The Mulberry Picking Girl
Tang Yanqian
The spring breeze blows the silkworms as thin as ants, and the mulberry buds bloom into the crow's mouth.
Whose daughter was picking mulberries in the early morning, holding a long hand in tears like rain.
Last year I went to sleep for the first time at this time, this year the spring is cold and the leaves are blooming late.
I worry about listening to the call to Lixu outside the door, and the official family will receive new silk in February.
According to "Tang Huiyao", a decree issued in June of the 11th year of Yuanhe (816) by Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty said: "The summer taxes in all counties will be reduced to damask, silk, silk, silk, etc." Cotton, etc." There are many types of search items, but it is also clearly stipulated that the time for tax collection is in the summer. Because only after the summer harvest could the common people have silk fabrics to hand over. However, at the end of the Tang Dynasty, when the imperial court's finances were unable to make ends meet, the rulers stepped up their plundering and advanced the time for collecting summer taxes: officials levied new silk in February. How outrageous and unreasonable! In the second month of the lunar calendar, the spring breeze is sharp and the air is chilly. The mulberry-picking girls get up early in the morning to pick mulberries, which shows how hardworking they are. But she couldn't make the "mulberry buds" turn into mulberry leaves, let alone make the ant-sized silkworms grow up and spin silk and form cocoons immediately. And Lixu (a small official in the local government), who is like a wolf and a tiger, has long been forcing her to come to her door, urging her to hand in new silk in February. Thinking of this, she held her hands on the long mulberry branches and tears rolled down like rain. The poet did not say a word of discussion, but used the suffering of a hard-working and kind-hearted mulberry picking woman under the squeeze of exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes to profoundly expose the social reality of "tyranny is more fierce than tigers" in the late Tang Dynasty.
First "painting the dragon" and then "dotting the eyes" is an artistic feature of this poem. The poet first writes about the tiny silkworm seeds, and then writes about the lack of mulberry leaves to pick. Then, through the tearful eyes of the mulberry picking girl, he writes that this year's silkworm business is not as good as last year. These descriptions capture the "inclusive" moment. They are rich in meaning and highly suggestive, making people naturally think of: "silkworms" may freeze to death due to "spring cold"; without mulberry leaves, silkworms may They will starve to death; even if the silkworms survive, they are still far away from spinning silk and spinning cocoons. According to the "Book of Silkworms", nine days after the silkworm eggs hatch into adults, they begin to molt. During the molting period, they do not eat or move, which is called "sleeping". They sleep for seven days. After four sleeps, the silkworms spin silk and form cocoons. During this period, I don’t know how much hard work the mulberry picking girls will have to do. However, just when the silkworms were as thin as ants, their first sleep had not yet begun, and the harvest of silk cocoons was uncertain, Lixu came to urge her. This key point is extremely powerful, pointing out the reason why the mulberry picking girl shed tears, and highlighting the theme. The whole poem ends abruptly, but the remaining meaning is endless and intriguing for aftertaste and imagination.
Another characteristic of poetry is the combination of action description and psychological portrayal of characters. "Hands holding a long strip of tears like rain" describes the hard work and sadness of the mulberry pickers. "Last year I went to sleep for the first time, this year the spring is cold and the leaves are blooming late" points out the worries in the heart of the mulberry picking girl. In addition, she worries about hearing the urging voice of Linxu outside the door. The poet combines the form and psychological description into one, The image of the mulberry-picking girl is deeply touching.
The language of this poem is simple and vivid. "It is only the mulberry buds that nourish the green crow's mouth." The poet carefully depicts the shape of the speckled buds on the mulberry branches with meticulous brushwork, which is cool and vivid. "Green crow's mouth" is a metaphor for "mulberry bud". "Nu" means exerting force. Using "cainu" to connect "mulberry buds" and "green crow's mouth" not only illustrates the metaphorical relationship between the two, but also accurately depicts the dynamics of "mulberry buds" "nurturing" in the spring breeze. The word "nu" brings Sang Ya to life, adding interest to the picture.
(Deng Guangli)