The language of this seven-character rhyme poem written by Zha Shenxing is fresh, bright, concise, and simple; the meaning is straightforward, natural and smooth, and there are no quotations from scriptures, making it feel more intimate when reading; it uses scenery to enter the poem, and uses the scenery to express emotions. The technique of grasping the scenery in front of you is wonderful; this poem is a masterpiece with a very poetic and picturesque flavor. There are paintings in the poems, and poems are hidden in the paintings; the two couplets in the middle are neat and smooth, and there is no sense of carving. It’s amazing!
The title "Xiangdong Station Zunlu to Luxi" tells the scene in mid-spring when the poet disembarked from the "Huanghua Ferry" of "Xiangdong Station" and arrived at Luxi by land. . "Zunlu" means walking along the land route. "Yi" is a place where people delivering government documents and passing officials changed their horses or stayed overnight in ancient times; "Xiangdong Yi" is the "Huanghua Crossing" in eastern Hunan (today's Xiangdong District, about 40 miles away from Pingxiang City). Luxi, a town in the Qing Dynasty, is located in the east of Pingxiang. Now it is Luxi County; judging from the title, the poet got straight to the point and locked the scope of what he wanted to write about on the road from Pingxiang to Luxi. Why should the poet focus on writing about his experiences along the way? What aroused his high interest? What exactly do you want to express? What message does he want to convey to the world and future generations? This made me more interested in the content behind his poem.
The first couplet "Huanghua Ancient Ferry connects Luxi, and the road gradually gets lower as we pass through Pingxiang Road." Pingxiang was called Pingxiang County at that time (now Pingxiang City, Jiangsu Province). The first two sentences are as plain as words, and the connection is natural. Because from eastern Hunan to Pingxiang is not the focus of what he wants to write, he just mentions it in one stroke. The technique is skillful. It is true that the leaves fall without a trace and the wind passes silently! The general meaning of this sentence is: "After I landed at Huanghuadu, I immediately embarked on the journey to Luxi. After passing Pingxiang, the road gradually became flat." What should be explained here is that Pingxiang is between eastern Hunan and Luxi, and the terrain is slightly higher than that of the two places. The flow of water in Pingxiang is called "both sides" in our local area. One side of the water flows into the Xiangjiang River through eastern Hunan, and the other side flows into the Xiangjiang River. The water flows eastward through Luxi River and flows into the Ganjiang River. It happens to be one in the east and one in the east, so it is called "Two Sides". Xu Shengwu, the magistrate of Pingxiang County in the same era, also has a poem written by Zhuzhi as evidence: "I went east to the river to reel in the official board, and then reeled down to the east of Hunan and rowed backwards. The boat could not arrive within fifty miles, and the road was full of tung oil and ramie." "The boat could not reach the boat within fifty miles." The only thing is that there is no boat ride from Pingxiang to Luxi, so we have to walk. Therefore, Mr. Chu Bai's "The road gradually gets lower after passing by Pingxiang" and Xu Shengwu's "The boat can't reach the middle of fifty miles", which corroborate each other.
The jaw couplet "barking dogs and crowing chickens are far and near the village, and the ducks are sitting on the east bank of the new duck bank." This is one of the most vibrant scenes the poet has ever seen. He listened and watched as he walked: "The village is well-proportioned. From time to time, you can hear the crow of chickens and dogs, which is so familiar. On the river bank, you can see the green grass and the newly born goslings and ducklings." It’s so peaceful to forage leisurely on both sides of the river.” These two sentences reflect the fact that during the Kangxi period, people's lives gradually stabilized and the social economy became increasingly prosperous after the war. It is a typical Jiangnan water town pastoral landscape painting.
"Barking dogs and crowing roosters" listened carefully, and "suckling geese and new ducks" took a closer look. Through different senses, they felt a peaceful, calm and fresh atmosphere of life. The latter sentence implies the arrival of a society where production has developed and people's lives are stable after the war, from the vitality of new life.
From the "suckling goose, new duck" we can see the poet's appreciation and appreciation for the Jiangnan water town. praise. As Zha Shenxing, who has traveled all over the country and is well-read, he knows the current situation of the country, and he also understands that people's lives have just stabilized. The word "breast" and the word "new" are enough to express his full confidence and hope in the reconstruction of society after the war. This is how the poet faced the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan, borrowed objects to express his feelings, and wrote poems to sing. Leisurely and relaxed.
"The silk reeling moistens the clothes with the drizzle, and the good seedlings come out with water when cut with a knife." reeling, boiling cocoons and drawing silk. The silk reeling here is compared to spring rain. It is said that the spring rain is as silvery as silk. Continuously. The first couplet describes animals, dogs and chickens, geese and ducks; this couplet describes natural phenomena and plants. Further demonstrate the characteristics of the Jiangnan water town. "The spring rain falls densely and thinly, like strands of silver threads fluttering in front of your eyes, giving people a cool and comfortable feeling. After a spring rain, the water in the paddy fields is also full, and the seedlings are growing well. The height of the seedlings is almost as high as The water surface is level, and the green seedlings are as neatly trimmed as if someone had pruned them with scissors. They are clear and pleasing to the eye." The rain is like silk reeling, and the seedlings are like knives and scissors. These two metaphors are very appropriate. It turned out that it was the elegant and charming scenery here that aroused the poet's strong interest. I had to admire the poet's careful observation of the things around him, and I sighed with admiration at the accuracy of the poet's expression of things.
“It is still similar to the climate of Hunan, with plows plowing everywhere in the depth of spring.” Hunan is close to eastern Hunan, in the remote area of ??Pingxiang. Pingxiang and Hunan both belong to the Chu region, and their customs are very similar. The first three couplets of the poem describe the scenery, and only the last couplet draws the conclusion, pointing out that the customs and climate here are similar to those in Hunan. Even now, people in Hunan still call Jiang Yan "old cousin". These two sentences describe the poet's feelings: after the Grain Rain, the peach blossoms and willows are everywhere, and the plowshares turn over the soil, a farming scene. Cows are walking in the painting, and people are swimming in the painting, which vividly outlines the farming scene in the Jiangnan water town. The poem does not say a single word for cow, nor does it specify a single character for human, but when read, it is like cattle plowing in the fields and the sound of people is bustling. The scene is such a poetic and dreamlike picture of spring plowing in the south of the Yangtze River! It is true that "there are paintings within poems, and poems within paintings". It makes you feel the same way when you read it, and it is unforgettable. One has to admire Mr. Chubai's superb skills.
Ancient poets often visited mountains and rivers and wrote about scenery and aspirations. Poems about scenery accounted for a large proportion of ancient Chinese poetry. Generally speaking, landscape poems often shape images, outline artistic conception, use foil and contrast techniques, or embody emotions in the scenery or blend the scenes. Cha Shenxing used line drawing in this poem. The two couplets in the middle of the poem are neatly contrasted, and the language is fresh, bright, concise and simple. "The barking dogs and roosters are far and near the village, and the ducks are reeling on the east bank of the new ducks. The silk reels are moistened by the drizzle, and the good seedlings are full of water when they are cut with knives." The two couplets are a wonderful pairing. At the same time, it also conveys the poet's emotion, the picture he hopes to see and happens to be seen by him. In order to express this exciting emotion, the poet expresses his feelings by describing the scenery.
Poets in the early Qing Dynasty mostly studied the Tang Dynasty. After Zha Shenxing rose to prominence, he also studied the Tang and Song poems and became the most accomplished author who imitated Song poetry in the early Qing Dynasty. It had a great influence on the poetry world. No wonder Zhao Yi said in "Oubei Poetry": "After Meicun (Wu Weiye), it is really difficult to list a family after the Tang and Song Dynasties. Only Zha Chubai can develop and be skilled in work", " If you want his skills to be profound, then Xiangshan 4 and Fang Weng 5 are just one person later."