"Spring Day" is a work by Zhu Xi, a famous Neo-Confucian scholar in the Song Dynasty.
Full poem:
"Spring Day" by Zhu Xi
The beautiful day brings beauty to the shores of Surabaya, and the boundless scenery is new for a while.
Easy to recognize the east wind, colorful colors are always spring.
On the surface, this ancient poem is about spring outing, but it is actually a philosophical poem that embodies theory and interest in the image.
The first sentence is "Shengri seeks the beauty of Surabaya shore". "Shengri" refers to a sunny day, which points out the weather. "Surabaya Shore" indicates the location. "Xunfang" means looking for beautiful spring scenery, which highlights the theme. The following three sentences are all written about what is seen and gained in "Xunfang". The second sentence, "The boundless scene is suddenly new," describes the initial impression gained from watching the spring scenery. Use "boundless" to describe all the scenery within sight. "A moment of newness" not only describes the return of spring to the earth and the natural scenery taking on a new look, but also describes the author's refreshing and joyful feeling when he goes on an outing. The third sentence "Easy to know the Dongfeng side", the word "knowledge" in the sentence inherits the word "find" in the first sentence. "Easy to recognize" means that the face and characteristics of spring are easily identifiable. "Dongfengmian" also refers to spring. The fourth sentence "Everything is always spring" means that all the scenes are dyed with spring light, and people know spring from these thousands of purples and reds. This specifically explains why we can "know the east wind side easily". The word "a thousand purples and reds" in this sentence echoes the word "a new situation" in the second sentence. The third and fourth sentences use figurative language to specifically describe the new situation and the gains from seeking fragrance.
Literally, this poem seems to be about the impressions of spring outing, but upon closer inspection, the location of the search for fragrance is the shore of Surabaya, which was occupied by the Jin people when the Song Dynasty was crossing south. Zhu Xi had never gone north, so of course it was impossible for him to travel to the shores of Surabaya to sing and sing in spring. In fact, the word "Sishui" in the poem refers to Confucius, because in the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius once taught students by singing string songs between Zhu and Si. Therefore, the so-called "seeking fragrance" refers to seeking the way of saints. "A thousand purples and reds" refers to the richness and variety of Confucianism. The poet compares the way of the saint to the spring breeze that stimulates vitality and dyes all things. This is actually a philosophical poem that embodies truth and interest in images.
Zhu Xi (xī) (1130-1200) was a famous Neo-Confucian, thinker, philosopher and poet in the Southern Song Dynasty of China. The character name was Yuan Hui, later changed to Zhong Hui, and the name was Hui'an. Nicknamed Ziyang, he was from Wuyuan, Huizhou (now part of Jiangxi), and was of Han nationality. His father, Zhu Song, was a lieutenant in Zhenghe County, Fujian during the Xuanhe period of the Song Dynasty, and later lived in Fujian. Zhu Xi was born in Youxi, Fujian. His father died at the age of 14, and he settled with his mother in Wulifu, Chongan (now Wuyishan City, Fujian). When he was 19 years old [the 18th year of Shaoxing (1148)], he took part in the provincial and tribute examinations with Jianyang citizenship. Ranked on the Jinshi list. He served as an official in the four dynasties of Gaozong, Xiaozong, Guangzong and Ningzong. He once served as Zhi Nankang, and was appointed to the official affairs of Jiangxi Prison and secret pavilion compilation. Later, he was recommended by Zhao Ruyu and promoted to the position of minister and lecturer of Huanzhang Pavilion. In the third year of Qingyuan (1197), Han Yuzhou was in power and excluded Zhao Ruyu. Zhu Xi was also dismissed from his post and returned home. He died of illness in the sixth year of Qingyuan. In the second year of Jiading (1209), he was given the posthumous title of Wen by imperial edict, and was given as a gift to a senior official, especially to the bachelor of Baomo Pavilion. In the third year of Emperor Lizong's Baoqing reign (1227), he presented it to the Grand Master, followed a letter to the Duke of Hui, and changed it to the Duke of Hui. He is the main representative of the Cheng-Zhu School, and his poems include "Reflections on Reading", "Spring Day", "Riding" and other famous poems
Zhu Xi is the master of Song Dynasty Neo-Confucianism and inherited the Neo-Confucianism of Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi of the Northern Song Dynasty. , completed the system of objective idealism. He believes that reason is the essence of the world, "reason comes first, Qi comes after", and proposes "preserving natural principles and destroying human desires". Zhu Xi was knowledgeable and had researched Confucian classics, history, literature, music and even natural science. The language of his lyrics is elegant, the style is handsome, and there is no richness or allusions. It can be seen that the wording in many works has been considered and considered carefully. However, the artistic conception of his poems is somewhat more rational than perceptual. This is because he pays attention to the philosophical thought of Neo-Confucianism.