Dynasty: Tang Dynasty
Author: Bai Juyi
Original text:
In December of Yuanhe eight years, it snowed for five days in succession. Bamboo and cypress freeze to death, a farmer who lacks clothes and food!
Of all the families in the village, eight or nine are poor. The cold wind is like a sharp sword, and the clothes are too thin to cover.
Only by lighting wormwood and heat, spend the morning waiting for the morning. I only know that farmers are more bitter and sour in the cold year.
Then reflect on yourself and close the door of the hut tightly. Wearing a leather gown and a quilt, it is hot whether you sit there or lie there.
I'm glad to get rid of hunger and cold instead of farming alone. I am ashamed to think of them and ask who I am.
Make an appreciative comment
In the middle and late Tang Dynasty, the area controlled by the central government of the Tang Dynasty was greatly reduced because of the separatist regime of the buffer region and the invasion of Tubo outside. But it has supported a large number of troops, including officials, landlords, businessmen, monks and Taoist priests. And people who don't farm to eat even account for more than half of the population. You can imagine the heavy burden of farmers and the hardships of life. Bai Juyi has a deep understanding of this. In this poem, he wrote "Looking back at the village, ten rooms are poor", which is the same as what he wrote in another poem "Among millions of people, only farmers are the most difficult" ("Poetry of Summer Drought"), and it is a record of his real life.
This poem is divided into two parts. The first part is about farmers suffering in the cold winter when the north wind is like a knife and heavy snow falls, and they can't sleep at night. In such a cold day, the writers in the later period stayed at home, with food, clothes and good quilts, neither starving nor freezing, nor working hard in the fields. The poet contrasted his life with the sufferings of the peasants, feeling ashamed and guilty, and asked, "Who is it?" Sigh.
In classical poetry, there are many methods of comparison, and it is not uncommon to compare the poverty and pain of farmers with the arrogance and extravagance of the exploiting classes. However, it is rare to compare the poverty of farmers with the poet's own food and clothing, especially this heartfelt "self-questioning" is even more valuable among feudal literati. In addition to contrast, this poem also has the following characteristics: popular language, smooth narration, no nonsense, pure line drawing, simple poetic context and sincere feelings. All these characteristics reflect the unique popular artistic style of Bai Juyi's poems.