In the first year of Huang Chu (220), Cao Pi became emperor Wei Wendi. Cao Pi couldn't let go of the experience of fighting for the Crown Prince. After he proclaimed himself emperor, he still held a grudge against Cao Zhi and tried to get rid of him. Cao Zhi knew that his brother had deliberately framed himself, but he could not excuse himself. He had to write a poem within seven steps in extreme grief and indignation.
The seven-step poem is a poem written by Cao Zhi, a poet of Wei State in the Three Kingdoms period.
Original text:
Boiled beans are used as soup and fermented into juice.
Honey burns under the pot, and beans cry in the pot.
We are born from the same root, so why rush to speculate with each other?
Translation:
Cook beans to make bean soup. I want to filter out the residue of beans and leave the bean juice for soup. The beanstalk burns under the pot, and the beans cry in the pot. Beans and beanstalks originally grew on the same root. How can beanstalk torture beans in such a hurry?
Extended data
Poetry appreciation
This poem is written in a purely metaphorical way, with simple language and clear meaning, and no need for further explanation. As long as it is slightly dredged in individual words, its significance is self-evident.
The first four sentences describe the phenomenon of burning beans in daily life. Cao Zhi used the word "bean" as a metaphor, and the word "cry" fully expressed the sadness and pain of the victims.
"Douchi" in the second sentence refers to Douchi that has been filtered and cooked to make sauce. "Fen" refers to beanstalk, which is dried and used as firewood. The powder is cooked with beans from the same root. Metaphor brothers are too tight, give up on themselves and violate heaven, which is naturally unacceptable. The poet's clever metaphor and clever language blurted out in an instant, which was really amazing.
The last two sentences express Cao Zhi's inner grief, obviously questioning Cao Pi: You and I are brothers. Why are you pushing so hard? For thousands of years, "since we are born from the same root, why should we fry each other" has become a common language for people to persuade them to avoid killing each other, which shows that this poem is widely circulated among the people.
This poem takes fried beans as a metaphor to accuse Cao Pi of cruel persecution of himself and other brothers. The tone is euphemistic and deep, and there are reminders and exhortations in sarcasm. On the one hand, this reflects Cao Zhi's cleverness, on the other hand, it also reflects Cao Pi's cruelty in persecuting his brothers and sisters.
The beauty of this poem lies in its clever metaphor and clear meaning. Beans and beanstalks are born from the same root, just like brothers. When the beanstalk burns, cook the beans in the pot and "cry". This metaphor is very touching, very touching. This poem has won the appreciation of readers for thousands of years with its apt and vivid metaphor and clear and profound implication.