This is a little poem known to all women and children. The words are simple and the sentences are fluent, which makes people unforgettable. If one can only recite three ancient poems, Jiang Xue is one of them. When we revel in its simplicity, we can't help thinking about what it expresses.
How big can a poem be? Jiang Xue seems to provide a model. There was a "four-meaning interpretation method" in the interpretation and reading of the Bible in the Middle Ages in the West, which advocated understanding the Bible from four levels: word meaning, moral meaning, discipline meaning and spiritual meaning. We might as well appreciate this little poem in a multi-faceted sense.
First of all, from the simplest literal point of view, Jiang Xue provides a vivid picture of "fishing alone in the cold river". The first two sentences are the frozen background: Qian Shan is full of water, covered with snow, winding in all directions, freezing and miserable, with no bird in the sky and no pedestrian on the road. The last two sentences are small points: there is a river in this background with a small fishing boat on it. On the fishing boat, there was an old fisherman. He wore a fishing rod and fished alone. Description is very hierarchical, and many Chinese paintings are often based on it. The vast world is in sharp contrast with the small fisherman, and the whole picture gives people an intuitive feeling of "cold" and "silence".
"All scenery words are love words". We will immediately think that the poet probably doesn't just want to paint a meaningless picture, right? What is the feeling behind this bitter and silent picture? Since the failure of Yongzhen's innovation, the poet has been repeatedly persecuted and relegated to the desolate Yongzhou, and his political ambitions cannot be displayed. Like-minded friends live far apart, and his life is very lonely, with no friends and few companions. This is in a quiet and cold situation, and there are no lonely old fishermen in Qian Shan's world. Isn't this the poet's own situation?
However, comparing the political and life experiences of poets can be fulfilled one by one, but it can't stop our understanding of poetry. From a deeper point of view, this poem embodies the poet's indomitable spiritual realm in this bad luck: although he is deeply desperate, he does not regret his persistence, although he is in the snow and ice, he does not change his lofty aspirations. Some critics believe that in such a cold and quiet environment, the old fisherman is not afraid of the cold and snow, forgets everything and concentrates on fishing. Although he is lonely in form, his personality is lofty, aloof and inviolable. This fisherman image is actually the sustenance and portrayal of Liu Zongyuan's thoughts and feelings.
However, psychological depiction is not the highest level of understanding. Because such a spirit can only be displayed in such an environment, the real superiority of poetic realm lies in transcending this bitter and cold world and achieving spiritual silence. This is the realm of Zen. Deeply influenced by Buddhism and Zen, the poet must have a deep understanding of the Buddhism of "color is empty". Qianshan, birds, trails, people, rivers, boats, hooks and old people are all empty. The only thing that exists is the detachment of fishermen. What you catch is Zen, not fish.
In this way, we can appreciate the beauty of this little poem at different levels. Although there are different levels, each level has its own unique artistic beauty. There are profound meanings between the lines, which may be the reason why Jiang Xue has been amazing for thousands of years, and his cross occupies an important position in the history of China literature.