This is a poem from Song Dynasty poet Zheng Sixiao's "Cold Chrysanthemum" (also known as "Painting Chrysanthemum"). It means: I would rather die holding the fragrance on the branch than blow it down in the harsh north wind. among. Now it is extended to: the feeling of adhering to noble moral integrity, being unyielding and loyal to one's beliefs.
1. The original poem is as follows:
Hanju
Zheng Sixiao in the Song Dynasty
The flowers are not in bloom, but the flowers are scattered, and the fun of being independent is not exhausted. .
I would rather die with the fragrance on the branches than blow it down in the north wind.
2. Translation:
You bloom in autumn and are never among the flowers. Standing alone beside a sparse fence, your sentimental interest has not faded.
I would rather die with the fragrance on the branches than be blown away by the biting north wind!
3. Appreciation:
Zheng Sixiao’s painting of chrysanthemums is different from other poems praising chrysanthemums as good, beautiful, charming and unyielding. The poet's life experiences and ideal pursuit are a chrysanthemum poem with specific life connotations.
Zheng Sixiao, who was a scholar at Imperial College in the late Southern Song Dynasty, took the examination of Erxue Hongci. When the Yuan soldiers went south, Zheng Sixiao was worried about the country and the people. He went to the imperial court to give direct advice and elaborated on the strategy of resisting the enemy, but he was rejected. Zheng Sixiao was heartbroken and lived in seclusion in Suzhou alone, never marrying. After the fall of the Song Dynasty, he changed his name to Yiweng and his name to Suonan to show that he never forgot his homeland. He also titled his room "Benxue World", split the characters and put the "ten" in the word "ben" in "xue", implying the word "Song Dynasty". He was good at painting ink orchids. After the death of the Song Dynasty, he did not paint orchids with soil. When people asked him why, he replied: "The land was taken away by others, and you still don't know?" Zheng Sixiao strives for integrity, is sad and angry, and makes people cry! He praised chrysanthemums to describe himself. This song "Painting Chrysanthemums" poured his blood, tears and life into it!
The two chrysanthemum poems, "The flowers bloom and do not merge into hundreds of flowers, and the fun of being independent is not exhausted." are people's first knowledge of chrysanthemums. The chrysanthemum does not bloom at the same time as other flowers. It is a noble person who does not follow the vulgarity and is not flattering.
The two sentences "I would rather die holding the fragrance on the branches than blow it down in the north wind" further describe the chrysanthemum's noble aspirations that it would rather die on its branches than be blown down by the north wind, depicting the proud and proud character of the chrysanthemum. Frost, the aloof and unconventional chrysanthemum, expresses one's determination to adhere to noble integrity and would rather die than surrender to the Yuan Dynasty. This is Zheng Sixiao's unique sentiment and his vow to be unyielding and loyal to his motherland.
The poets of the Song Dynasty chanted about the dead branches of chrysanthemums, which has become an incomprehensible complex. This is of course related to the secret pain of the Southern Song Dynasty. Lu You's poem "Withered Chrysanthemum" has the poem "The spare pistils are holding the branches", and Zhu Shuzhen's poem "Yellow Flower" has the poem "I would rather hold the fragrant branches and grow old than dance with the yellow leaves in the autumn wind". Judging from the completeness of the image aesthetics and the clear political direction, they are slightly inferior to these two poems by Zheng Sixiao.
"Dying with a fragrant branch" is more poignant and tragic than "growing old with a fragrant branch", and the tone is majestic and vows not to look back. Comparing "Have they ever blown down in the north wind" with "Don't dance with the yellow leaves in the autumn wind", the former is a question with a firm tone; the latter is a statement, the word "dance" brings a somewhat frivolous mood, which is slightly disconnected from the theme. More importantly, the former points out the "north wind", which clearly points to the Mongol Khanate originating from the north. The feeling of resistance is vividly visible on the page.
Of course, the poems written by Lu You and Zhu Shuzhen are both good poems, but when the three poems stand side by side, the sorrow and indignation of Zheng Sixiao's two poems is even deeper and broader.
This poem is particularly appropriate when used to express "national integrity, loyalty and patriotism".
4. Introduction to the poet:
Zheng Sixiao (1241~1318), a poet and painter in the late Song Dynasty, was born in Lianjiang (now Fujian). The original name is unknown. After the death of the Song Dynasty, it was renamed Sixiao, because Xiao is an integral part of the surname Zhao in the Song Dynasty. The name Yi Weng means not forgetting the homeland; the name Suo Nan means that when sitting or lying down, one should face south and face north. He also calls himself a descendant of Jushan, a poet of Jingding, a wild man of Sanwai, an old man of Sanwai, etc. He once sacrificed his life to study in Taixue to take the Bo Xue Hong Ci examination. When the Yuan army invaded the south, they offered resistance strategies to the imperial court, but they were not adopted. Later, he lived in Wuxia and sent food to Baoguo Temple. Zheng Sixiao is good at painting ink orchids. The flowers and leaves are sparse and the roots are not painted, which means that the land in the Song Dynasty has been plundered. There are poetry collections "History of the Heart", "Collected Works of Mr. Zheng Suonan", "Collection of One Hundred and Twenty Illustrated Poems by Suonan Weng", etc.