Ai Qing
A tree, a tree
Stand apart from each other
Wind and air
Tell them the distance
But under the cover of soil,
Their roots have been elongated.
In the unseen depths
They twisted the roots together.
Appreciate:
The poem "Tree" is not long, only eight lines. However, this poem has a lot of connotations.
A tree, a tree/independent of each other/wind and air/telling their distance.
These first four lines are about a scene, which is real, not only for the poet, but also for others. All the trees in the world are isolated and have a certain distance from each other. Looking at these four lines alone, it seems nothing special. If you don't look at the following, it is difficult for others to know the poet's intention in writing like this. But after reading the following poem, the meaning of the first four sentences becomes clear, and there is a social generalization in this simplicity.
But under the cover of soil/their roots are elongated/in the invisible depths/they are entangled in their own roots.
"But", a turning point, shifted the reader's eyes from the ground to the underground, and the broad meaning of this poem gradually became clear. This "but" has great power. The poet wants people to know that it is more important to see the tree standing alone on the ground, and it is more important to see the scene of the tree underground, where the roots are "intertwined".
The structure of this poem is very clear. The first four sentences are about the above-ground landscape of trees, and the last four sentences are about the underground landscape of trees. These two landscapes are the living landscapes of trees.
After reading the whole poem, readers will understand that this poem is not only about the life landscape of trees, but also about the life landscape of a society and a person. More accurately, the poet wrote about a living state and spirit of the Chinese nation at that time.
The poet's generalization is extremely accurate. At that time, the Chinese nation was in dire straits. Long-term class oppression makes people live a miserable life without food, and long-term slavery makes people depressed. Between them, it seems that they are struggling for their own survival and seem to be isolated from each other. But this is only the superficial landscape of life, just like the landscape of trees on the ground. The Chinese nation is cohesive, which is not only proved by the history of the Chinese nation, but also proved now. In the face of oppression, especially when the nation is in danger and is ruthlessly placed in front of people, the poor Chinese sons and daughters will unite and fight to the death. The poet has a profound understanding of the Chinese nation, and he knows the great cohesion of the Chinese nation. So when the poet saw the tree, he thought of the Chinese nation. This poem vividly expresses the poet's thoughts. What happened? What's the address of the mystery account? What about the warbler? Look how small it is! The jealousy atmosphere is vivid because the poet combines these two things well. One is to grasp the living landscape of trees, which is of course easier. One is to grasp the social picture, which requires a profound understanding. Between these two grasps, the poet found the connection between the two landscapes. Inspiration is also generated from this.
The poem "Tree" was originally included in Yuan Ye, a collection of poets' poems published in Chongqing. The poet said in The Wilderness:
"Twenty poems collected in the wilderness were written by the author in the southwest mountainous area, or because they were far away from the bonfire, they could not smell the fighting, but the author was immersed in the roughness and freedom of the wilderness for a long time and could not help singing. Every grass and tree also sends sincerity. I only hope that these songs contain' social' things and will not be dismissed as' mountain poems' by theorists.
In fact, even writing some mountain poems is not a mistake. Poetry should have the freedom to choose the beauty of poetry from many aspects and angles. The poet defends himself here, which shows that some theorists are too harsh and excessive in demanding poets. The requirements for poetry are too narrow. What's more, the poet wrote in these poems that "there are things that are' social' and should not be criticized.
Although the poems of the poets in this period did not directly describe the full swing of the Anti-Japanese War, it did not mean that the poets did not pay attention to the rise and fall of the nation. On the contrary, the poems of some poets in this period are far more impressive than those written directly about the war of resistance, both in terms of their profound connotation and their fighting capacity. The short poem "Tree" is enough to prove the poet's mind. It is not only a poem of the richest man with fighting power, but also an artistic poem.
The power of poetry lies not only in what to write, but also in how to write.