"Spring Festival Gala" is a seven-character poem written by Fan Chengda, a poet in the Song Dynasty.
The pinyin version of the whole poem is as follows:
The whole poem is as follows:
The desolate garden follows lazily, the dancing swallows and the singing orioles are selfish.
The days are long enough to sleep under the window, and the flowers in front of the bottles do not offer poems.
I have been withered for a long time and have unkempt hair on my temples. When I return, I will catch a fishing line.
I would like to see the spring rising in the east of the fence, and the boat will not be accompanied by willow silk hanging down.
The literal meaning of the poem:
The deserted garden is desolate and desolate, I am too lazy to look for it; the swallows are flying and the oriole is singing happily, regardless of other people's mood.
The days are getting longer and longer, so it’s time to sleep a little longer under the window; the flowers in front of the wine bottles have withered, and they can no longer evoke poetry.
I have been old for a long time (I never dreamed of Duke Zhou), and my hair is only disheveled. I abandon my official position and return to my hometown, where I can be with a fishing line.
You can imagine that to the east of the bamboo fence, the spring water has filled up; on the shore where the willow silk hangs low, the boat is rocking alone.
Appreciation of the whole poem:
The poem begins with a description of the garden scene in late spring: the garden is no longer full of flowers, but "barren" and "bleak", which shows its age in spring. The flowers are withered and the fallen flowers are in a mess. "Lazy to follow" reveals that the poet has no interest in traveling. However, this "deserted garden" has many "followers" after all. Those swallows and warblers are "dancing" and "crowding", how proud they are; but they are greedy for the deserted garden, just because there are many small insects on the rotten branches and leaves, which are easy to prey on, so they are "selfish". Here, the "selfish" Yan and Ying, and the "desolate" "Desolate Garden" obviously have different metaphors, alluding to current events. He thinks of the small imperial court of the Southern Song Dynasty that is about to collapse, and of the villains fighting for power in the imperial court. . The couplet closely follows the first sentence. "The days grow long" and "the flowers grow old" not only point out the season of late spring, but also hint at the poet's mood. As the saying goes: "Happiness hates the short nights, and depression makes me feel the long days." I feel drunk and sleepy, and the long days are hard to get rid of. I respect the old lady in front of me, and poetry is hard to find, so I can't help but express my full sadness directly.
"I have been withered for a long time and have unkempt hair on my temples. When I return, I will catch a fishing line." This is the turning point of the whole poem and the finishing touch of the whole poem. The poet associates old people with "aging flowers". Here "I have been declining for a long time" is both a literal meaning and a metaphor. The poet cleverly borrowed this meaning and lamented that the small court of the Southern Song Dynasty could not cheer up at that time, and the situation of the Song Dynasty that he longed for to dominate the world was hopeless. I was exhausted mentally and physically, and had no way to save my life, so I had no choice but to "go back and fish for a while" - retreat to my hometown and live in seclusion fishing.
At this point in the poem, the meaning is clear and seems to be unexplainable, but the poet makes a bold move and creates a new realm: "I want to see the spring rising on the east side of the fence, and the small boat without the willow silk hanging down." What a beautiful picture. A picture of late spring in a water town in the south of the Yangtze River: the spring water is long, sparse fences are like screens, willow silk is hanging, and small boats are rippling. This poem depicts a beautiful artistic conception. "The small boat has no companion", the small boat seems to be eagerly waiting for the poet's return to accompany him. It is also necessary to clarify here that the word "Lidong" originated from the Tao sentence "Pick chrysanthemums under the east fence" and was later used to refer to the hometown. This couplet not only further exaggerates the feeling of longing for home, but also this beautiful picture of late spring forms a sharp contrast with the "depressed" "barren garden" at the beginning, and also reveals the poet's love, hate and desire to return.