A line about a suitable home and a good home comes from "The Book of Songs·Zhounan·Taoyao"
"The Book of Songs·Zhounan·Taoyao": "When a son returns home, it is suitable for his family." Appropriate: Harmony. The family is harmonious and the couple is harmonious. In the old days, it was often used to congratulate people on their marriage.
"Guofeng·Zhounan·Taoyao" is a poem in the "Book of Songs", the first collection of poems in ancient China. Modern scholars generally believe that this is a poem to congratulate a young girl on her marriage. The poem consists of three chapters, each with four lines, and sings a hymn for the bride, inspired by peach blossoms. The language of the whole poem is concise and beautiful. It not only cleverly changes "Shi Jia" into various inversions and synonyms, but also repeatedly uses the word "Yi" to reveal the beautiful character of the newlywed mother and her family living in harmony, and also writes about her Their good character injects fresh blood into the newly built family, bringing a harmonious and joyful atmosphere.
Creative Background
Regarding the background of this poem, "Preface to Mao's Poems" says: ""Taoyao" is caused by the concubine. If there is no jealousy, men and women will be righteous and marriage will be harmonious. At that time, there were no widowers in the country." I thought it was related to the concubine and the king. Fang Yurun refuted this view in "The Original Book of Songs" and believed that "these are all circuitous and difficult to understand, and are not enough to convey poetic meaning." Modern scholars generally do not take the view of "Preface to Mao's Poems", but believe that it is a poem to congratulate a young girl on her marriage. According to the "Book of Rites of Zhou": "In mid-spring, the order brings together men and women." In the Zhou Dynasty, girls usually got married when the spring was bright and the peach blossoms were in full bloom. Therefore, the poet used the peach blossoms to cheer up and sang a hymn for the bride, which was similar in nature to the folk weddings of later generations. The "makeup-inducing words" sung on. Some people have also put forward a new theory, thinking that this poem is the libretto of the ancestors when they performed ghost exorcism rituals. Its content is to drive away ghosts and gods, bring them back to their homes, and pray for them to bless their loved ones in the world.
Appreciation of Works
Overall Appreciation
The whole poem is divided into three chapters. The first chapter uses bright peach blossoms as a metaphor for the bride's youth and charm. "The Peach Blossom" begins with rich and colorful symbolic connotations. The delicate peach blossoms blowing towards the face give the poem a strong sense of color. "Scorching its flowers", it can be said that the peach blossoms are extremely bright and beautiful, so beautiful that they can dazzle the eyes. From the perspective of the relationship between the metaphor and the metaphor, what is written here is the fresh peach blossoms, blooming one after another, and the newlywed bride who has been dressed up is excited and shy at the moment, her cheeks are red, she is really like a peach blossom, and the two complement each other. flavor. The poem describes both scenes and people, and the scenes blend together to create a joyful and warm atmosphere. This kind of scene can still be seen at rural weddings even today. The second chapter expresses wishes for marriage. After the peach blossoms bloom, they will naturally bear fruit. The poet said that the peach trees are full of fruits and the peaches are fat and big, which symbolizes that the bride will give birth to a son early and the family will be full of children and grandchildren. The third chapter uses the lush peach leaves to wish the bride’s family prosperity. The abundant fruits on the peach branches and the dense shade of the peach branches' leaves are used to symbolize the happiness of the newlyweds' married life. It can be called the most beautiful metaphor and the best eulogy.
Zhu Xi's "Collected Poems" believes that each chapter uses "Xing", which is reasonable, but if you play with the poetic meaning carefully, it is true that there is a comparison between Xing and Xing, and both Xing and Xing are used. There are three chapters in the poem. Each chapter starts with peach, and then uses flowers, fruits, and leaves as metaphors. It is very layered: from flowers blooming to fruiting, and then from fruit falling to leaves blooming; the poetic meaning of the metaphor also gradually changes, and is related to The peach blossoms grow in harmony with each other, forming a natural and integrated whole.
After singing about the peach blossoms, the poet also expressed his congratulations in the spoken language of the time. The first chapter says: "When the son returns, it is suitable for his wife and family." In other words, this girl will get married and have a harmonious and beautiful family. Chapters 2 and 3 were changed to "family" and "family" because of the rhyme relationship. In fact, there is little difference in meaning. According to ancient rituals, men consider women as their wives, and women consider their men as their homes. Only the union of men and women forms a family. When a woman gets married, it is the beginning of a family. Zhu Xi's "Collected Poems" explains: "The word "appropriate" means harmony. The room refers to the place where the couple lives, and the family refers to the same family." In fact, it means that the newlyweds' small home is called the room, and they live together with their parents. For home. Now it is interpreted as family in modern terms, making it easier for general readers to understand.
The language of this article is extremely beautiful and concise. Not only did he cleverly change "Shijia" into various inversions and synonyms, but he also used the word "yi" repeatedly. The word "appropriate" reveals the beautiful character of the newlywed bride living in harmony with her family, and also writes that her beautiful character can inject fresh blood into the newly built family and bring a harmonious and happy atmosphere. This word "appropriate" is so powerful that no other word can replace it.
Comments by famous experts
Zhu Xi of the Song Dynasty's "Collected Poems": "The transformation of King Wen, his own family and country, men and women should be righteous, marriage should be timely, so the poet became inspired by what he saw, and I admire the virtuous woman and know that she must be suitable for her family. "But the peach blossoms are the right time for marriage."
Yao Jiheng's "The Book of Songs" in the Qing Dynasty: "The color of peach blossoms is the most beautiful, so it is used as a metaphor for women, and it is the beginning of eternal poetry to praise the ancestors of beauties."
The beginning of this poem, "The peach blossoms are blooming, their flowers are burning" is not only a "Xing" sentence, but also Containing the meaning of "comparison", this metaphor has a great influence on later generations. People often say that the first person who uses flowers to compare beauty is a genius, the second person who uses flowers to compare beauty is a mediocre person, and the third person who uses flowers to compare beauty is a fool. "The Book of Songs" is China's first collection of poetry, so it is not an exaggeration to say that it is the first place to use flowers to compare beauty. Since then, flowers, especially peach blossoms, have been used to compare beauties. For example, Ruan Ji in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, "Yong Huai: The Prosperous Son of the Past": "Peach and plum blossoms are shining every day.
"Cui Hu of the Tang Dynasty wrote in his "Inscription on Nanzhuang of the Capital City": "On this day last year, in this gate, the faces of the people and the peach blossoms reflected each other's red. "The poem "Bodhisattva Man·Beautiful Lady" by Chen Shidao of the Northern Song Dynasty: "The jade wrist is pillowed with fragrant cheeks, and the peach blossoms are blooming on the face. "They all have their own characteristics, and naturally they cannot be dismissed as mediocre or stupid. However, they are all influenced by the poem "Zhou Nan·Taoyao", but the influence varies and the application is clumsy. Women are described in ancient literary works Phrases such as "face like peach blossoms" and "beautiful as peaches and plums" are commonly used to describe a beautiful face, which were also inspired by the song "Zhou Nan·Taoyao", and "human face with peach blossoms" has become a classic artistic conception in Chinese classical poetry.