These little officials of Caozhou County,
every branch and leaf is always related to love.
Expressing the author's determination to rescue people in Kailun
Poetry on ink bamboo pictures
(Qing Dynasty) Zheng Xie
Lying in Yazhai Listening to Xiao Xiaozhu, I suspect it is the sound of suffering among the people.
Appreciation of Poems and Paintings
Zheng Xie, courtesy name Kerou, alias Banqiao, was a poet, calligrapher and painter of the Qing Dynasty, one of the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou", a Jinshi during the Qianlong period, and served as Qipin County official.
This poem writes that when he was in office, Shandong was hit by disasters and countless people were hungry. Zheng Banqiao worked all day long to help the victims. He was tired during the day and had a lot of thoughts at night, making him unable to sleep at night. Hearing the cold rain knocking on the window and the rustling sound of the wind blowing through the sparse bamboos, he immediately thought of the complaints of the people crying about hunger and cold, so he got up, spread out paper and painted, completed this article, and sent it to his superiors so that they could understand the sufferings of the people. He also wrote to ask for relief, opened official warehouses, and helped the people. The disaster was serious and the situation was urgent. He had no time to wait for approval from his superiors, so he resolutely decided to open a warehouse to release grain, and at the same time mobilized officials to cook porridge for disaster relief. As a result, he offended his superiors and was dismissed from office. Friends said he was confused, so he wrote "rarely confused" to express his attitude.
Predecessors mostly painted bamboo realistically, with thick stems and small leaves. The bamboos painted by Banqiao have very thin stems, and the bamboo leaves are not much colored, but are green and green. They are all painted with ink, making them appear taller and more unique. Although the wind is rustling, the bamboo leaves are not blown by the wind and rain, showing the author's spirit of "I will not move despite the wind and rain."