The light rain in early spring
Tang Dynasty: Han Yu
The light rain in Tianjie is as moist as crisp, the color of grass looks far away but not up close.
The best thing about spring is that it is better than the smoke and willows all over the imperial capital.
Notes
This poem is also known as "Early Spring Presents Zhang Shiba, a Member of the Ministry of Water". This small poem is written to Zhang Ji, a member of the Ministry of Water. Zhang Ji is the eighteenth among his brothers, so he is called "Zhang Shiba". The style of his poems is fresh and natural, almost colloquial. It seems ordinary, but in fact it is anything but ordinary. Han Yu himself said: "Difficulty and poverty often lead to mediocrity" ("Send Wubenshi Returns to Fanyang"). It turns out that his "melancholy" was hard-won.
Translation
The sky above Beijing Avenue is full of silk rain.
It is as fine and moist as cheese.
Looking far away, the color of grass is faintly connected. In one piece,
when viewed up close, they appear sparse and sporadic.
This is the most beautiful scenery of the year,
far better than the late spring when the city is full of green poplars.
Appreciation
This is a seven-character quatrain that describes and praises the beauty of early spring. The first sentence describes the light rain in early spring, describing its smoothness and moistness as "as moist as crisp". It describes its characteristics very accurately, and the words and sentences are very beautiful. It is similar to Du Fu's "Good rain knows the season, and spring will happen. Sneak into the night with the wind, moistening things silently".
The second sentence follows the first sentence and describes the scene after the grass is wet with rain. From a distance it looks green, but up close there is no green color. It depicts the hazy scene of the early spring grass after it has been wet with rain. It can be compared with Wang Wei's "Seeing nothingness in the green mist" and "Seeing nothingness in the color of mountains".
The third and fourth sentences greatly praise the scenery of early spring: "The most beautiful thing about spring is that it is better than the smoke and willows all over the imperial capital." The meaning of these two sentences is: the light rain and the color of grass in early spring are the most beautiful scenery in spring. The most beautiful thing is far more than the decaying late spring scenery of the city filled with smoke and willows. Poems about spring scenery are often based on the bright late spring in Tang poetry, but this poem is based on the early spring chant, which believes that the scenery in early spring is superior to that in late spring and is unique.
This poem praises early spring, captures the soul of early spring, and gives readers infinite aesthetic interest, which is even beyond the reach of painting. The poet did not have a colored pen, but he used the language of poetry to depict colors that are extremely difficult to describe - a color that is plain and seems to be there but not there. Without sharp and detailed observation and superb poetry, it would be impossible to refine the natural beauty of early spring into artistic beauty.
Creative background
Early Spring Xiaoyu was created in the early spring of 823 AD (the third year of Changqing). At that time, Han Yu was 56 years old and served as Minister of Civil Affairs. This is the greatest official he has done in his life. Although it didn't last long (he died of illness at the age of 57), he was in a very good mood at this time. Not long before, there was a rebellion in Zhenzhou (now Zhengding, Hebei). Han Yu was ordered to go to Xuanfu to persuade the rebels and quelled the rebellion.
Emperor Mu Zong was very happy and promoted him from the post of Minister of the Ministry of War to Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. In literature, he had already achieved great fame. At the same time, he also made outstanding achievements in the cause of reviving Confucianism. Therefore, although I am nearly 60 years old, I am not sad because the years are passing by, but welcome spring with great interest.
This poem was written to the poet Zhang Ji, who was a member of the Ministry of Water Resources at that time. Zhang Ji is the eighteenth among his brothers, so he is called "Zhang Shiba". About Han Yu made an appointment with Zhang Ji for a spring outing, but Zhang Ji declined because he was too busy and old. So Han Yu wrote this poem as a gift, expressing the beauty of the scenery in early spring and hoping to trigger Zhang Ji's interest in traveling.