The poet hates being an official and yearns for living in seclusion in the mountains, so he faked this poem to express his anguish by the crow of thrush birds. Birds are the products of nature, and only by returning to nature can they show their talents, especially birds, not to mention people. Only in an unrestrained environment can we show our ambitions. The "lock" in the poem represents the knot that the poet can't untie, and the golden cage is like wealth. If you can put aside all this and retire to the mountains, you may find your true self!
wood thrush
Author: Ouyang Xiu Dynasty: Song Style: Four Musts
original text
The cries of thousands of birds echo their own hearts, and thousands of purple flowers on the mountain are on the height of trees.
Only then did I understand that listening to the cry of the thrush locked in a golden cage is far less than singing leisurely in the forest.
Poetry annotation
Note (1) Birds sing euphemistically. (2) high and low. (3) The golden birdcage is an expensive birdcage.
In Ouyang Xiu's Thrushcross, the first two sentences describe the scenery, and the thrush sings and dances, which makes the colorful mountain flowers more pleasing to the eye. Seeing those birds in cages, I really envy thrush flying in the forest, free and unrestrained. What should also be known here is that Ouyang Xiu, the author, was banished to Chuzhou at this time because he was excluded from the DPRK, which shows the mood of writing this poem.
Flowers and Birds (Appreciation of Ouyang Xiu's Thrush) Li Lienan (2009-08-2611:25: 28)
Prose Classification of Ouyang Xiu's Thrushcross Birds and Purple Trees
Ordinary bird songs make us think deeply. Appreciation of Ouyang Xiu's Thrush Birds
Li Lienan
The works of Ouyang Xiu, a literary master in the Northern Song Dynasty, often have profound thoughts and feelings, and his famous work Thrushcross Bird is a very thought-provoking work. I'm afraid the depth and breadth of this ordinary poem are beyond the author's expectation.
The cries of thousands of birds echo their own hearts, and thousands of purple flowers on the mountain are on the height of trees.
Only then did I understand that listening to the cry of the thrush locked in a golden cage is far less than singing leisurely in the forest.
This poem was written by the poet when he knew Chuzhou. During this period, Ouyang Xiu often wandered between the mountains and rivers of Chuzhou, and wrote such famous works as Zuiweng Pavilion and Fengle Pavilion. While enjoying the scenery of Chuzhou, the numerous calls of a clever and easy-to-sing bird-thrush aroused his particularly fresh feeling, so he sang a poem "Thrushcross Bird" to express his feelings.
"Hundred Tones"-Listen, how touching the crow of the thrush is. A word "ho" describes the beauty of thrush sound succinctly and vividly; Listen carefully again, this little thrush, with its neck singing, changeable phonology, myriad tones and amorous feelings, makes people feel relaxed and happy ("a hundred" and "a thousand" mean nothing, but many tricks). This situation made Ouyang Xiu feel fresh and surprised. At the same time, he also noticed the forest environment where hundreds of customs and rhymes of thrush were formed and he could move freely. The word "move at will" is placed after the word "hundred tones", which not only sets off the posture of thrush flying freely and jumping and singing, but also vaguely shows the causal relationship between the latter and the former, laying the groundwork for the ending "it is not as good as crying freely in the forest".
The careful poet continued to observe: "The mountain flowers are red and purple." In the spring of Chuzhou, a "mountain flower is red and purple" is gorgeous and colorful. Thrush birds jump up and down among colorful branches and sing freely. This colorful natural color and vast space are the inspiration for the excitement and stimulation of this small creature, Thrushcross. "Let them sing, and ask for their friendly voices" (Xiaoya Logging in the Book of Songs)-they can fly together and echo each other. No wonder their songs are so loud, devoted and affectionate!
The first two sentences of emotional description are full of Ouyang Xiu's extraordinary feelings. How does a poet feel? It turned out that a long time ago, Ouyang Xiu had seen a thrush, but what he saw was a thrush in a golden cage. At that time, the song of thrush from the cage also intoxicated the author, thinking that the song at that time was already beautiful; But when he came to the forest in Chuzhou and listened to the sound of birds stirring outside the cage, he found that the sound of thrush in the cage was not as beautiful as that in the forest. So he sighed: "I just know that it is better to sing freely in the forest than to listen to the songs in the golden cage." It is generous to wake up like a dream.
The word "beginning to know" spans a lot in time and space. These two sentences show that the author's singing of flying birds in the forest is far better than the truth in the cage, and it took him a long time to suddenly realize; At the same time, the author's understanding of the basic common sense that a bird in the forest is better than a bird in a cage is too late to express. The word "beginning to know" is deeply felt in the transfer. The word "less than" connects the life scene of the thrush in the Golden Cage with the song of the thrush in the forest described in the whole article, forming a seamless artistic scene, which can be described as perfect harmony.
Ouyang Xiu's feelings are so deep that he has a profound political background. The author wrote this poem in Chuzhou because he was seriously frustrated in the political struggle and knew Chuzhou. In the fifth year of Qing dynasty (1045), because of anger, Fan Zhongyan and others framed the case and were told to go to Chuzhou. Knowing this background, we can know the fundamental reason why the poet envies birds in the forest.
Ouyang Xiu obviously compared himself to a thrush who escaped from a cage and entered the forest. The sweetness and coziness of the thrush's song in front of us is simply a portrayal of the carefree mood of the poet who left Beijing's political whirlpool. Knowing this background, it is not difficult for readers to perceive the carefree and emotional feelings implied by the author. It is worth considering that this poem also conveys another message, that is, the monotony of the poet's singing of thrush in the cage is in sharp contrast with the diversity of songs in the forest. Ouyang Xiu's delicate appreciation, taste and contrast may be unintentional and have no profound sustenance, but it is easy for readers to deeply associate with the society and times in which the poet lives.
First of all, this poem is sensitively related to the life situation of intellectuals in the Song Dynasty. As we all know, the preferential treatment policy of the rulers of the Song Dynasty for literati is unprecedented. Scholars not only serve as officials at all levels of the country, but also enjoy a comfortable life when they leave their jobs, and even receive half a salary. Song Taizu had vowed not to kill the minister, and Song Taizong also instructed not to pursue the ills of the literati too much. The rulers of the Song Dynasty also allowed and encouraged the literati to keep geisha and enjoy singing and dancing. On the other hand, the rulers strengthened their ideological control over the literati, and held imperial examinations according to Confucian classics. All works of philosophers were not allowed to be used, which restricted the freedom of thought (especially compared with the Tang Dynasty). As "advanced intellectuals", Ouyang Xiu and other Song Dynasty literati urgently need to gain more knowledge and life perception, and seek more spiritual nutrition for society and themselves. As a result, as North Korean officials, their work and even retirement expenses are borne by the state, just like thrushes in cages, and they are not worried about "livelihood". But correspondingly, their space for free activities and independent thinking is quite limited. The poet's description and admiration of thrush in the forest is full of passion for extensive knowledge and colorful life.
In this poem, the word "lock" suddenly catches people's attention and can give readers a deep association today. Ouyang Xiu's life is still in the stage of behind closed doors. As we know, Ouyang Xiu is a leader who doubts ancient thoughts. He raised many questions about the traditional theory and made breakthroughs in some theoretical ideas. He is a politician and scholar who pursues free and independent research. In the pursuit of truth, he always yearns for various talents and knowledge, and yearns for the vast world. The author's "ambition" to attract talents from all over the world is great. In order to get those talents who often lie down but can't get out, he tried to seek the wonders of the world through The Old Man in Yiye (The Mysterious Preface of Poetry). In the collation of ancient books, he revealed that he was diligent in collecting ancient cultural relics and recording them, with the aim of "taking his husband to correct his mistakes with history, so that he could learn from the past and benefit from learning more"; The Voice of the Earthworm, The Stars Fall to the Ground, The Sun, the Moon and the Five Stars Travel to the East (three miscellaneous notes) all aroused his interest and thinking. In addition, Ouyang Xiu has a tendency to publicize his personality and diversity in his personal life. His life of "finding pleasure in it" and "collecting three generations of precious stones, playing a piano and playing a chess, and always buying a pot of wine" (Biography of 61 laity) shows his value trend of enriching spiritual life and cultivating temperament in the free world. His pursuit of knowledge and various interests in life obviously reflect each other with his appreciation of the free singing of thrush birds in the forest, which induces readers' interest in further exploring Ouyang Xiu's inner world.
If we further associate and extend the profundity of this poem, we can also find that it can have another explanation for the vigorous spring. The title can be changed from Thrushcross to Spring of Woodbirds. Please see, the first two sentences, "100,000 sounds move at will, and the flowers, red and purple trees are high and low", are not just a general description of the vibrant spring? A bird alone can't make spring, and a flower alone can't. Only when a hundred birds are singing and a hundred flowers are blooming, is the real spring. Therefore, it is imperative and logical to understand the sentence "It is better to sing freely in the forest than to keep birds (not just thrushes) in a golden cage".
The author's explanation of Ouyang Xiu's poems in this way certainly does not conform to Ouyang Xiu's original intention. But assuming that readers who haven't read this poem recite it first and then guess the topic, I'm afraid the guess of "Spring of the Woodbirds" should be reasonable. Ouyang Xiu's short poems can arouse such association, which is not only related to his lyrical scenery, but also related to his character and mind. Su Shi once praised his teacher Ouyang Xiu and said, "Therefore, Prince Shao Shi Ouyang Gong is the best in the world. The scholar has a middle word, and it is better to ask for the public than to ask for it. " ("Mr. Qian's Poems") It can be seen that he is broad-minded and thirsty for talents. It can be seen that the poet's wonderful description of the flying environment of birds also reflects his expectation for the free growth environment of thousands of talents. Ouyang Xiu was the leader of the poetry innovation movement in the Northern Song Dynasty. His unusual far-sighted leadership temperament is revealed in a poem about the object, which makes sense.