Two poems by Zhang Shiba of the Ministry of Water (Part 1) in early spring
Han Yu
The light rain on Tianjie is as moist as crisp, and 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.
This little poem is written to Zhang Ji, a member of the Ministry of Water Resources. Zhang Ji is the eighteenth among his brothers, so he is called "Zhang Shiba". The style of the poem is fresh and natural, almost colloquial. It seems ordinary, but in fact it is anything but ordinary. Han Yu himself said: "Difficulty, poverty, and strangeness often lead to mediocrity" ("Send Wubenshi Back to Fanyang"). It turns out that his "blandness" was hard-won.
The best sentence in the whole article is "the color of grass looks far away but is not there up close". Just imagine: In early spring in February, in the north, when there are still icicles hanging on the treetops and under the eaves, where is spring? Not even a shadow was seen. But if it rains a little, the next day, lo and behold, spring is coming. The rain feet gently walked across the earth, leaving traces of spring, that is, the first spring grass buds sprouted. Looking from a distance, it looked hazy, as if there was a very light green color. It is the color of early spring grass. Looking at it, people's hearts are suddenly filled with joyful business. But when you take a closer look with infinite joy, you will see sparse and extremely slender buds on the ground, but you can't see the color clearly. The poet is like a skilled ink painter, swaying his water-soaked brush, faintly revealing a trace of green, which is the color of grass in early spring. Looking from a distance, there is nothing like it, but when you get closer, you can't see it. This sentence "The color of grass looks far away but there is nothing up close". It can be said that it captures both distance and near, and conveys the spirit in the empty space.
The background of this coloring is the thin drizzle falling on Tianjie (a street in the imperial city). Looking at the grass color through the raindrops adds a hazy beauty to the grass color in early spring. And the light rain is as moist as cake. Crisp is butter. After being nourished like this, can the color of the grass not be new? With such a background to set it off, how could the color of grass not be beautiful?
At the end of the day, the poet also made a comparison: "It is better than the smoke and willows that fill the imperial capital." The poet thinks that the color of grass in early spring is many times better than the scenery of smokey willows everywhere in the city. This is because the color of grass, which “looks far away but seems invisible”, is unique to the early spring. It is soft and full of moisture, symbolizing the spring return of the earth and the renewal of everything. And what about Yanliu? It's already the time when "willows and willows pile up smoke", not to mention that it's "all over" the city, so it's no longer rare. By late spring in March, the colors are thicker and less attractive. The use of contrasting techniques like this is different from the general one. This is a double writing method in order to highlight the characteristics of spring.
“Things are rare and valuable.” The color of spring grass in early spring is also very delicate. "There is no youth even in the New Year, and we are surprised to see grass buds in early February" (Han Yu's "Spring Snow"). This is a state of mind. The harsh winter has just ended, and the remaining cold is still severe. When I suddenly saw this wonderful color of grass, I couldn't help but feel surprised and happy. These light greens were the only decorations on the earth at that time; but in late spring, "the grass and trees know that spring will soon return" (Han Yu, "Late Spring"). At this time, no matter how green the wicker branches are, people have no intention to look at them, because It lacks that sense of freshness.
So, the poet reminded at the turn of the third sentence: "The best thing about spring is the spring." Yes, the plan for a year lies in spring, but the best thing about spring is in early spring.
This poem praises early spring, captures the soul of early spring, and gives readers endless 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.