"It rains in every house during the Huangmei Season" comes from a seven-character quatrain "A Visitor" written by Zhao Shixiu, a poet of the Southern Song Dynasty.
Original text
"A Guest" by Zhao Shixiu
It rains in every house during the yellow plum season,
There are frogs everywhere in the grass pond.
I have an appointment but I can’t come in the middle of the night.
I’m free to knock the chess pieces and let the lanterns fall.
Translation
"A Guest" by Zhao Shixiu
When the plum blossoms are yellow, every house is covered in the rain,
The grassy From the edge of the pond, there were sounds of frogs.
It was past midnight, and the invited guests had not yet arrived.
I tapped the chess piece in boredom, shaking off the knots formed by the wick of the oil lamp.
Appreciation
When you go on a date with someone but don’t wait for a long time, you will inevitably feel restless. This is probably an experience that everyone will have. If you use this in your poems, it will be difficult to write meaningfully. . However, this little poem by Zhao Shixiu depicts this kind of sentiment, but it is written in a profound and subtle way, with a lingering aftertaste.
“It rains every house during the yellow plum season, and there are frogs everywhere in the grassy ponds.” The first two lines of the poem describe the scenery, depicting a picture of summer rain in the south of the Yangtze River. During the plum rain season, there are continuous rains, swollen ponds, and constant sound of frogs. The rural scenery is so fresh, quiet, harmonious, and beautiful. However, "all scenery language is love language". The poet here does not write scenery for the sake of describing scenery, but embodies the complex thoughts and feelings of his alone in the scenery. "Rain Every Family" not only depicts the omnipresence and rapid intensity of summer plum rain, expressing the freshness and tranquility of the rural scene, but also hints at the objective reasons why guests cannot keep their appointments as scheduled, revealing the poet's helplessness towards the rainy weather of continuous plum rain. "Frogs Everywhere" not only describes the sound of frogs in the pond, but also uses the sound to set off the silence, which highlights the quiet and harmonious atmosphere of the rural night during the rainy season. It also reflects the poet's loneliness and restlessness. These two poems vividly and truly express the unique psychological feeling of the poet when he is waiting for a guest alone in the dead of night from the visual and auditory aspects respectively, but the guest never appears. The continuous rain showers all over the countryside, and the continuous frog drums that come and go, are originally very harmonious and beautiful, but what is annoying is that this continuous rain prevents friends from keeping their promises, and the frog sounds like drums disturb the poet's state of mind. At this moment, the poet hopes that his friend will come as scheduled, rain or shine, and play chess with him to relieve his sorrows.
"I have an appointment and I won't come until midnight." This sentence clarifies the title of the poem and also makes the description of the scenery and sounds in the two sentences above clear. I originally had an appointment with a guest, but no one came after midnight. No doubt it was because the continuous rain prevented the friend from coming to keep the appointment. The late night and sleepless nights show that the poet has been looking forward to it for a long time and hopes very much. At this point, it seems that he has written all about the unexpected guest. However, a small cushion in the last sentence makes the poem full of color.
"Idlely knocking chess pieces and letting the lanterns fall", this sentence only describes a small dynamic of the poet. However, in this dynamic, the poet's anxious and expectant mood is described in detail. Because I am alone and cannot play chess, I say "knock the chess pieces in my spare time". The chess pieces are not meant to be knocked, but they are used to knock them, which reflects the depression in loneliness; the word "xian" shows boredom, and in this word "xian" Behind it, the poet's disappointment and anxiety are hidden.
When people are lonely and anxious, they often subconsciously make a monotonous mechanical movement, as if they are deliberately trying to make a little noise to break the silence and dilute their worries. The poet here "knocks chess pieces" , exactly such an action. Although the "falling lantern flower" is caused by the chess game, it also euphemistically expresses the situation of the wick burning for a long time and the guests waiting for a long time. The image of the poet's despair and frustration emerges vividly on the page. The detail of playing chess contains multiple layers of connotations. There are words that are close to the heart, but there are also charms that cannot be expressed. This shows the importance of capturing typical details in artistic creation.
Another obvious feature of this poem is the use of contrast. The first two sentences describe "rain in every house" and "frogs everywhere" outdoors, just like the two propaganda pieces, noisy and ear-splitting. The last two sentences describe a lamp like a bean indoors, sitting and playing chess in silence and boredom, which is in sharp contrast with the previous sentence. Through this contrast, the poet's lonely and disappointed feelings are more deeply expressed. It can be seen from this that although "Four Spirits" poets such as Zhao Shixiu appear indifferent and fresh, they are actually quite skillful in composing their works carefully.