The meaning of these poems is: The bright red and round red beans grow in the sunny south. In the spring season, how many more are produced? I hope those who miss me will collect more. The little red beans will make people miss me.
These lines of poetry come from "Lovesickness" written by Wang Wei in the Tang Dynasty. "Lovesickness" is also known as "Giving Li Guinian to the River". Critics generally believe that it was written by Wang Wei and is a poem that expresses one's longing for someone by chanting an object (actually, it also makes someone miss oneself). The whole poem is naturally bright and euphemistic. Li Guinian, a musician at that time, composed music for it and it became popular in the Jiangnan area.
Poetry Appreciation:
1. Who was this poem written for?
Since this poem is also called "A Gift to Li Guinian on the River", it should logically describe the friendship between the poet and Li Guinian. So, who is Li Guinian? Li Guinian was a famous musician in the early Kaiyuan years of the Tang Dynasty. He was good at both singing and composing, and he also played a variety of musical instruments. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, "Weichuan Song" composed by three brothers, Li Guinian, Li Pengnian and Li Henian, was appreciated by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. You can imagine who such musicians would ask them to sing for, and what their income would be! After the Anshi Rebellion, Li Guinian was not caught by An Lushan, but lived in the south of the Yangtze River. Du Fu was also in Jiangnan at that time. Du Fu wrote a poem titled "Meeting Li Guinian in the South of the Yangtze River" after hearing Li Guinian perform. The poem goes:
It is common in King Qi's house,
Cui Jiutang heard it several times before.
It is the beautiful scenery in the south of the Yangtze River.
We meet you again when the flowers are falling.
Later Li Guinian lived in Xiangtan, Hunan, and sang Wang Wei's five-character poem "Lovesickness" at a banquet, probably to express his wish that Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty would be happy in Nanxing. But at this time, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty was already in his final years. Li Guinian has many emotions! It is said that he suddenly fainted and fell into a coma after singing. He only recovered four days later and died of depression soon after. Here are a few more words: Li Guinian's performance of Wang Wei's "Lovesickness" is also full of longing for Wang Wei!
Based on this, we can infer that the poem "Lovesickness" should be written before the Anshi Rebellion. Why do you say this? First, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty and other dignitaries at that time admired Li Guinian very much, and Wang Wei was not only an official in the court, but also proficient in music. Of course, he would not fail to meet Li Guinian, who was famous as a capital official; secondly, during the Anshi Rebellion, Wang Wei Forced by An Lushan to become a pseudo-official, Li Guinian was lucky enough to flee to the south, and he had no chance to meet Wang Wei.
2. The beauty of the two lines of the poem "Red beans grow in the south, and when spring comes, they will sprout a few branches".
1. What is the beauty of starting the sentence "Red beans are born in the South"? On the surface, there are only two meanings: one is that Li Guinian is going to the south, and the other is that there is a kind of red bean there. There are so many things in the south, why only red beans? It turns out that this red bean has a moving story. It is said that red beans are born in the south. Its fruits are red, round and beautiful. Southerners often pick them and wear them as decorations. It is also said that there was a woman in ancient times. Her husband died in the border battle. She missed him day by day and cried every night. Finally, she fell under a tree crying. Soon they turned into red beans, which grew and sprouted in spring. Therefore, people called red beans acacia seeds. From this point of view, Wang Wei's intention of writing "红豆" and "南国" at the beginning of his sentence is extraordinary.
2. What’s so wonderful about “spring brings out a few branches”? Some people may say, "How many branches will grow in spring?" This is not a question, but that red beans only grow a few branches in early spring. I'm afraid it's inappropriate to say this: because there seems to be no basis for saying that red beans only grow very few branches in early spring; and whether the branches are longer or shorter has nothing to do with the thoughts and feelings the poet wanted to express in writing this poem. In fact, this is a hypothetical question. The poet seems to be saying to his friend: When you go to the south, take a closer look, and then tell me, how many branches of red beans grow in early spring? Where is the poet asking Hongdou? He was obviously expressing his longing for his friend by asking questions! And this sustenance can only be understood after reading the last two lines of the poem. May I ask: What kind of unique art is this?
3. The beauty of these two lines of poetry: "I hope you will pick more, this is the most lovesick thing."
1. In ancient poetry, the word "love" is not always used to refer to the love between men and women, but is sometimes used to express the friendship between friends. For example, Bai Juyi's "Occasionally Write a Letter to Langzhi": "I am very forgetful in old age, but I never forget to miss lovesickness." The "lovingsickness" in it means missing his friend Huangfu Langzhi. The "lovesickness" in the poem "Lovesickness" should refer to Wang Wei missing Li Guinian, or it can also be said that Wang Wei believed that Li Guinian would miss him.
2. "May you pick more red beans" means that I hope Li Guinian will pick more red beans. Why pick more? As a joke: When you miss me, go pick red beans! If you pick them a lot, you will miss me forever! Oh, maybe Wang Wei also wants to ask his friends to pick more red beans and string them together to wear as a necklace!
3. "This thing is the most lovesick" is the finishing touch of the whole poem. Especially the word "this thing" is simply a stroke of genius! Think about it, if you change "this thing" to "red beans", "this bean" or "this fruit", it will be unpoetic. Because the word "this thing" is used, it not only avoids word repetition, but also integrates with the rich meaning of the idiom "seeing things and thinking about people".
Ah, it turns out that Wang Wei was thinking about his friends. Although he knew that his friends would miss him equally, he was still a little worried: What if this kid has so many things to do and forgets about me? Therefore, he used willing verbs and adjectives such as "wish" and "many", and also used nouns such as "red beans" and "this thing" with the same meaning but different colors. Finally, he simply used the verb "love" to pour out his words. My own deep friendship for my best friend!
4. Understanding of the word "lovesickness".
When people see this word, they always think of "lovesickness", and they always understand the word "love" to mean mutuality. Actually, this is wrong. The word "phase" is often used in front of a certain verb, and grammar experts call it an adverb; and in many contexts, "phase" is used interchangeably. However, in a specific context, it cannot be understood as meaning each other. For example, the two "phases" in "Children meet but do not know each other" do not mean each other, but refer to "I" (He Zhizhang); another example is "The wolf dare not move forward" in "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio: Three Wolf Chapters" The "phase" in "爈爈相xiang" cannot be understood as referring to each other, but refers to the butcher. "爈爈相xiang" means (the wolf) stares at the butcher. The word "xiang" in both cases means that one party does something to the other party. The same goes for "Lovesickness". For example, "This child met a beautiful woman on the road and became lovesick after returning home." Do you think the "lovesickness" here can be interpreted as missing each other? I'm afraid it can only be interpreted as "missing that beautiful woman"!
To sum up, the "xiang" in "Lovesickness" in Wang Wei's poems does not mean each other, but refers to missing someone; "xiang" refers to the object involved in "thinking". If you ask, how to say "this thing is the most lovesick"? I think it can be said: "This kind of red bean can best evoke the feeling of missing me (Wang Wei)!" Of course, the poet hopes that his friends will think of "me" every time they see this kind of red bean with special meaning. , also hinting to friends: "I" am also missing "you"!
This is a poem that expresses lovesickness by chanting objects. One is titled "A Presentation to Li Gui Nian on the River", which shows that it is undoubtedly a tribute to a friend. The first sentence is inspired by things, and although the language is simple, it is full of imagination; the second sentence is a question, which expresses feelings meaningfully; the third sentence implies cherishing friendship. On the surface, it seems to be telling people to miss each other, but behind it, it deeply expresses the weight of one's own lovesickness; The last word is a pun, which not only hits the point of the topic, but also relates to the emotions. The writing is full of flowers and the song is touching.
Summary:
This poem is a lovesickness poem. Readers who read this poem may miss their friends, their parents, or their lover; but no matter what we are missing, People, they all have one thing in common, that is: they are really good people to us!
The meaning of friends is to help you when you are in trouble, the meaning of parents is to protect you from wind and rain, and the meaning of lovers is to be with you through thick and thin. When these people get along with us, they don't have to pretend to be disguised, don't have to worry about losing face, and don't have to be courteous. They just use the way they are most comfortable with, which makes each other more relaxed. There is no need to wear a mask, wrapping yourself in a shell and displaying beautiful scenery in front of others is the most comfortable state for a person. And when we get along with these people, we understand each other clearly enough, and there is no need to pretend.
Therefore, we must cherish the people in front of us and let those who are good to us accompany us and never leave us, moving forward!