Spring Day
Zhu Xi of Song Dynasty
Shengri ⑴ Xunfang ⑵ Surabaya Shore ⑶,
Boundless scenery ⑷ momentarily ⑸ new.
Easy to recognize the east wind ⑻ face ⑼,
It is always spring with thousands of purples and reds.
Notes
⑴ Victory Day: A good day with sunny weather.
⑵ Xunfang: spring outing, outing.
⑶ Bin: Waterside. Sishui Bin: Sishui, the name of the river, in Shandong Province.
⑷ Scenery: Scenery. Boundless Scenery: Scenery and scenery that can’t be seen at a glance.
⑸ For a while: all of a sudden.
⑹ Easy: ordinary, easy.
⑺ Know: recognize.
⑻ Dongfeng: spring breeze.
⑼ Face: appearance.
⑽ Thousands of purples and reds: Describes the brilliant scene of hundreds of flowers blooming.
⑾ Always: all.
Explanation
This is a rational and interesting poem that uses Surabaya to seek fragrance and promote the way of saints. Because Confucius once taught his disciples between Zhu and Si, the first sentence of the poem mentions the Si River. Judging from the title "Spring Day", it seems to be a poem about a spring outing. However, during the Southern Song Dynasty, Sishui had been occupied by the Jin people. It was impossible for Zhu Xi to go to Sishui for a spring outing. Therefore, this poem is a work of fictitious imagination, and Sishui is an allusion to Confucius. . The literal meaning of the poem is to illustrate that nature has infinite vitality, so it is colorful and spring is everywhere. In fact, the poet used "a thousand purples and reds" to describe the richness of Confucianism. He compared the way of saints to the spring breeze that stimulates vitality and dyes all things. "Spring is always spring" is often used today to describe the wonderful situation of the motherland, or the scene of hundreds of flowers blooming in the literary and artistic garden.
Translation
I chose a beautiful spring day to watch flowers and grass and came to the edge of Surabaya. I saw that the boundless scenery suddenly changed its appearance. You can see the face of the east wind everywhere. The east wind blows flowers into bloom, and the colorful scenery of spring is everywhere.
Appreciation
People generally think that this is a spring outing poem. Judging from the scenery written in the poem, it is very similar to this.
The first sentence "Shengri seeks the beauty of Surabaya shore", "Shengri" refers to a sunny day, which points out the weather. "Surabaya Shore" indicates the location. "Xunfang" means looking for beautiful spring scenery, which highlights the theme. The following three sentences are all written about what is seen and gained in "Xunfang". The second sentence, "The boundless scenery is new for a while," describes the initial impression gained from watching the spring scenery. Use "boundless" to describe all the scenery within sight. "A moment of newness" not only describes the return of spring to the earth and the natural scenery taking on a new look, but also describes the author's refreshing and joyful feeling when he goes on an outing. In the third sentence, "It's easy to know the Dongfeng side." The word "knowledge" in the sentence inherits the word "Xun" in the first sentence. "Easy to recognize" means that the face and characteristics of spring are easily identifiable. "Dongfengmian" also refers to spring. The fourth sentence "Everything is always spring" means that all the scenes are dyed with spring light, and people know spring from these thousands of purples and reds. This specifically explains why we can "know the east wind side easily". The word "a thousand purples and reds" in this sentence echoes the word "a new situation" in the second sentence. The third and fourth sentences use figurative language to specifically describe the new situation and the gains from seeking fragrance.
Literally, this poem seems to be about the impressions of spring outing, but upon closer inspection, the location of the search for fragrance is the shore of Surabaya, which was occupied by the Jin people when the Song Dynasty was crossing south. Zhu Xi had never gone north, so of course it was impossible for him to travel to the shores of Surabaya to sing and sing in spring. In fact, the word "Sishui" in the poem refers to Confucius, because in the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius once taught students by singing string songs between Zhu and Si. Therefore, the so-called "seeking fragrance" refers to seeking the way of saints. "A thousand purples and reds" refers to the richness and variety of Confucianism. The poet compares the way of the saint to the spring breeze that stimulates vitality and dyes all things. This is actually a philosophical poem that embodies truth and interest in images.