Appreciation of the article "Han Yu·Gan Erniao Fu"
In the eleventh year of Zhenyuan ①, on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, Yu returned to the east ②. Guiyou comes out from Tongguan and rests in the shade of the river. When I first went to the capital, I felt sad that I didn't meet the time. When he saw caged white crows and white robins walking to the west, he called them on the road and said: "The guard of a certain land is a certain official, who sends envoys to the emperor." Those traveling east and west all avoid the road and no one dares to look straight. Feeling sorry for oneself. Fortunately, I was born when there was nothing in the world. I inherited the legacy of my ancestors and did not know the diligence of fighting, working, attacking and defending, or cultivating crops. I read and wrote, from the age of seven to the present, which lasts for twenty-two years. He does not dare to be ashamed of the Tao in his conduct. He lives idle and thinks about the past and the present, and only cares about one or two great ones. He was elected by Yousi and marched and retreated together with a hundred or ten people. He had no name and recommended letters ⑤, and sent corporals to the court to look up to the brightness of the emperor. Now it is a bird, but its feathers are different, but it does not have moral wisdom. Those who accept the advice and praise the teachings will be promoted and recommended, and they will shine like this. Therefore, it is a tribute to mourn for oneself, and it should be noted that if one encounters bad times, no matter how small a good deed is, he will achieve it; if one does not go through bad times, the accumulated good deeds will not be tolerated. His words said:
Where do I go! I will do it and then think about it. Honesty is not enough to survive on its own, and it will only follow if you have food to eat. After leaving the country and heading eastward, I encountered the magnificent scenery of the day. When I look back, I shed tears, thinking about Qiang Yong on the West Road. After passing Tongguan, I sat down and watched the rapids of the Yellow River. Only by feeling the ignorance of the two birds can I be blessed and blessed. But the difference in advance and retreat ⑦ increases the stubbornness of Yu Huai. How beautiful is the center, how can it only be displayed on the outside? The misfortune of the rest of my life is worse than that of two birds; I gush east and west and north and south, and I have not lived for ten years; I have been humiliated and fed many times, and my name is in the recommendation book; the people who are favored by the time are considered virtuous, but the mediocre ones are called Yu Is this not stupid? In the past, Emperor Gaozong of the Yin Dynasty {11} got a good death at night. The one who was left and right was the first, believing that heaven was the same and gods were the same. As for the future of timely luck, it may be impossible to achieve both goals {12}. Although people come to each house and talk to each other, they are only tired of recruiting others {13}. For the rest of his life in the heaven above, there is also a period of time for him to live on the earth below. How can he be matched with the ancients {14}, but he can only be contented with not having a position? To obtain it but not be able to do so is a trick played by ghosts and gods; fortunately, we are still young, so we have no envy for this kind of people {15}.
Notes
① Zhenyuan: Tang Dezong’s reign (785-805). ② Donggui: refers to returning east to his hometown Heyang (now Mengzhou, Henan). ③鸲鹆 (qúyùquyu): commonly known as myna. Crows and starlings are generally black, with the starlings having slightly white spots on their wings. Pure white ones are considered rare and auspicious. ④ Act on your own: stand up for yourself and act accordingly. ⑤Recommendation book: Refers to the erudite macro-citric examination of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. ⑥鹜(wùwu): Chi. Longjing: The scorching sun. ⑦Advance and retreat: refers to the advancement of the two birds and the retreat of oneself. ⑧Show off: boast. ⑨殮(èhun): Obstruction and difficulty. ⑩Certificate name: refers to the grade obtained in the subject examination. {11} Gaozong of Yin: namely King Wuding of Shang. {12}Two requests: refers to praying to heaven and God. In other words, it is recommended to give it a try. {12}Speedly tired: brings sorrow. {14}Seeking to match the ancients: Matching with the legendary ancient sages. {15} Si type: refers to two birds.
Fu is a kind of rhyme in ancient times, between prose and poetry. This article was written in the eleventh year of Zhenyuan (795), when Han Yu was in a bumpy and tortuous official career and was feeling humiliated. He wrote to the prime ministers Jia Dan, Zhao Jing and Lu Mai three times in a row, telling them that he was "as good as being homeless, with no food to eat, and no clothes to wear if he was cold", hoping that they would show some "pity", but nothing happened. The stone fell into the sea and there was no response. On the way back to his hometown from Chang'an, he happened to meet the envoy of Jiedushi passing by offering white crows and white robins to the emperor. So he felt sad and felt the contrasting fate between himself and the two birds, so he wrote this poem angrily.
The preface to the poem explains the origin of the poem and the purpose of the poem at the beginning. "When I went to the capital at the beginning, I sighed that I would not meet the time." So he shouted "Where can I return?" and suddenly came out, telling the whole story about his situation and mentality after repeated setbacks, revealing that although he was walking in " On the way back to the East, I felt deeply that I had no support and no destination. It seems to be an understatement, but in fact the emotion is heavy and angry.
Then, he described the messenger's offering of two birds in a pen that seemed objective and realistic but contained irony. This kind of act was originally meant to be flattering and inviting favors, but instead of being ashamed of it and fearing that others would not know it, they yelled and flamboyant all the way, showing off their power and prestige, causing "people traveling east and west to avoid the road and no one dared to look at them." This is a picture of the person who is flattering and inviting favors Their ugliness and the travelers’ contempt and resentment towards them have a caricature effect. Then he reversed the direction of his writing. With his beautiful feathers, the bird was still able to show off his beauty in front of the emperor. When he thought about himself, he had nothing to learn and had no choice but to "serve as a corporal in court". You can imagine his inner frustration. So I couldn't help but sigh that the wise and the foolish were confused, which also contained the anger towards the feudal rulers who couldn't distinguish between the wise and the foolish. On the first floor of the "Gaozong of the Former Yin Dynasty", the self-mourning and expression of anger on the upper level turned to self-forgiveness and self-explanation. At that time, although Han Yu had experienced setbacks, he still had the opportunity to be confident and enterprising in his words, and he did not envy the ignorant people like Erniao who only used appearance to please the monarch.
At the end of the preface, the author quietly reveals the theme of "commenting on self-mourning", and once again highlights the contrast between "suffering from times" and "not encountering times", echoing the "not meeting times" at the beginning. , and goes straight through the "luck" at the end of the fu. In fact, the content of this article does not stop at this point. It also contains contempt for people who are in high positions but ignorant of mediocrity, resentment at the social reality in which virtue and ignorance are reversed, and expectations for oneself. At the same time, although the author reveals a bit of helplessness when talking about self-relief, he also shows a persistent attitude towards life that is not afraid of setbacks and waits for the right time.
Comments from later generations
Modern scholars: “No matter how small a good deed you do, you will achieve it, but if you don’t do it, your good deeds will be exhausted.
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