Meaning: A child wakes up in the morning, scoops out the ice from a copper basin with solid ice, and threads it with colored silk to use as a jingle.
From: "The Child Makes Ice"
Author: Yang Wanli of the Song Dynasty
Full poem:
The child's golden basin sheds the ice at dawn, Wear colored silk and use it as a silver zheng.
The sound of a jade chime made its way through the forest, and suddenly there was the sound of broken glass.
Translation:
A child gets up in the morning, cuts out the ice from a copper basin with solid ice, and threads it with colored silk to use as a jingle. The sound of knocking sounded like a jade chime through the woods, and suddenly the ice fell to the ground and made a shattering sound like glass.
Extended information
This poem was written in the spring of 1179 AD (the sixth year of Chunxi reign of Emperor Xiaozong of the Song Dynasty). Yang Wanli was in office in Changzhou at that time. Spring ox hunting is an ancient custom. On the day before the beginning of spring, native oxen are used to beat the spring to welcome the spring and encourage farmers. This poem describes a scene in which children imitate adults after seeing adults whipping spring oxen. This scene reminds the poet of a good harvest.
The scene of children making ice in the poem is full of fun: in terms of mentality, "making ice" in cold weather, children's heart is hot; in terms of color, "gold" plates, "colorful" silk strings and "silver" ice; in terms of form , is a "silver zheng" extracted from a "golden plate", which is round; the sound has the high pitch of "the sound of jade through the forest", and suddenly changes to the crispness of "the sound of broken glass". The whole poem is both beautiful in form and color for the senses and the eyes, and beautiful in sound and meaning, pleasing to the ear and heart. It vividly expresses the children's joy of using ice as a bridge and enjoying themselves.