cattle far away", originally wanted to let the cows graze on their own, but their companions could have a good time, but they didn't know that "hunger pecked at the cow's back" made them dare not leave their cows to play. The sentence "vicious" is quite childlike. Later, due to the gluttony of cattle, the cattle were separated, and the shepherds drove away separately and contacted each other in a unique way such as "blowing leaves". The three sentences of "entering the vicious circle" vividly reappear this scene, and make people feel the joy of herding cattle. At the end of the poem, there are three sentences: "The drums and whips are still beating three or four times, and Niu Niu eats grass and touches it, and the butler cuts his head." At a turn of the pen, he writes that the shepherd boy throws a whip and scares the cows with "the butler", which is interesting and intriguing. The shepherd boy used the "official" to scare the cows, which shows that the official is awesome. It is not so much that the shepherd boy scares the cows with the "official" as that the shepherd boy himself is afraid of the official's exploitation. In this way, the darkness of the society at that time was euphemistically exposed. Obviously, this poem also uses the brushwork of writing sadness with joy.
This is a new Yuefu, which describes the joyful mood of shepherd boys when they are herding together. The whole poem describes in detail and vividly the joy of getting along with each other between shepherds, people and cows, and the deep feelings of shepherds for cows. At the end of the poem, "I am afraid of losing rent and selling my cattle" tells us that this simple life may not last long, and exposes the social reality that taxes are heavy, exploitation is cruel, and farmers often sell cattle and lose rent. The whole poem has a strong local flavor and profound social significance.
Poems: Cattle-herding Ci Poetry Author: Gao Qi Poetry in Ming Dynasty Classification: New Yuefu, Shepherd Boy