Poetry of Peach Blossom Spring
Tao Yuanming
The Ying family is in chaos, and wise men avoid it.
In Huangqi’s Shangshan, the beautiful lady also passed away.
The traces of the past are lost and forgotten, and the paths of the past are in ruins.
Xiang was ordered to farm and farm, and when the day came, he rested there.
Mulberry and bamboo hang down the remaining shade, and bean sprouts are harvested at any time;
Spring silkworms harvest filaments, and autumn ripens and wastes the royal tax.
The deserted road is full of traffic, and chickens and dogs bark at each other.
Zu Dou has only ancient methods, and there is no new way to make clothes.
Children and children are singing songs, and classes are enjoying their walks.
The grass is strong and harmonious, and the wood is weak and strong.
Although there is no calendar, the four seasons form their own years.
How can you be blessed with wisdom when you have more joy!
The strange trace has been hidden for five hundred years, and once it opened up to the divine world.
Simple and thin, it has a different origin, but it is also secluded when it comes back.
I would like to ask the traveling alchemist, how can I judge what is outside the hustle and bustle of the city?
I would like to whisper in the breeze and hold it high to find my contract.
"Poems of the Peach Blossom Spring" was written by Tao Yuanming sixteen years after he retired to the countryside. When he was young, Tao Yuanming also had the ambition to "help the common people", but he lived in a time of social turmoil, endless wars, and people's livelihood was in dire straits. In addition, the family situation has long been in decline, and people from poor families can only "difficult to fulfill their ambitions." It is precisely because of this that Tao Yuanming chose the path of "attacking the soil to enjoy himself". Retreating to the countryside and working on self-financing, I feel the simplicity and amiability of farmers and the joy of pastoral life. The political darkness of real life all aroused waves in his thoughts. He could not change this situation, so he had to resort to pen and ink to express his feelings to express his political ideals and beautiful tastes. Hence his "Peach Blossom Spring Poems".
The first paragraph narrates and explains the origins of the people in the Peach Blossom Spring. It is consistent with what is recorded in "The Peach Blossom Spring": "Zi Yun's ancestors escaped from the chaos of the Qin Dynasty and led his wife's people to this desperate situation. He did not come out, so he and "Outsiders' distance" means roughly the same thing. However, the poem specifically lists examples of Huang (Xia Huanggong) and Qi (Qili Ji) who fled to the mountains to escape the chaos of the Qin Dynasty, implying that the people in the Peach Blossom Spring had the same interests as these ancient sages, or that it was those sages who led them. They went to Peach Blossom Spring.
The second paragraph introduces the life scenes of people in Peach Blossom Spring. First, it is written that people in Peach Blossom Spring participate in labor, working at sunrise and resting at sunset. "Xiang ordered everyone to farm" means to greet each other and work hard. "Autumn ripens are taxed by the king" means that during the autumn harvest, the fruits of labor belong to the workers, and there is no need to pay taxes to the government, indicating that there is no feudal exploitation and oppression. Then he wrote that people live in harmony with each other, still maintaining ancient etiquette, and the clothes are also in ancient styles. The children sang to their heart's content and the old people played freely. In the end, everything I wrote there was in harmony with nature and contentment. Adjusting life and work according to the natural changes of the seasons, there is no need for a calendar, let alone all the thought and trouble.
In the third paragraph, the poet expresses his comments and emotions. "The strange traces were hidden for five hundred years" means that from Qin to Jin, the people in Peach Blossom Spring lived in seclusion for five hundred years (approximately, the actual number is about six hundred years). "Once Upon a Time in the World of Gods" means that the Peach Blossom Spring was discovered by a fisherman and the secret of this fairy-like world was revealed. "Returning to darkness" means that the Peach Blossom Spring is just opened and then immediately isolated from the outside world. This is what "The Peach Blossom Spring" said in "The Story of the Peach Blossom Spring", "You are lost and can no longer find your way." When people read this, they often think, since the fisherman had already "looked for it everywhere" when he left the Peach Blossom Spring, how could he never find it again? If you read "Poetry of the Peach Blossom Spring" carefully, you will find that the poet has already answered this question, that is, "Simpleness and simplicity have different origins." This means that the shallowness of worldly life and the simplicity of the folk customs in the Peach Blossom Spring are incompatible and absolutely incompatible. Quite different. Just imagine, if there really is such a peach blossom land, and it is really found by Liu Ziji and the others, then, can it still exist independently? At the end of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, wars were frequent, corvee labor was heavy, and people fled. The poet describes the life of the people in the Peach Blossom Spring so peacefully and harmoniously, which is a kind of denial of the dark reality. For more than a thousand years, countless people have discussed the existence of the Peach Blossom Spring. Some people say that when fleeing chaos, many people did go to the mountains, wild forests, and remote areas to live an ideal life. But can this ideal be equated with the Peach Blossom Spring? Obviously not, because the life scenes in Peach Blossom Spring are idealized by the poet. "If you ask the wandering alchemist, how can you tell what's going on outside the bustling city?" It means that it is impossible for ordinary people in the world, the wandering alchemist, to truly understand the life scenes "outside the bustling city" (Peach Blossom Spring). "I would like to speak in the breeze and hold it high to find my contract." This is the poet's expression of his feelings, which is romantic. It means hoping to ride on the breeze, soar into the air, and pursue those who have the same interests as oneself (which obviously includes the ancient sages and people from the Peach Blossom Land mentioned at the beginning of the poem).
According to Xiao Tong's "Biography of Tao Yuanming": "Yuanming didn't understand the rhythm, so he kept a stringless qin. Every time he drank wine, he often played it to convey his meaning." The stringless qin was played If there is no sound, playing with it is to "send its meaning", and to describe a beautiful paradise, although it is otherworldly and unrealizable, it is also to "send its meaning".
From the above simple analysis, "Poetry in Peach Blossom Spring" is indeed more specific and detailed in some aspects than "The Story of Peach Blossom Spring". "Peach Blossom Spring" is limited to describing what the fisherman saw and heard. The fisherman did not stay in the Peach Blossom Spring for a long time and his knowledge was limited.
The "Poetry of Peach Blossom Spring" appears to be more flexible and free, and it is also convenient for the poet to express his own feelings directly. Therefore, when we read "The Story of Peach Blossom Spring", we must read "Poetry of Peach Blossom Spring".
It should be noted that some people think that "Poetry in Peach Blossom Spring" praises "ancient methods" and does not include "wisdom", which is a negative and retrogressive performance. In fact, this is a failure to truly understand the original intention of the poet's writing. Although the so-called "ancient method" is a kind of sustenance, it expresses yearning for the simplicity of ancient society, and it does not mean to reverse the course of history; the so-called "why do we need wisdom" actually expresses abhorrence and denial of the intrigues and intrigues in secular life. As pointed out by previous people, Tao Yuanming was a man who "aspired to the world" and "wanted to do something but could not do it." He had his own ideals and setbacks but could not realize them. This is the essence of his thinking. When we read his works , we must pay attention to this.
Translation
The tyranny of Qin Shihuang disrupted the order of the world, and wise men seceded from the world and lived in seclusion. Huang Qi and others lived in seclusion in Shangshan to avoid chaos at the end of Qin Dynasty. People in Peach Blossom Spring also live in seclusion. The traces of entering the Peach Blossom Spring gradually disappeared, and the road to the Peach Blossom Spring became deserted and abandoned. People in Taohuayuan encourage each other to devote themselves to farming, working at sunrise and resting at sunset. Mulberry trees and bamboo groves cast thick shades, beans and cereals are planted according to the seasons, silk is harvested in the spring, and no taxes are paid when harvested in the autumn. Wild grass blocks communication with the outside world, and chickens and dogs croak at each other. Sacrifice is still the pre-Qin etiquette, and there are no new styles of clothes. The children sang songs to their heart's content, and the old people came and played happily. The lush vegetation makes people realize that spring is coming and the sky is getting warmer; the withered trees make people realize that the cold wind is fierce and the autumn and winter seasons are here. Although there is no almanac that records the age of the year, the four seasons naturally change and the years come into being. Life is so joyful, what else do you need to worry about? The miracle of Peach Blossom Spring has been hidden for more than five hundred years. Today, the fairy-like realm of Peach Blossom Land is opened to the world. The simple customs in the Peach Blossom Spring are different from the thinning of human relationships in the world. The Peach Blossom Spring that is revealed for a moment is deeply hidden. I would like to ask, how can secular people know things beyond this world? I would like to ride the breeze and fly high to find people who share my interests.
Writing background
Since the end of the Han Dynasty, the Central Plains has been in chaos and has been plagued by wars and disasters. There are many records in history books about people fleeing to the deep mountains and forests to seek a stable life. The poet is familiar with history, has experienced disasters personally, and has personally experienced the disasters that war has brought to the people. At the same time, he watched the ups and downs of the officialdom with a cold eye, and was well aware of the darkness of the officialdom and the suffering of the people. Therefore, he longed for a stable life without wars, wars, or dynasty changes, and a peaceful environment without the inferiority of kings and ministers, and without taxes and corvees. All kinds of legends and stories, all kinds of beautiful fantasies, together gave birth to the coveted poetry and prose: "The Story of the Peach Blossom Spring" and "The Poetry of the Peach Blossom Spring".