Miscellaneous Poems (You Come from Hometown) is a five-character poem written by Wang Wei, a poet in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. It is the second poem in the series "Three Miscellaneous Poems". The first two lines of the poem ask about friends from hometown in the form of notes, while the last two lines only ask whether the winter plum blossoms are blooming, which is surprising. It expresses the poet's longing for his hometown relatives and scenery. This poem transforms complexity into simplicity and reality into emptiness. The whole poem is plain and simple, but has a rich poetic flavor.
First one
My family lives in Mengjin River, opposite Mengjinkou[1].
There are often boats from the south of the Yangtze River. Do you want to send letters to your home?
Second
You come from your hometown, so you should know about it.
In front of the beautiful window the next day [2], will the winter plum blossoms bloom yet?
The third one
I have seen the winter plum blossoms and heard the singing of birds again.
A worried heart looks at the spring grass, and fears the growth on the jade steps[3].
Appreciation
These three poems describe two couples missing each other after they say goodbye. The poem is written from the perspective of both men and women. Due to the different angles of writing, it can vividly convey the differences in the expressions of the two parties determined by their different psychology and situations. The so-called one kind of lovesickness, two different feelings. These three poems are both independent chapters and related in language. The style of the poem is characterized by subtle euphemism.
The couple live in different places, so naturally they cannot tell each other their feelings for each other; but the longing for each other in their hearts is the unspoken words. So the poet spoke their inner thoughts on their behalf. It is not difficult to understand that the psychological activities of both parties have inherent correlations. Therefore, the poet's writing method is novel and unique, but also deeply understanding of human feelings.
The first song starts emotional activities from triggering and association. Because the heroine lived close to the ferry, boats going up and down the river passed by her door every day; so she thought, maybe there were boats from the south of the Yangtze River among them! Why should she care about the boats from the south of the Yangtze River? Because her husband, who had not returned for a long time, was Somewhere in Jiangnan. Since there are ships in the south of the Yangtze River, there may be letters sent back by the husband from the south of the Yangtze River. She might look at the door several times a day. Whenever I see a ship docked at the ferry, I inevitably go up to ask, but I always end up disappointed. The poem says that ships in the south of the Yangtze River "always exist", which means that letters "always don't exist". However, the protagonist still pins her hope on the next ship. She thinks: The letter may have been sent and is on its way. Therefore, the conclusion of the poem "Is the letter sent home?" is the hope of this young woman that is constantly disillusioned and constantly revived.
The second song uses a certain event as a symbol of special emotions. The hero asked the guests from his hometown about "hometown things", but he only asked whether the "winter plum blossoms" had bloomed. On the surface, he meant he was concerned about the early spring situation in his hometown, but in fact he had a different intention. "Blooming Plum Blossoms" contains deep emotional information. Because the heroine in the third song misses the hero, she also says that "the plum blossoms have already faded". To put it into context, it seems that the blooming of winter plum blossoms is a time that implies some special meaning. This special meaning is known only to the hero and heroine. It is buried deep in their hearts and outsiders cannot accurately detect it. You can interpret it as the return date of the couple's farewell instructions, or you can say that it is a past event that tightly binds the two hearts and is the most cherished memory in each other's hearts. But no matter how you guess, you may not be able to hit the mark. But "in front of the beautiful window" is indeed a sub-information. Or maybe it happened in the environment of a plum tree "in front of the beautiful window". The season is early spring when plum blossoms bloom in the snow. This detail greatly deepens the connotation of the poem. This writing method was also used before Wang Wei. For example, the "plum" in the "Xizhou Song" of the Southern Dynasty Yuefu is a symbol of something that is difficult to interpret.
The third song uses the progression of time and the changes in phenology to deepen the protagonist's emotions. The sentence "Already seen the winter plum blossoms" is an echo of the previous poem asking about the blooming of winter plum blossoms. This sentence expresses the deep resentment of the heroine's disappointment. Because of the unfavorable situation, she was unable to keep her promise as scheduled. At this time, in the eyes of the heroine, the gleam of hope had turned into the color of disillusionment. Not only that. Even this spring, which symbolizes youth and love, and the prosperous spring, has also undergone qualitative changes. The plum blossoms are in bloom and early spring has passed. The birds are chirping, and mid-spring has flown by. Now is the late spring when the warblers are flying and the grass is growing. As the sequence progresses, the heroine's mood also changes from boredom to melancholy all day long, and she even sheds tears when looking at flowers and becomes sad when looking at the moon. In the past, she felt that every day that passed was one day closer to the realization of her beautiful wish. Now it's completely a reverse psychology: the faster time passes, the more complete the disillusionment becomes, like a surging river under the sun, helpless. At this time, the singing of birds and the spring grass have become the opposite of the protagonist's emotions. The poet said that the heroine "looked at the spring grass" with a heart full of sorrow. She could not help but feel panic when she saw the increasingly lush spring grass that was about to reach the front steps.