South of the Yangtze river
Literary genre: Han Yuefu folk songs
Comparison of original translation
Jiangnan can pick lotus,
He Tian Tian lotus leaf.
Fish are frolicking among the lotus leaves.
Fish play lotus leaf east,
Fish play with lotus leaves,
Fish play lotus leaf south,
Fish play lotus leaf north.
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Lotus can be picked on the water in the south of the Yangtze River, with lush lotus leaves and fish playing in them.
Fish plays lotus leaf east, fish plays lotus leaf west, fish plays lotus leaf south and fish plays lotus leaf north.
This poem is a "song of harmony". One of the harmony songs, originally seen in Song books. Lezhi is the originator of picking lotus poems. The main idea is to write about beautiful scenery and happy times. Shen Deqian, a poet in A Qing, rated this poem as "strange style" (Volume 3 of Ancient Poetry Source). Zhang Yugu thinks that this poem does not write flowers, but only leaves, which shows that leaves are still lovely, not to mention flowers.
Generally speaking, this kind of folk song is pure natural, and the original author may not intentionally do it, but naturally show a fresh vitality of nature. Mr. Yu Guanying thinks that the following four sentences may be "harmony". The first three sentences are sung by the lead singer, and the last four sentences are sung by the masses.
The poem "Tian Tian" refers to the lush appearance of lotus leaves.
This article is a love song combined with labor. Poetry uses metaphors and puns that are common in folk love songs, with the homophonic sound of "lotus" and "pity" as the symbol of love, and the splash of fish between lotus leaves as a metaphor for the happy scene of young men and women falling in love in their works. Fresh and healthy style. The first three sentences of this poem outline a vivid Jiangnan landscape. The last four sentences are juxtaposed with the east, the west, the north and the south, and the orientation change is based on the swimming of fish, which is vivid, natural and interesting. Sentences are repeated and slightly changed, which is the traditional technique in the Book of Songs. Used here, it is more reminiscent of lotus pickers boating, singing and corresponding scenes in the lake. None of the words in the poem directly describe people, but through the description of lotus leaves and fish, we can hear their voices, see their people, feel a kind of vitality and appreciate the inner joy of lotus pickers.