The full text is as follows:
"The Song of the Wandering Son" by Meng Jiao, Tang Dynasty
The thread in the hands of the loving mother, the clothes on the body of the wandering boy.
Before leaving, I am worried that I will return later.
Whoever speaks an inch of grass will be rewarded with three rays of spring.
Translation
The loving mother used the needle and thread in her hands to make clothes for her son who was traveling far away.
Before leaving, I sewed stitch by stitch, fearing that my son’s clothes would be damaged if he came back late.
Who dares to say that children with filial piety as weak as Xiaocao can repay the kindness of Chunhui Puze?
Notes
Youzi: In ancient times, it was called people who traveled far and wide. Yin: the name of the poetry style.
Wanderers: refers to the poet himself and various wanderers who have left their hometown.
Pro: will.
Fear: Worry. Return: come back, go home.
Who said: It is "difficult to be a general". Yan: speak. Cuncao: small grass. This is a metaphor for children. Heart: a semantic pun, referring to both the stems of plants and trees, and also the thoughts of children.
Repay: repay. Three Chunhui: The bright sunshine in spring refers to the kindness of a loving mother. Three Spring: The first month of the lunar calendar was formerly called Meng Chun, February was Mid Spring, and March was Ji Chun. They were collectively called the Three Spring. Hui: Sunshine. Maternal love is described as the warm and genial sunshine of spring shining on its children.
Creative background
"Wandering Son's Song" was written in Liyang. Meng Jiao's own annotation under the title of this poem: "Composed to welcome his mother in Li". Meng Jiao was homeless in his early years and lived in poverty all his life. It was not until the age of fifty that he got the humble position of a Liyang County captain, ending his long-term career. After living a wandering life, he took his mother to live with him. The poet was frustrated in his official career and experienced the harshness of the world. At this time, he realized the value of family affection more and more, so he wrote this heartfelt and deeply touching poem in praise of his mother.
Appreciation
The deep maternal love bathes the children all the time. However, for Meng Jiao, a wanderer who has been homeless all year round, the most memorable thing is the painful moment of separation between mother and son. This poem describes the ordinary scene of a loving mother sewing at such a time, but it expresses the poet's deep inner emotions.
The first two sentences are "The thread in the hands of the loving mother, and the clothes on the wandering son". Two very common things, "thread" and "clothing", are used to closely connect the "loving mother" and "the wandering son", and write The flesh-and-blood relationship between mother and child relying on each other. The three or four sentences "There is a tight gap before leaving, and I am afraid that I will return late", through the actions and psychological portrayal of the loving mother rushing to make clothes for the wanderer to go out, deepening this kind of flesh-and-blood affection. The mother used thousands of stitches and stitches to "sew" her son tightly because she was afraid that her son would not come home "late". Great maternal love is revealed naturally through the details in daily life. The first four sentences are drawn in line without any modification, but the image of the loving mother is truly touching.
The last two sentences, "Whoever speaks the heart of an inch of grass will reap three rays of spring light" are the author's direct expression of his heart and his heartfelt praise of maternal love. These two sentences use traditional metaphors: children are like mere grass, and maternal love is like spring sunshine. How can children repay their mother's love? The overwhelming contrast and vivid metaphors express the child's heartfelt love for his loving mother.
This is an ode to maternal love. When the poet was frustrated in his official career, he experienced the harshness of the world and suffered from poverty and sorrow all his life, so he became increasingly aware of the value of family affection. "Poetry comes from the heart, and the heart often feels sad" (Su Shi's "Reading Meng Jiao's Poems"). Although this poem has no paintings or carvings, it is fresh and smooth, simple and bland, which shows the rich and mellow poetic flavor.
This poem artistically reproduces the ordinary and great human beauty that people feel, so it has won strong praise from countless readers for thousands of years. Until the Qing Dynasty, two poets in Liyang recited such verses: "The empty basket is full of father's letters, and the mother's thread lingers in my skirt" (Shi Qisheng's "Writing Hues"), "There have always been so many tears, all my hands are dyed in sewing" (Peng Gui "My younger brother Jianchu came to the capital to visit his relatives and was very happy"), which shows the deep impression this poem left on future generations.
Introduction to the author
Meng Jiao, (751-814), a poet of the Tang Dynasty. The word is Dongye. Han nationality, a native of Wukang, Huzhou (now Deqing, Zhejiang), his ancestral home is Pingchang (now northeast of Linyi, Shandong), and his ancestors lived in Luoyang (now in Henan). A famous poet in the Tang Dynasty. There are more than 500 existing poems, among which short five-character ancient poems are the most numerous. The representative work is "Wandering Zi Yin". He is known as the "poem prisoner" and is as famous as Jia Dao, and is also known as "the thin island in the cold suburbs". In the ninth year of Yuanhe, he died of illness in Nengxiang (now Lingbao, Henan). Zhang Ji's private posthumous title is Mr. Zhenyao.