"The south wind knows my intentions and blows my dreams to Xizhou." It means: If the summer wind knows my feelings, please blow my dreams to Zhoujun in the west (to reunite with her).
These two sentences come from "The Song of Xizhou" - Southern and Northern Dynasties·Anonymous. The original text is as follows:
Recalling the plum blossoms, I went to Xizhou, and I broke the plum blossoms and sent them to the north of the Yangtze River.
The single shirt is apricot red, and the pair of temples are the color of a crow.
Where is Xizhou? Two oars bridge crossing.
At dusk shrike flies, the wind blows on the black mortar tree.
Under the tree is in front of the door, with green thorns exposed in the door.
The doorman didn't arrive, so he went out to pick red lotus flowers.
When picking lotus flowers in Nantang in autumn, the lotus flowers exceed people’s heads.
Lower your head and pick up the lotus seeds. The lotus seeds are as clear as water.
Putting it in the lotus sleeve, the lotus heart is completely red.
Reminiscent of the Lang Lang, but looking up at Feihong.
Hongfei is all over Xizhou, watching the man go to the brothel.
The building is so high that you can’t see the railings.
The railings have twelve curves, and the hanging hands are as clear as jade.
The rolling curtain sky is high, and the sea water shakes the sky green.
The sea water is a long dream, you are worried and I am also worried.
The south wind knows my wishes and blows my dreams to Xizhou.
Translate it into vernacular as follows:
I miss the plum blossoms and want to go to Xizhou, break off the plum blossoms and send them to the north bank of the Yangtze River.
(Her) thin clothes are as red as apricots, and her hair is as black as a crow.
Where is Xizhou? You can reach the ferry at Xizhou Bridge by rocking the two oars of the boat.
It gets late, the shrike flies away, and the evening wind blows in the tallow trees.
Under the tree is her home, with her green hairpin exposed from the door.
She opened the door and didn’t see her sweetheart, so she went out to pick red lotuses.
She was picking lotus seeds in Nantang in autumn. The lotus flowers grew taller than a human head.
Lowering my head and playing with the lotus seeds in the water, my love for you is as lingering and pathos as flowing water, pure and long.
Hide the lotus seeds in your sleeves, and the lotus heart will be so red that it can penetrate through the bottom.
Missing her husband but he had not come yet, she raised her head and looked at the geese in the sky.
The sky in Xizhou was filled with geese. She walked up to the high balcony and looked at her husband from a distance.
Although the balcony was high, she could not see her husband. She leaned on the railing all day long.
The railings zigzagged into the distance, and her hands hanging down were as bright as jade.
The sky outside the rolled up curtain is so high, with an empty dark green rippling like a river.
The dream is as long as the river. You are sad and I am sad too.
If the summer wind knows my affection, please blow my dreams to Zhoujun in the west (to meet her).
There are some words in it that I feel the need to explain separately:
"Xizhou Song": selected from "Yuefu Poetry Collection·Miscellaneous Songs and Songs". This poem is a folk song from the Southern Dynasties. Xizhou tune, the name of Yuefu tune.
Remember the plum blossoms and go to Xizhou, break the plum blossoms and send them to the north of the Yangtze River: This means that when the woman saw the plum blossoms blooming again, she recalled the scene where she and her lover met under the plum blossoms before, so she wanted to pick a plum blossom in Xizhou and send it to the north of the Yangtze River. Sent to my lover in Jiangbei. Down, toward. Xizhou must be near the woman's residence. Jiangbei should refer to the place where the man is.
Crow fledgling color: a color like a small crow. Describes a woman's hair as black and shiny.
Two-oar Qiaotou Ferry: Row across from the bridge and paddle two oars to get there.
Shrike: The name of the bird. It begins to sing in midsummer and likes to live alone. On the one hand, it is used to express the season, and on the other hand, it is a metaphor for the lonely situation of women.
Wujiu: Now written as "Wujiu".
Cui Dian: jewelry made or inlaid with jade.
Lotus seed: a pun homonymous to "pity son".
Clear as water: a metaphor for the purity of love.
Lotus heart: homophonic with "pity heart", which is the heart of love.
Wang Feihong: This implies a letter of hope. Because in ancient times there was a legend about swan geese passing down messages.
Beauty: a building painted in blue. In poems before the Tang Dynasty, it was generally used to refer to a woman's residence.
End of day: all day long.
The sky is high when you roll up the curtain, and the sea water shakes the sky green: It means that when you look out from the rolling curtain, you only see the high sky and the rippling blue waves of the river. Sea water, here refers to the mighty river water.
The dream of sea water is as long as the river.
"Xizhou Song", with five characters and thirty-two lines, is a rare long piece among Yuefu folk songs in the Southern Dynasties. The full text is very emotionally delicate, "full of the sentiment of beautiful and beautiful songs, with clear and handsome words, which are endless, making people's emotions shake." "Xizhou Song" can be said to be one of the most mature and exquisite representative works of folk songs of this period. one.
The word "plum" in the first sentence evokes the woman's fond memories of playing in Xizhou with her lover in the past and her longing for her lover. Since then, even though time and space have passed, my thoughts have never stopped. Next are descriptions of several scenes: Recreation in Xizhou, the woman's apricot red clothes and black hair complement each other and are radiant; opening the door to welcome the man, full of hope and then disappointment, the mood is ups and downs; going out to collect lotus, using the lotus to express love for the lover Admiration and longing; climbing the tower to look at the man, waiting on the railing, expressing my love for the south wind and quiet dreams, hoping to be reunited with my lover.
The time and space change, and the mood also changes. Sometimes it is anxious, sometimes tender, sometimes sweet, sometimes melancholy. The whole article is full of flowing and lingering emotions, both in terms of words and emotions.
The following three points are worth noting artistically in "Xizhou Song".
The first is to be good at expressing the characters’ thoughts and feelings in a dynamic way. For example, the sentence "Cui Dian is exposed in the door" vividly expresses the character's mood through movements, and the six sentences "Collecting lotus in Nantang Autumn" are the essence of the whole article. It concentrates on describing the protagonist's affectionate posture and borrowing objects. Lyrically, through the three actions of "picking lotus", "handling lotus" and "laying lotus", the emotional changes of the characters are written in a very layered manner. The psychological description of the movements is meticulous and truly touching.
The second is the use of overlapping words and Dingzhen. In the scene of "Opening the door to welcome the man", the overlapping use of the four characters "door" intensifies the woman's anxious mood of eagerly anticipating the arrival of her sweetheart, and constantly looking out from the crack in the door. In the scene of "going out to pick lotus", seven characters for "lotus" are used in succession to deliberately exaggerate the lingering emotions of the woman. And the most sincere use makes the sentences flexible, vivid and catchy.
The third is the use of puns. Puns are an obvious feature in Yuefu folk songs of the Southern Dynasties. They are rare in folk songs of the Book of Songs era and Yuefu folk songs of the Han and Wei dynasties. It is said that the words "Lotus" and "Lian" are homophonic puns, and "Lian" means "love", which is a metaphor for a woman's love for her lover. At the same time, "the lotus seeds are as clear as water" implies the purity of feelings, while "the lotus heart is completely red" means the intensity of feelings. The use of these puns makes the poem appear implicit and sentimental.
It is also worth mentioning that this poem is famous for being "difficult to decipher". Some researchers call it the "Goldbach Conjecture" in the study of Southern Dynasties literature. For example, there are different interpretations of the narrative perspective of this poem. Most people understand it from a woman's perspective, while some people understand it from a man's perspective, thinking that the "plum" in "Recalling Plum Blossoms in Xizhou" refers to the sweetheart to whom the male protagonist is attached. As the saying goes, poetry has no clear meaning. We can also try a variety of new perspectives when interpreting, so as to enrich the meaning of poetry.
Creative features:
1. Hidden thoughts skillfully and expresses the mood through movements
"Breaking plum blossoms and sending them to the north of the Yangtze River", the heroine breaks off a branch of plum blossoms to evoke the past Memories of meeting under plum blossoms in Xizhou. Because I missed my lover and wanted to go to Xizhou, I put on an "apricot red" "single shirt" and combed my "crow-child color" hair. Folding, wearing and combing, the movements may seem random, but they show the deep state of mind of an infatuated woman who misses her lover. The seventh to twelfth lines of the poem describe the girl immersed in memories and lovesickness. As the wind blew the leaves, she mistakenly thought that the sound of her lover's footsteps was "green pearls exposed in the door", and she stuck her head out from the crack in the door to wait for her lover's arrival. A "show" showed the eager and shy girl's feelings, but her lover was still nowhere to be seen, and the anxiety in her heart could no longer be suppressed. "I went out to pick red lotuses when the doorman didn't show up." In order to hide it from the eyes and ears of the neighbors, I had to make excuses to go out to pick lotuses. At this moment, she felt a mixture of emotions: deep longing, frustration, and embarrassment, all rushing into her heart. This shy posture, longing for lovesickness, and a series of skillfully concealing movements are vividly depicted on the page. In her ordinary movements, she cleverly depicts the woman's subtle psychology and her sincere heart for love.
2. Entrust objects to express feelings, skillfully use scenery to express true feelings
“I send my sorrowful heart to the bright moon, and follow the wind until the night is in the west.” (Li Bai) “Look up at the bright moon, "Sending love to a thousand miles of light." (Folk Song "Song of the Four O'clock in the Midnight") These verses are to send love to the moon, and this work is to use "plum blossoms" and "lotus" to express lovesickness. "Recalling the plum blossoms, I went to Xizhou, folded the plum blossoms and sent them to the north of the Yangtze River." The folded plum blossoms express the feeling of longing and are inspired by the natural scenery. "Lotus", "lotus seeds" and "lotus heart" are "completely red" from the outside to the inside. "Lotus heart" means "pity", and "completely red" means thoroughly red, which refers to the sincerity and steadfastness of love, with a double entendre. "Recalling that my husband has not arrived, I look up to see the flying dragon", swan geese can convey feelings. However, "flying all over Xizhou", there is no news from the lover, which expresses the depth of lovesickness; "the dream of sea water is long", "sea water" " "Long time" refers to the endless longing for lovesickness all year round, and I entrust things to express my love. In short, poetry is good at using ordinary things in front of us to express emotions, metaphors to express aspirations, or puns to express true feelings in a tactful and thought-provoking way.
3. Seasonal changes, clever use of folk words
In early spring, you can "fold plum blossoms", wear "single shirts" at the turn of spring and summer, and "shrike fly" in midsummer. In early autumn, "picking red lotus", in mid-autumn, "getting lotus seeds", and in late autumn, "watching the flying red lotus". The poem skillfully uses rich folk words to show the change of seasons in an orderly and gradual manner. The woman's deep love for lovesickness is eloquently described in the lines of the poem.
4. The whole poem is composed of thirty-two lines, four sentences each, using the word-connection method of continuous succession, thimble hooking, and technique. The "ingenuity" is really amazing. "At dusk, shrike are flying, and the wind is blowing on the black mortar tree. Under the tree is in front of the door, and the door is covered with green pearls." "Bow your head to play with lotus seeds. The lotus seeds are as clear as water." ", Wang Lang goes to the brothel" and other poems, so interlocking and word-for-word, not only the voice is swaying and full of interest, but also the rhythm is harmonious and beautiful.