Life should be in the right way, and food and clothing should be in order. Who doesn’t even have a camp, but just wants to be safe? If you start to practice regular business in spring, your achievements will be considerable. I work hard in the morning and work hard every day. There is frost and dew in the mountains, and the weather is cold first. Isn’t it hard for the Tian family? It's hard to say goodbye. The four bodies are sincere and tired, and common people are suffering from dryness. Wash and rest under the eaves, fight with wine to scatter your face. The feeling of being depressed and drowned in the distance is relevant for thousands of years. I hope it stays like this, Gong Geng is not a sigh.
"Harvesting Early Rice in the West Field in the Mid-September of the Gengxu Year" is an important poem that embodies Tao Yuanming's thoughts on hard work. "Gengxu" refers to the sixth year of Emperor Yixi of Jin'an (410). This year Tao Yuanming was forty-six years old. It was the sixth year that he abandoned his official position and returned to the fields to work in farming. "Xitian" is the "Xichou" mentioned in "Guiguilaixici", which is approximately to the west of Yuanming's "Yuantianju". The rice harvested in the middle of the ninth month of the lunar calendar should be late rice. The word "early rice" in the title is stated in the Notes on Tao Yuanming's Poems by Ding Fubao, a recent scholar: "The word 'zao' in one book is the word 'han'." According to "Book of Rites Nei Principles", "Ludao" is already recorded in Kong Yingda's Shu of the Tang Dynasty. : "Upland rice is the rice of the land." Dai Tong's "Liu Shu Gu" at the end of the Song Dynasty, Department of Botany: "Rice is suitable for water, and there are also similar types that are grown on land, which are called upland rice. Today it is called upland rice. Since the Sixth Century in the South, It is harvested from January to September. In the cold weather in the north, it is harvested in October." Therefore, "early rice" should be called "dry rice", and the word "zao" should be a typo of "drought".
"Life is guided by the Tao, and food and clothing are its foundation." The ultimate refuge in life is the Tao, and food and clothing are the prerequisites for life. In the first two sentences, Tao, the great meaning of traditional culture, is combined with food and clothing, which is of extremely unusual significance. The source of food and clothing is originally agricultural production. "Who doesn't even work, just to seek their own comfort?" How can we not engage in farming and weaving, but pursue our own comfort? In Yuanming, if he lost his independent and free personality in order to obtain the salary for food and clothing, he would rather abandon his official position and return to the fields to farm and finance himself. The profound meaning of the first four lines of the poem lies in this. Next, I will talk about my own farming and harvesting. "Start the spring with regular work, and the annual achievements will be considerable." From the beginning of spring, I went to the fields to engage in farming, and by autumn, I finally had a fairly considerable harvest. The words seem very plain, but when you experience it, the gratification contained in it is so real and honest. "You work hard in the morning, and you work hard every day." Looking back at the spring farming season, we worked hard in the fields from early in the morning to returning home with farm tools after sunset. "Military diligence" is a modest word, but it is actually very diligent. "The sun comes in" seems to be the semantic meaning of "I write when the sun rises, and I breathe when the sun sets" in "The Song of Attacking the Soil", which deepens the depth of the poetic meaning. Because under those two sentences is: "Dig wells to drink, plow fields to eat, how can the emperor's power be to me!" (See "Qunshu Zhiyao" citing "Century of Emperors", Han Wangchong's "Lunheng Yi Zeng Chapter" "Already cited, the text is slightly different.) "There is frost and dew in the mountains, and the weather is cold first." Writing about the rice harvest season in front of us, it is a twist to describe the difficulties of farming. The climate in the mountains got cold earlier and there was already a lot of frost and dew. Mid-September is the time of frost. Yuan Ming, who is forty-six years old, has obviously felt that time is not forgiving. The above four sentences, if written accidentally, actually describe the hard work of spring planting and autumn harvest. "Isn't the Tian family suffering? It's so difficult to say goodbye." Isn't the Tian family suffering? It's hard enough. However, I cannot shirk the difficulty of farming. The more difficult and arduous the farming is, the more profound and firm Yuan Ming’s will to farm is revealed. Yuanming felt obliged to farm. This is not only because of the deep understanding that: "Life has its own way, food and clothing are the foundation of it", but also because of the deep understanding: "The four bodies are tired, and common people are no different from suffering from dryness." It is true that the limbs and waist are tired, but if you return to the fields to support yourself, you can probably Avoid trouble. "Exotic troubles" refer to worries and even disasters that should not occur in life. After the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the era was dark and the lives of scholars were not guaranteed. Cao Cao killed Kong Rong, Sima Yi killed He Yan, Sima Zhao killed Ji Kang, and the brutal murders of Lu Ji and Lu Yun were all examples. Liu Yu, the leader at that time, was more cruel than Cao Cao and Sima. The so-called abnormal disaster refers first of all to such unpredictable disasters. Taking a step back, bending one's waist for five buckets of rice is certainly a strange problem in the eyes of Yuan Ming, who is "natural in nature". In that era of political darkness and full of massacres, only by abandoning official positions and working hard could we avoid foreign troubles. Yuan Ming had to realize that he had chosen the right path in life. "I wash my hands and rest under the eaves, and fight with wine to loosen my complexion." After returning from harvesting rice, after washing hands and bathing, I rest under the eaves of my house, drink wine, and feel very happy. This scene is familiar to people who have worked and lived in rural areas. Yuan Ming is happy for his free life and the fruits of his labor. "A depressed heart is related to a thousand years." However, after all, Yuanming was not only a farmer, he was still a scholar created by traditional culture. He stood under the eaves of his house and drank wine to his heart's content like a farmer, but his soul flew thousands of years ago and he was still friends with the ancients. Ju and drown were two hermits in the Spring and Autumn Period. "The Analects of Confucius Wei Zi" records: "Changju and Jie drowned as a couple tilling the fields. Confucius passed it, and made Zilu ask about it. ... (Jie drown) said: 'Those who are surging are all in the world, but who can make it easy?" Instead of following the people who avoid others, how can we follow the people who avoid the world? "Zi Lu went to tell him, and the Master said with regret: "Birds and beasts cannot be in the same group. Who can I follow as a follower of this kind of people? With? There is a way in the world, and Qiu does not agree with it. '" Judging from this record, there are three points in the thoughts of depression and drowning: 1. Those who are surging are all in the world, indicating that the era is dark. 2. No matter who makes it easy, the words cannot be changed. 3. How can it be said that someone who shuns the world should go into seclusion? Yuan Ming said to himself that he and his depressed and drowned hearts meet at a distance, and this is what he means. So he concluded: "I wish it would last like this. It would be a shame to work hard.
"I hope I can live this kind of life for a long time, be self-reliant and free. Even though I work hard, I have no complaints. Yuan Ming's will is really as strong as gold and stone. Yuan Ming's soul, after deep reflection, finally In harmony and tranquility.
Yuan Ming's poem contains narratives and discussions, expressing the feelings of harvesting rice. The language is as plain as ever, but the meaning is infinitely profound. As a child, he loved the Six Classics and admired Confucius. Confucius taught scholars to take the world as their own duty and actively participate in the world. Yuanming chose a long-term and self-indulgent life path, which meant a certain alienation from Confucius. , there was a contradictory and painful process of mental change. In fact, in order to finally decide to abandon his official position and return to the field, he went through twists and turns for thirteen years. This poem shows that after five or six years of returning to the field, he also experienced changes in his mind. It is not always so calm and simple. However, the more important significance of this poem lies in Yuan Ming's new thoughts arising from his labor experience and deep reflection. This is: Agricultural production is the source of food and clothing. Taoism should be our ultimate concern, but we are still obligated to agricultural production, especially in a troubled world that we cannot change. Only by abandoning our official positions and returning to the fields to work on our own can we maintain our independence and freedom. Therefore, the feeling of depression has its reality. Meaning. Moreover, although hard work is involved, there is also joy in it. This joy is the dual joy of experiencing the value of freedom and labor. It is rare and novel. The brilliance of thought and the solid understanding of the meaning of life in the poem are the extremely valuable value of this poem.