Little peaches bloom on their own without a caretaker, and tobacco is surrounded by dawn crows. ——Dai Fuxu, Song Dynasty, "The Huaicun Soldier Queen" The small peach blossoms without a owner, and the tobacco is covered with dawn crows. Little peaches blossom without a owner, and tobacco leaves are covered with late crows.
There are several ruins surrounding the old well, and they have always belonged to other people. Three Hundred Ancient Poems, War Country Translation and Annotations
Translation
A lonely little peach tree, with no one to appreciate it, bloomed silently with red flowers. The eyes were filled with blurred spring grass, shrouded in mist, and a few crows were circling in the dusk.
A ruined and collapsed low wall surrounds an abandoned well; here and there, people used to live there. Creative Background During the Southern Song Dynasty, the Huaihe River Basin was the front line of the war between the Song and Jin Dynasties. The villages and fields were devastated, and the once prosperous cities and rich villages were in a state of depression. This poem by Dai Fuxu writes about the situation in a village by the Huaihe River after the war. Appreciation
In a village in the wild, in spring, the most eye-catching sights are the red peach blossoms, green willows, and green grass. The poet started with the peach blossoms, saying that the peach blossoms are in full bloom, and the green grass is covered with a mist, and you can't see the edge. , in the afterglow of the setting sun, the crows are noisy. The peach blossoms in bloom are originally a very vivid picture, showing the vitality of spring, but adding the word "ownerless" in the poem adds to the desolation and sadness; while the smoke in the spring grass cage also shows the prosperity of all things, Adding the word "vast" means that the farmland here is covered with weeds and is desolate. The unlucky bird "crow" at the end is telling people that there is no human habitation here anymore. The poet was so ingenious that he described the extremely lively and energetic spring as extremely unbearable. He did not write about the war and chaos, but the war and chaos were already included.
Three or four sentences follow the above. The first and second sentences describe the scene, through the ownerless flowers, uncultivated fields, and the swarming crows, highlighting that all the people behind the background have been killed and fled. The third and fourth sentences go deeper, saying There are ruined low walls everywhere surrounding abandoned wells, and there used to be families living here. These two sentences echo the title "Huai Village after the soldiers", pulling the scene back from the general background and focusing on the "village". When writing the specifics, a mixed sentence is mixed, using the dilapidation of the home to encompass everything after the soldiers. The home is in ruins, the house is gone, let alone the people.
"The little peach blossoms without a owner." The peach blossom does not know the misery of the world and keeps blooming. This sunny scene in early spring doubles the desolation after the soldiers. The tobacco smoke is vast, the crows are noisy in the evening, the soldiers are fleeing, and the population is sparse, which prepares the momentum for the following two lines of the poem. "Several ruins surrounding the old well have always been home to others." These two lines are the main theme of the poem. Originally, this was a place where people lived together, but now only the ruins of the old well are left, and everything is gone. This short quatrain paints the most typical picture of the deserted village after the war.
Wells are an important symbol of settlement. Where there is a well, there are homes. There are few battles and ruined homes. The hardest thing to move is the well, and the hardest thing to destroy is the well. The well is an unshakable witness to the passing life. Therefore, wells most appeal to nostalgia. Poets have always used wells as the theme to describe the desolation and vicissitudes of their former residences. Tang·Anonymous "Passing the Former Residence": "The grass is deep and the sloping paths are gone, and the water is gone and the pond is empty. The bright moon is sent in the forest, and the spring breeze comes here. There is only one old well, with two tung trees still sandwiched between it." Wei Yingwu: "The abandoned well is gone. There are wild grasses and green moss growing in the shade. The cars and horses are scattered in front of the door, which is not what it used to be. "Xu Hun: "The vines invade the abandoned well, and the wild chrysanthemums grow on the terrace." The old well and the abandoned well are the last. Can trigger longing for the past. Because the people beside the well drank and washed and could not leave for a moment; the people beside the well shared joys and sorrows, telling many human stories. Wells are so close to people's lives; wells are so touching to people's hearts. "Several ruins surrounding old wells have always belonged to other people's homes." With typical environment and typical details, Dai Fuxu found the most authentic relics of the deserted village after the war, and found the most powerful carrier to recall the past.
The ingenuity of poetry comes from the reality of life. Dai Fuhu lives in a quiet corner of eastern Zhejiang, but he is able to write about the chaos so vividly. The scribes of the Southern Song Dynasty were worried about the country and the people, and "could not help but burst into tears from the Central Plains." They remembered the Central Plains that had fallen into the hands of the enemy, just as Dai Fuhu lamented: "The most miserable thing is that there are no mountains to cover your eyes, and Huainan is as far as the eye can see!" Therefore, He wrote in "Returning Home for a Long Time": "Growing up in this truly paradise land, the people in the Jianghuai River are being displaced." It is precisely because he has the heart of the Central Plains after the fall of China and the people who are in exile that he can relate to each other and write like this. Real scene of deserted village after disaster.
The whole poem is mainly about scenery, expressing the poet's deep sympathy for the people who suffered from the war and his hatred for the invading enemies. Although the authors of the Jianghu Poetry School wrote mostly for social purposes, when their writing touches on real life, they also have their own profound thoughts.
In ancient China, I don’t know how many wars occurred, and “the people suffered when they prospered; when they died, the people suffered.” Therefore, many poets expressed their condolences by describing the disasters of war. Famous poems such as Du Fu's "Spring View": "The country is broken by mountains and rivers, and the city is full of spring vegetation. I feel the flowers splashing with tears, and I hate the other birds and are frightened." Use vegetation, flowers and birds to express anger. Another example is Han Xie's "Feelings in Nearness After the Rebellion", which writes about the urban situation after the Rebellion: "Crazy children are easy to commit crimes in Kinmen, and they are like traveling souls compared with people in the same house. No tall grass grows in the house at night, and the spring canal overflows and floods the wasteland." "Dai Fuxu's poem obviously draws on the writing methods of Du and Han, and expresses emotions implicitly, which is very unique.
Dai Fuxu (1167-?) was a famous Jianghu poet in the Southern Song Dynasty. Zi Shizhi often lived in Shiping Mountain, Nantang, so he named himself Shiping and Shiping Qiaoyin. A native of Tiantai Huangyan (now Taizhou, Zhejiang). He stayed out of office all his life and wandered around the world. Later he returned home and lived in seclusion. He died in his eighties. He once studied poetry from Lu You, and his works were influenced by the poetry style of the late Tang Dynasty and have the style of Jiangxi Poetry School. Some works express patriotic thoughts and reflect the people's sufferings, which are of practical significance.
Dai Xiu There are still peach blossoms on the flowing water, and bamboo leaves without words are drunk in front of the statue. The peaches are not yet fragrant, the apricots are not yet red, and the east wind smiles before the cold. The peach blossoms follow the flowing water all day long. Where is the hole beside the clear stream? The fishing boat chases the water and loves the mountains and spring, and the peach blossoms on both sides of the strait are surrounded by ancient waters. The peach blossoms are all over Shimen, and I have also been to Qin people's houses. Two peach and apricot trees reflect the slanting fence and decorate the house of the deputy envoy of Shangzhou. Peach blossoms rained in Lanxi for three days, and carp came to the beach in the middle of the night. When the peach blossom water reaches the canal, I am happy to see the new flow and the fish jumping. I remember the peach blossoms and Liu Wansi when I said goodbye. The little peaches are scorching, the willows are blooming, and the spring scenery is all over the south of the Yangtze River. Mountain springs flow loosely around the steps, and thousands of trees and peach blossoms reflect the small building. There are two or three branches of peach blossoms outside the bamboo, which are prophets of the warmth of the spring river. The peach red contains the lingering rain, and the willow green contains morning smoke. The valley of flowers is still there, and the beauty is stealing spring peaches and plums. The peaches and plums smile during the Qingming festival, but only sorrow arises in the wild fields and graves.