Translation of Spring Snow: The New Year has arrived, but there are no fragrant flowers yet. In February, I was pleasantly surprised to find new shoots of grass sprouting. Bai Xue also thought that spring came too late, so she deliberately turned into flowers and flew among the trees in the courtyard.
"Spring Snow" was written by Han Yu, a poet of the Tang Dynasty. This is a classic seven-character quatrain poem. This poem creates new meanings in the ordinary scenery, is ingenious and unique, and has a unique style. The first and second lines of the poem show that people who are looking forward to spring are extremely anxious, and they show people's surprise when they see the grass sprouting. The third and fourth sentences use personification techniques to make the snowflakes seem to have human good wishes and spirituality, adding a strong romantic color to the poem.
The original text of "Spring Snow": There is no youth in the new year, and I am surprised to see grass buds in early February. The white snow is too late for spring, so it flies through the trees in the garden.
The background of the creation of "Spring Snow"
Predecessors attributed this poem to the tenth year of Yuanhe, when Han Yu was in charge of editing and compiling imperial edicts in the imperial court. The poem describes the spring snow in Chang'an, which has a unique and delicate aesthetic taste. Since it is a poem about snow, it also needs to hit the mark with the word spring, so I start with the feeling of spring.
For northerners, it is normal to be without youth in the New Year, but Han Yu, who has been to Lingnan, feels that spring comes late in the north, and no grass buds grow until February. However, Bai Xue refuses to leave just now. Go, it also wants to have fun with the spring through the courtyard and the trees.
The poet drew on the meaning of Cen Shen's "Song of White Snow", and imagined the snow as flowers, and further imagined the snow as people. Even the snow thought that spring came too late, so he wanted to decorate people with some spring flowers. In the poem It is filled with a kind of joy that northerners feel when winter turns to spring, which is probably difficult for Lingnan people to experience. This poem should be read in conjunction with "Two Poems by Zhang Shiba of the Ministry of Water in the Early Spring" written eight years later.