The grass is green and the willows are yellow
From "Two Spring Thoughts, Part 1" by Jia Zhi of the Tang Dynasty
The grass is green and the willows are yellow, and the peach blossoms are fragrant. .
The east wind does not blow away sorrow, but the spring day can make people hate you for a long time.
Translation
In spring, green grass grows thickly, green willows bud, peach blossoms hang on the branches, and the fragrance of plum blossoms floats far away.
(But in such a vibrant spring), the spring breeze still cannot blow away my worries and sorrows. My sorrow and resentment have been growing in this spring.
Appreciation
Jia Zhi was demoted to the Sima of Yuezhou due to affairs during the Suzong Dynasty of Tang Dynasty. Tang Ruxun believed in "Interpretation of Tang Poems" that some quatrains written by Jia Zhi "were all composed when he was exiled to Chu". This poem was probably written during his relegation. It seems that the sorrow and hatred expressed in the poem are not ordinary idle sorrow and hatred, but the sorrow of being exiled and the hatred of being driven away from others due to his identity and situation at that time. This poem can be compared with his other poem "Spring View in the West Pavilion": "The day is long and the wind is warm and the willows are green, and the northern geese return and fly into the underworld. Hearing the flute playing on the Yueyang Tower can make the Dongting full of spring heart." ”
Here, in addition to the fact that the poet is in Yuezhou, the scenery of “green willows” is very similar to “the grass is green and the willows are yellow”, and the scene of “the sun is long and the wind is warm” is also similar to the “partiality”. The "spring day" that can arouse hatred for a long time and the "east wind" that "will not blow away sorrow". As for the "spring heart" in "Man Dongting", it is roughly synonymous with the "spring thoughts" called in the title of this poem. "Spring Heart" refers to the return of travel feelings triggered by the coming and going of spring geese; "Spring Thoughts" is the ever-growing sadness that cannot be dismissed even in the beautiful spring scenery.
This poem is titled "Spring Thoughts", and every sentence in the poem refers to spring. In the use of artistic techniques, the poet contrasts the first two sentences with the last two sentences, making the sorrow and hatred he wants to express appear even stronger. The first sentence, "The grass is green and the willows are yellow," has used tender green and goose yellow to dye this vibrant picture of spring grass and willow silks very brightly; the second sentence, "The peach blossoms are in chaos and the plum blossoms are fragrant," uses dark brushes to color this scene. The painting adds two colors of bright red and pure white, and conveys the scene of spring with draped branches and dense flowers using the brushwork of expressive painting, making the spring scenery on the picture more beautiful and the spring spirit more noisy. The poet has fully described the spring scenery in these two sentences, and his purpose is to set off the deep sorrow and hatred that cannot be eliminated in strong contrast with the beautiful scenery of this good time.
The last two lines of the poem turn to the poet's sorrow and hatred. This kind of sorrow and hatred is deeply rooted in the heart and cannot be eliminated by the beauty of spring outside. Feng Yanji of the Southern Tang Dynasty directly wrote this fact in the two sentences "When spring comes, the melancholy remains the same" in the poem "Magpies Stepping on the Branches". However, Jia Zhi does not write directly like this, but has unique ideas and uses unexpected ideas to make the poetic expression deeper and more tortuous.
The third sentence of the poem "The east wind does not blow away sorrow" does not say that it is difficult to take away the sorrow, but blames the east wind for being cold and ruthless and not taking away the sorrow. This is a layer of depth and a layer of music in poetic thinking, which makes the poems avoid the ordinary and find the strange. The fourth sentence, "Spring days tend to arouse hatred and grow long." It does not say that it is boring because of depression, which makes the days feel like years, but on the contrary, it means that spring days arouse hatred. If the hatred is prolonged, the idea will be more novel and the wording will be more interesting. So clever.
When people are upset and helpless, they often vent their anger on others or things. However, the poet blames his sorrow and hatred on the east wind and spring day that have nothing to do with him. He blames the east wind for blowing away the sorrow and the spring day for causing the hatred to grow. This seems to be unreasonable. But from the perspective that poetry is a lyrical rather than reasoning language, and from the poet’s unique feelings and rich associations, it makes sense. Because: although the poet's sorrow is invisible and traceless, it cannot be blown away by the east wind. However, when the east wind comes, it can drive away the severe cold and revive the grass and trees. The poet also hopes that it can blow away the sorrow in his heart, because he cannot It is humane and understandable to be disappointed and complain after blowing it off. Although the poet's hatred cannot be extended or shortened by spring, but after the arrival of spring, the days are getting longer day by day, and the poet will feel that the days are harder to pass. Zhang Hua's "Love Poems" "I cherish the pleasures of the night, and the long nights of regrets", Li Yi's poem "Ascending the Stork Tower with Cui Bing" "Things have gone by for thousands of years, but I still regret the speed, and I know how long the sorrow will last after one day". The same psychological state expresses the poet's subjective sense of time. Starting from this psychological state, it is reasonable for the poet to complain that spring brings hatred.
The language of poetry may sometimes break through common sense, but it must be understandable by readers. In other words, a poem can accommodate associations, whims, fantasies, and delusions, but it is not absurd and random thoughts; the poet can freely fly the wings of his imagination, but the expression of emotions must be able to arouse readers*** Feeling place. This poem "Spring Thoughts" is exactly like this.