Three elegies-the third one
Wei and Jin Dynasties: Tao Yuanming
Weeds are boundless and poplars are rustling.
In mid-September, severe frost sent me out of the outer suburbs.
No one lives on all sides, and the high graves wither.
The horse cries to the sky, and the wind is depressed.
It's not a thousand years since the secluded room was closed.
A thousand years later, there is nothing the wise can do.
Always send people away and return to their homes.
Relatives or sorrows, others have also sung.
What's the way to die? I'm on the same mountain.
translate
The vast wilderness is yellow, and the bleak autumn wind shakes the poplars.
It's already the middle of September. My relatives sent me to the outer suburbs for burial.
There are no people around, and the grave is high and desolate.
The horse is sad, and the wind is sad and bleak.
The tomb has been sealed in darkness and will never see the dawn.
You will never see the dawn, and neither will the sages.
Those who had just been sent to the funeral went back to their rooms.
Relatives may still be sad, and others have long forgotten to sing.
What can I say when I am dead? I'm stuck in the mountains.
Extended data:
Appreciation of quasi-elegy
One of the characteristics of Shi Tao's poems is his eloquence. He is basically a "fu" pen for Chen Qi, and there are not many places where metaphors are used. Therefore, although the word-building is simple and meaningful, although it is plain and reasonable, it seems more natural and interesting without paying attention to brushwork. This is what Su Shi said, "It seems to be dry and solid." Wei Jin people talk too much and talk too much about life and death. But if a saint is Rainbow Xizhi, it is inevitable that there will be a sigh of "life and death are also big, so it is neither painful nor itchy"; But I'm afraid Tao Yuanming is the only one who can really perceive the difference between life and death. For example, he said at the end of the poem "The Illusion of God": "The waves are rough and there is no fear; You should do your best, there is no need to worry about it. "
Life is like a big wave between heaven and earth, ups and downs have no owner, but it is very rare for you to regard it as "no worries and no fears". For life and death, he actually holds a very frank attitude, thinking that "damn it, let it die, why bother!" This is actually the same meaning as what Tao said at the end of his earlier "Going Home", that is, "Talking about riding to the end, feeling fate and doubts."
This kind of philosophical thought, although rare, is relatively easy to say when a person is healthy and able to think rationally. When you are seriously ill and know that you are going to die soon, you can still realize this wisely and write your own poems in a half-joking way (for example, "But when you hate being alive, you can't drink enough", which is far beyond the reach of ordinary people.
Whether Tao Yuanming lived only in his fifties (according to Liang Qichao and Gu Zhi) or 63 (according to Song Shuzhuan and Yan Yanzhi's Tao Zhengshi) is still controversial. Therefore, there are different opinions about whether this group of self-organized poems should be written before death. Mr. Kuai, a close friend, said in the Chronicle of Tao Yuanming's Deeds and Poems that Tao lived to the age of 63 and almost died of a serious illness at the age of 51. At this time, I wrote Quasi-Elegy. For these three poems, Mr. Wu Xiaoru concluded that he was very ill, at least when he thought he was dying.
However, the philosophical thinking and calm attitude in the face of life and death reflected in the poem is too rare after all. As for the writing time, Ziji clearly put forward that "Ding Mao is the only age, and there is no way to shoot", that is, in September of 427 AD (the fourth year of Song Wendi Yuanjia), the first four sentences of the third poem of Ziji said: "The weeds are boundless, and the poplars are also rustling. In mid-September, the frost was severe, sending me out of the outer suburbs." It is exactly the same as the season of "giving my life". It would be a coincidence if I wrote a self-sustaining poem first. So it is more appropriate to put these three poems under the author's last words.