Thrush 1 Ouyang Xiu
One hundred chirps 2 Thousands of sounds move at will 3 The mountain flowers are red and purple, and the trees are high and low. Then I realized that listening to four golden cages and five locks was not as good as the free cry in the forest.
1 Introduction to the author
Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072 AD), also known as Yongshu, also known as Zuiweng, also known as Liuyi Jushi, was born in Luling (now Ji'an City, Jiangxi Province) in the Northern Song Dynasty. . His father died when he was young and his family was poor, so his mother taught him how to read using a reed pole. He was a Jinshi during the Tiansheng reign of Renzong and served as counselor and political affairs officer. Because he supported Fan Zhongyan in promoting political reforms, he was in opposition to the conservative forces in the court. As a result, he was hated and impeached, and was demoted many times. But in the literary world, he was a recognized leader at that time, played an important role in the development of literature in the Song Dynasty, and was one of the "Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties". He has made outstanding achievements in prose, poetry and lyrics.
2 Background information
This poem was written in the seventh year of Qingli (1047), when Ouyang Xiu was demoted to Chuzhou (now Chuzhou City, Anhui Province). Another title of the poem is "A hundred tongues heard in a county house". "Junzhai" is the official residence where the author lived when he took office in Chuzhou. The "white tongue" is a type of thrush. It can be seen from this title that this poem was composed by the author after he heard the cheerful call of the thrush when he was staying in the official residence. Ouyang Xiu once mentioned the creative purpose of this poem in another article "After the Three Quatrains of Shu", pointing out that it was coincidental with "Bamboo Chicken" written by Mei Yaochen and "Sounding Orioles in the Rain" written by Su Shunqin at the same time. works, but they coincide with each other and imply feelings about one's own life experience.
Three Notes
1. Thrush: About fifteen centimeters long, with a yellow-brown back and a yellow-white belly. Except for the center of the belly, there are many moon-shaped black spots, and the eyes are There are white spots like eyebrows. The male bird sings gracefully and is often captured and raised for people to enjoy.
2. Hundreds of thousands of calls: This refers to the melodious sound of the thrush.
啭: ○Cantonese [turn], [dzyn2]; ○Han [zhuàn].
3. Move: move on the branches according to your heart, flying around.
4. To: to, to.
5. Golden cage: an exquisite birdcage.
Four Key points of appreciation
This is a poem about things, but in addition to the song of the thrush, it also reveals the poet's yearning for an unrestrained life.
The thrush in the mountain forest shuttles freely among the colorful flowers and trees, singing heartily, with a graceful and graceful voice that is particularly pleasant to the ear. At this time, the poet realized that although the thrush in the golden cage had no worries about eating and drinking, its singing was far less beautiful than the song of the thrush living freely in the mountains and forests.
This poem uses the contrasting technique of before and after to express the main idea. The first two sentences strive to depict the free and graceful chirping of birds in the forest, as well as their carefree image active in the mountain forest. The third and fourth sentences use the unfortunate experience of the caged bird as a comparison and turn into discussion. The "golden cage" is certainly a kind of generous treatment. The blackbird does not have to work hard to find food when living in it, but the price is the loss of freedom and the burying of nature. "Golden Cage" is the most suitable place for thrushes compared to "mountain forests with red mountain flowers and purple trees". The reason is clear. But this simple truth "became known" after Ouyang Xiu was demoted to Chuzhou. The author once served as an official in the imperial court and was caught in a political struggle. He had to be scrupulous about his words and deeds, and his situation was very similar to that of a caged bird. He was demoted to Chuzhou because of being framed. This was unfortunate in terms of his personal experience. However, the poet stayed away from the court and temporarily avoided the entanglement of right and wrong. He came to this place with beautiful mountains and rivers and pleasant scenery, embraced nature, and gained great liberation in body and mind. So the poet felt lucky again. The word "less than" clearly points out that "locked to the golden cage", how can it be compared to "move at will" and "crow freely". The flaunting of the "casualness" and "freedom" of the birds in the forest is a natural expression of the poet's state of mind at that time.
This poem describes the scenery vividly, using "hundreds of chirps and thousands of sounds" to describe the melodious singing of birds, and "red and purple mountain flowers" to describe the gorgeous mountain and forest scenery, with sound, color, freshness and novelty. The two sentences "shizhi" and "not as good as" have implicit meanings and implicit expressions.
Follow-up activities
Watch the video:
"A Preliminary Study on Thinking and Action: Parent-child Activities (1) - Self-Discipline", Hong Kong: Independent Commission Against Corruption, 1991 .
Think about it
1. Do you prefer to hear the songs of birds in a birdcage, or the harmonies of insects and birds you hear while hiking? Why?
2. If you were allowed to live in a luxurious mansion but could not step out of the door, would you feel happy? Why?
3. If students are allowed to talk, move freely, and come and go freely during class, what will be the consequences? It can be seen from this that what problems will arise in "freedom" without "self-discipline"