Jiangnan can pick lotus,
Lotus leaf tower Tian Tian,
Fish are frolicking among the lotus leaves.
Fish play lotus leaf east,
Fish play with lotus leaves.
Fish play lotus leaf south,
Fish play lotus leaf north.
This is a folk song of the Han Dynasty and a work of Han Yuefu. A large number of repeated sentences and words are used in the poem, which shows the simple and clear style of ancient folk songs. The poem depicts the lively and joyful scene of picking lotus in the south of the Yangtze River. We seem to hear the laughter of the lotus pickers, from the fish who are dressed happily and frolicking.
Distinguish and appreciate
This article is a love song combined with labor. Poetry uses metaphors and puns that are common in folk love songs. "Lotus" and "pity" are homophonic, symbolizing love, and fish splashing in the lotus leaves, which is a metaphor for the happy scene of young men and women falling in love in labor. Fresh and healthy style. The first three sentences of this poem outline a vivid Jiangnan landscape. The last four sentences are juxtaposed with the east, the west, the north and the south, and the orientation change is based on the swimming of fish, which is vivid, natural and interesting. Sentences are repeated and slightly changed, which is the traditional technique in the Book of Songs. Used here, it is more reminiscent of lotus pickers boating, singing and corresponding scenes in the lake. None of the words in the poem directly describe people, but through the description of lotus leaves and fish, we can hear their voices, see their people, feel a kind of vitality and appreciate the inner joy of lotus pickers.
This is a lotus-picking song in Yuefu folk songs of Han Dynasty. The whole poem does not directly describe the happy mood of lotus pickers, but fully reveals their joy through the description of lotus leaves and fish, as if hearing and seeing many lotus pickers singing and laughing with their own eyes, and many young men and lotus pickers are still flirting and courting.
First of all, the song begins with the sentence "Lotus can be picked in the south of the Yangtze River", in which the word "Ke" has revealed the news. Lotus was originally a common cultivated plant in Zegoutang, a lake in the south of the Yangtze River, but the singer (that is, the protagonist in the poem) insisted that "lotus can be picked in the south of the Yangtze River", because although the lotus cultivation area is very wide, it is the most prosperous in the south of the Yangtze River; Most lotus pickers in Jiangnan are young men and women, especially young women; At the same time, the folk customs in the south of the Yangtze River are soft, and it is very common for young men and women to flirt for love when picking lotus, so the folk love songs prevailing in the Southern Dynasties are actually very popular in the south of the Yangtze River in the Han Dynasty. In this kind of folk love songs, metaphors and puns are often used. "Lotus" and "pity" are homophonic, symbolizing love. Obviously, this song is also a metaphor and pun. The word "picking lotus" in the first sentence also means having fun and courtship. It can be inferred that this singer is a romantic minority. He may not be from Jiangnan, but from other places. He came to Jiangnan to pick lotus seeds, but it was actually "the meaning of drunkenness is not wine." Otherwise, he can't pick lotus flowers and stay in Jiangnan alone, which shows the meaning of the word "guest".
Secondly, the second sentence, "Lotus Leaf Tian Tian", from the previous sentence, is obviously a beautiful lotus leaf, which is a metaphor for a large number of girls picking lotus leaves with beautiful posture. The third sentence "Fish playing between lotus leaves" and the last four sentences "Fish playing with lotus leaves in the east, fish playing with lotus leaves in the west, fish playing with lotus leaves in the south and fish playing with lotus leaves in the north" are metaphors of happy scenes in which men and women flirt for love. This is also a common expression in folk love songs. It can be seen that this lotus picking song is actually a love song that combines labor.
This song has only seven sentences, which are as clear as words. The last four sentences are basically the repetition of the third sentence. Its beauty lies mainly in the use of comparison and pun, which are common in folk songs, and the joy of flirting between men and women is extremely euphemistic, implicit and intriguing, without the disadvantages of frivolous and vulgar. The whole poem is completed in one go, but it can be divided into two parts in structure: the first three sentences reveal the theme; The last four sentences further show the joyful scene and broad scene when picking lotus. The third sentence in the poem plays a connecting role in the whole poem, connecting the upper and lower without trace. The artistic conception of the poem is fresh and cheerful, the mood is in the scene, and people are in the scene, such as hearing their voices and seeing their people, picturesque and relaxed, showing a scene full of business.
In the classification of Yuefu, this poem belongs to the "harmony song", which was originally a song sung by two people or by everyone, so the four sentences of "fish beating lotus leaves" may be the harmony song. Therefore, the first two sentences of the poem may be sung by male singers; The third sentence is male and female chorus; The last four sentences should be sung by men and women in groups. In this way, the scene of picking lotus is more vivid and interesting, and the mystery of this song can be better understood.
The juxtaposition of "East", "West", "South" and "North" in the poem is easy to become dull, but this song is so laid out that it is unrestrained and extremely vivid, which fully reflects the endless aftertaste of the song.
It means: in the season when lotus can be picked in the south of the Yangtze River, the lotus leaf is so beautiful and straight. Fish are playing among the lotus leaves, one to the east, one to the west, one to the south and one to the north. "Lotus" is more interpreted as "love". Contextually, it refers to a psychological state of "pleasure", "excitement" and "anxiety", and sometimes it refers to the ubiquitous "love".