The bright moon leaves the branches and the magpies are frightened
The previous sentence of the cicada chirping in the breeze at midnight is "The bright moon leaves the branches and the magpies are frightened." The meaning is that the bright moon in the sky rises above the treetops, frightening the magpies perched on the branches.
Original text
Moon in Xijiang·Walking on the Yellow Sand Road at Night
Xin Qiji in the Southern Song Dynasty
The bright moon scares the magpies on the branches, and the breeze sings the cicadas in the middle of the night. The fragrance of rice flowers talks about a good harvest, I hear the sound of frogs, there are seven or eight stars in the sky, and two or three drops of rain in front of the mountain. In the old days, by the forest of Maodian Society, I suddenly saw a bridge over a stream when the road turned.
Notes
Singing cicada: the sound of cicada.
Two sentences of seven or eight stars: "Easy pattern" in Volume 5 of He Guangyuan's "Jian Jie Lu": "Wang Shulu's minister Yan Rang recited poems, and there are many ordinary and easy words. There is a poem from Songmen Temple: 'Two or three streaks of electricity are about to turn into rain, and seven or eight stars are still in the sky.'"
Old times: the past. Maodian: a thatched country inn. Shelin: The forest near the Tutu Temple. Society, Temple of the Land. In ancient times, there was a community tree in the village, which was used as a place for worshiping gods, so it was called community forest.
Suddenly: Appear suddenly. See, the same as "appear", appear, appear.
Translation
The bright moon in the sky rose above the treetops, frightening away the magpies perched on the branches. The cool evening breeze seemed to bring the distant chirping of cicadas. In the aroma of rice, people are talking about the good harvest year, and there are bursts of frogs croaking in their ears, as if they are talking about the good harvest year.
Light clouds were floating in the sky, and the twinkling stars appeared and disappeared. It started to rain lightly in front of the mountain. I hurriedly crossed the stream across the small bridge to escape the rain. Where have the hut shops beside the woods near the Tutu Temple gone? After turning a corner, Maodian suddenly appeared in front of us.
Appreciation
On the surface, the subject matter and content of this poem are just some seemingly ordinary scenery. The language has no decoration, no allusion, and the hierarchical arrangement is also inconsistent. Just let nature take its course and be normal. However, precisely in the seemingly plain, there are the poet's painstaking conception and honest feelings. Here, readers can also appreciate another realm of Jiaxuan's poetry beyond the majestic and heroic. Each scene in the author's pen reveals the poet's joy for the harvest year and his love for rural life. This is exactly the happiness that the author gets from forgetting about nature. This is a poem that describes the pastoral scenery. After reading it, we feel the tranquil beauty of life. The first part of the poem is about a moonlit summer night, with the unique sounds of mountain villages such as the chirping of cicadas and the noise of frogs, showing the unique taste of the countryside. The second part of the poem uses light clouds and drizzle, the weather is sometimes cloudy and sometimes sunny, and the sudden appearance of old travel places, showing the fun of walking in the countryside at night. The whole poem exudes a strong flavor of life, expressing the poet's joy in the harvest year and his love for rural life.
The first two sentences of Xin Qiji's poem "The bright moon leaves the branches and the magpies are frightened, and the breeze sings the cicadas in the middle of the night". On the surface, it seems to be about extremely ordinary scenery such as wind, moon, cicadas and magpies. However, after the author A clever combination, the result is extraordinary in the ordinary. The magpies were flying erratically, not hovering around the treetops, but flying around the slanting and abrupt branches. Because the moonlight is bright, the magpie is awakened; and when the magpie flies away, it will naturally cause the "different branches" to sway. At the same time, the chirping of cicadas also has a certain time. The chirping at night is different from the chirping under the scorching sun, and when the cool breeze blows slowly, it often feels particularly peaceful. In short, the two sentences "frightened magpie" and "singing cicada" convey tranquility in the midst of movement, and describe the scenery under the "cool breeze" and "bright moon" in the middle of the night in a leisurely and fascinating way.
The following "The fragrance of rice flowers talks about a good year, and listens to the sound of frogs" shifts people's focus from the sky to the fields, showing that the poet is not only infiltrated by the soft taste of the yellow sand road at night, but also cares about it The fragrance of rice flowers that spread all over the village reminds us of the coming harvest. At this time and place, the joy that the poet and the people breathe together is all expressed in words. The "fragrance" of the fragrant rice flowers not only describes the blooming rice flowers, but also expresses the sweetness in the poet's heart. The main subject of the harvest is not the commonly used magpie sound, but the sound of frogs. This is the originality of the poet and it is amazing. In the poet's mind, it is as if he can hear a group of frogs clamoring in unison in the rice fields, arguing about a good harvest. First tell the content of "said", and then add the source of "sound". It is the poet's creation to use the sound of frogs to talk about a good harvest.
Creative background
This is a poem written by Xin Qiji when he was passing by Huangshaling Road in Shangrao, Jiangxi Province in his middle age.
Xin Qiji became a frontier official in the Southern Song Dynasty, but his upright arguments and decisive and capable style, especially his political advocacy of resumption of the Anti-Japanese War, were resented by his colleagues and attacked by the highest ruling class. In the eighth year of Chunxi reign of Emperor Xiaozong of the Song Dynasty (1181), Xin Qiji was dismissed from office because he was marginalized by treacherous ministers. He returned to Shangrao to live in Daihu, where he lived for nearly fifteen years, living a retired life of idleness. During this period, although he also had a brief career as an official, he mostly lived in Shangrao, where he left many poems. This poem is one of them.
About the author
Xin Qiji (1140-1207), a poet in the Southern Song Dynasty. His original name was Tanfu, changed to You'an, and his nickname was Jiaxuan. He was Han nationality and a native of Licheng (now Jinan, Shandong). When he was born, the Central Plains was occupied by Jin soldiers. At the age of 21, he joined the anti-Jin rebel army and soon returned to the Southern Song Dynasty. He has successively served as the pacifier of Hubei, Jiangxi, Hunan, Fujian, and eastern Zhejiang. He devoted his life to resisting gold. He once published "Ten Comments on Meiqin" and "Nine Discussions" to lay out strategies for war and defense. His poems express the patriotic enthusiasm of trying to restore the unity of the country, express the grief and indignation of unrealized aspirations, and condemn the humiliation of the then rulers for peace; there are also many works that praise the country's mountains and rivers. The subject matter is broad and he is good at using allusions from previous generations into the lyrics. The style is majestic and heroic yet not lacking in delicacy and tenderness. Because Xin Qiji's anti-golden ideas were inconsistent with the political views of the peace faction in power, he was later impeached and dismissed from office, and retired to Daihu, Jiangxi.