"I don't know which direction the wind blows" ①
I don't know which direction the wind blows-
I'm in a dream,
I'm whirling in the light waves of my dream.
I don't know
which direction the wind is blowing-
I'm dreaming,
her tenderness, my intoxication.
I don't know
which direction the wind is blowing-
I'm in a dream,
sweetness is the brilliance in the dream.
I don't know
which direction the wind is blowing-
I was in a dream,
she was ungrateful and I was sad.
I don't know
which direction the wind blows-
I was in a dream,
and my heart was broken in the sadness of the dream!
I don't know
which direction the wind is blowing-
I'm in a dream,
gloom is the brilliance in the dream.
① Written in 1928, it was first published in the first volume of New Moon on March 1th of the same year, with the signature of Zhimo.
The poem "I don't know which direction the wind blows" can be said to be Xu Zhimo's "label" work. After the poetry came out, as long as the literary world heard this chanting, it would be known that the childe had arrived. The whole poem consists of ***6 sections, the first three sentences of each section are the same, and the sound is lingering. This deliberately managed melody combination renders the atmosphere of "dream" in the poem, and also adds a bit of "dream" to the singer. People who are familiar with Xu Zhimo's family tragedy may be able to capture some shadows about this romantic history. However, it is always vague, diluted by a strong wind blowing in an unknown direction, so that the appreciator, like the singer, is finally intoxicated by this powerful melody, and Tao Tao is surprised. I don't know which direction the wind is blowing-I am in a dream, whirling in the light waves of my dream. The artistic conception of the whole poem has been written at the beginning, but the poet has spread six sections, but it still confuses readers. What does the poet really want to say? There are a thousand critics, and there are a thousand Xu Zhimo. But maybe I have said what I should say, but I still don't understand if I don't understand. However, I think Xu's passage can be used as a footnote to this poem. The transcript is as follows: "It is our wish to liberate the source of holiness from the squalor and restore the dignity of life from the rags of the times. Prejudice is not ours. Let's not ask which direction the wind is blowing. Utilitarianism is not ours either. We don't care about the day when the ears of rice are full. ..... Life provides us with faith, patience and courage from its core. For this reason, we can not be afraid in the dark, not depressed in failure, and not despair in pain. Life is the root of an ideal, and its infinite and regular creativity gives us a strong inspiration in the activities of the mind. It not only hints at us, forces us and always looks forward to the direction of creation and life, but also enlightens our imagination. ..... Our highest goal is to be continuous with the noumenon of life, to transcend the dead line, and to be inspired by the stars outside the sky. ..... "("The Attitude of the New Moon ") What I'm talking about here is not only the attitude of the New Moon, but also Xu Zhimo's highest poetic ideal, that is, to return to life itself! In fact, as early as the beginning of his return to China, Xu Zhimo put forward this idea of "returning to nature" many times (Leaves Falling, Words, Youth Movement, etc.). He is depressed by all kinds of worries, fears, suspicions, calculations, and regrets that weigh on the noumenon of life, so as to keep this life true and pure! He wants people to publicize the goodness in life and suppress the evil in life, so as to achieve the realm of perfect personality. He wants to get rid of the fetters of things, wander outside things and pursue the truth of life and the universe. What a dream this is! It is by no means "her tenderness, my infatuation" or "her unfaithfulness, my sadness". This is a big dream, a big ideal, although in the end it will never be sad, "heartbroken in the sadness of the dream." From this point, we can deduce a positive meaning of "I don't know which direction the wind blows".
Because of this poem, many people regard Xu Zhimo, a "new moon" poet, as a "romantic moon" poet. However, when we really sink into the core of his thought, * * * together with him, he "stretches with the noumenon of life" and "inspires the stars outside the sky," we can appreciate another image of Xu Zhimo that is completely different from our illusion.