The Night of Winter Solstice in Handan
Bai Juyi of the Tang Dynasty
During the winter solstice in the Post Office in Handan, the figures in front of the lanterns hugging the knees accompany me.
If you want to sit at home late at night, you should also talk about people traveling far away.
Appreciation
"Handan Winter Solstice Homesickness" does not have sophisticated or gorgeous rhetoric, nor any unique and novel imagination. It just uses a narrative tone to describe the affection of distant visitors. Its advantages are: first, it uses straightforward and simple language to express a common life experience that people often have, and the feelings are sincere and touching. The second is the exquisite and unique conception: first of all, there is no word "thinking" in the poem, it is just narrated plainly, but there is a feeling of "thinking" everywhere; secondly, when writing that I miss home, I write from the opposite side.
The first two sentences are documentary, and the side is written "Missing Home". The first sentence describes the guest's modesty, which has planted the root of "homesickness". In the Tang Dynasty, people were supposed to celebrate the Winter Solstice at home with their loved ones. But now the author encounters this festival in Handan inn and doesn't know what to do. The second sentence is about the author celebrating the festival in Handan Inn. The word "hugging one's knees" vividly depicts the posture of sitting dryly. The word "in front of the lamp" not only dyes the environment, but also highlights the "night" and highlights the "shadow". The word "companion" connects "body" and "shadow" and gives "shadow" human feelings. Only the shadow of the figure sitting with his knees in his arms accompanies the body sitting with his knees in his arms. The author's loneliness and homesickness are beyond words.
The last two sentences use imagination and write "homesickness" on the front. In the last two sentences, I changed the direction of my writing. Instead of directly writing about how I missed home, I imagined that my family was still sitting around in front of the lamp late at night during the winter solstice, talking about myself as a person who traveled far away. This is how to express it. "Homesickness" amplifies this homesickness and makes it real and touching. What's touching is that the scene he imagined when he was homesick was actually how his family missed him. During this winter solstice festival, because I traveled far away from home, my family must have had a very unhappy time. When I hugged my knees in front of the lamp and missed my family until late at night, my family members were probably still awake, sitting in front of the lamp, "talking about people who are far away". The author does not specify what is specifically "said", which leaves the reader with a vast world for imagination. Everyone who has enjoyed family happiness and has had similar experiences can think a lot based on their own life experiences. The author did not use gorgeous words or excessive artistic techniques, but used plain and simple language to express his homesickness vividly.
Bai Juyi's poems are often famous for their simple language, plainness and simplicity, and their artistic conception is also often revealed. This poem is plain and simple, with exquisite and unique conception. There is a touch of homesickness and a strong feeling of cherishing relatives between the lines.