Heron
Author: Du Mu
Snow-clad and snow-haired, with green jade mouths, a group of fish are in the shadow of the stream.
Flying away, the green mountains are reflected in the distance, and a pear tree falls in the evening breeze.
Translation
The egret wears snow-white clothes, has snow-white hair and a sapphire-like mouth. They fish in groups in the stream, and their beautiful bodies are reflected in the clear stream water.
Suddenly, they were frightened and flew into the distance. Against the backdrop of the green mountains, their white figures were like blossoming pear blossoms dancing in the evening wind.
Notes
Egret: This refers to an egret with white feathers and long legs. It can wade into water to hunt fish, shrimp, etc.
Sapphire: blue-green jade.
Group hunting: Many herons hunt together. Stream shadow: Shadow in the stream, describing the clarity of the stream.
Bishan: refers to the green color of the mountain.
Falling in the evening wind: falling in the evening wind, flying with the evening wind.
Appreciation
"Snow-clothed and snow-haired, with green jade mouth, in the shadow of a group of fishermen in the stream." The first two sentences are not special compliments, but plain and simple. Realism, but just like this, the white and beautiful images of a group of "boys in snow clothes", hidden in the shadow of the stream as the sun sets, waiting to catch fish and shrimp, their habits and wit are all depicted. At the same time, the poet's The feeling of infatuation is also contained in it. The egret's white feathers are very beautiful, so it is known as "Snow Clothing" and "Snow Clothing Prince". The poet was attracted by this characteristic of the egret, so he cut people here to express the spirit of the egret and express his obsession. The concatenation of the two words "snow" highlights the "shape" of the egret, whose "spirit" has not yet appeared. The poet skillfully placed it in the scene of flying away and carefully described it to
"Bishan" supports each other, and "pear blossom" is used as a metaphor. The brushwork is ethereal, and the spirit of the egret is revealed. The third and fourth sentences: "I was shocked to fly far away to reflect the green mountains, and a pear tree fell into the evening wind." The word "surprise" pushed the scene in front of me into the distance, and took advantage of the situation to use "green mountains" to reflect the distant scenery. The egrets were flying away, and these flying egrets decorated the green distant mountains. The mountains are green and herons are white, and the sunset is fading. This is a beautiful picture. It’s really a blend of scenes and a natural blend. However, the poet was not satisfied with this. He then spread the wings of his imagination and asked himself secretly: What do the dotted egrets "reflecting the blue mountains in the distance" look like? Oh, the wonderful sight of snow-white pear blossoms falling in the quiet and gentle evening breeze!
The first two sentences of this poem are about fishing in the Heron River. They are simple and white, and seem to have no aftertaste. In fact, they create momentum for the frightened flight behind. "One tree" inherits the word "group hunting", and "pear blossom" corresponds to the word "snow". It reads clearly and naturally without any artificial feeling. This poem is unique among many heron poems, and its last two lines can also be said to be famous lines in heron poems. Some famous lines about herons from later generations, such as "A flock of white birds are flying over the smoke trees, and the green mountains are covered with snowflakes" by Gu Ying in the Yuan Dynasty ("Pochui Hongqiao Kou Zhan"), and "Suddenly the egrets startled" by Zheng Banqiao in the Qing Dynasty. "A Trace of Green Snow on the Western Mountain" ("Forty Poems on Bamboo Branches of Weixian County"), etc., were probably created under the influence of Du Mu.