The Charcoal Seller Bai Juyi
The complete poem "The Charcoal Seller" is:
The Charcoal Seller cut down firewood to burn charcoal in the southern mountains.
The face is dusty and smoky, and the temples are gray and the fingers are black.
Where do you get money from selling charcoal? The clothes on your body and the food in your mouth.
Poor, I am wearing only the right clothes, and I am worried about the cold weather.
At night, there is a foot of snow outside the city, and at dawn, the charcoal cart rolls over the ice tracks.
The cows were trapped and the people were hungry. The sun was getting high and they rested in the mud outside the south gate of the city.
Who is Pian Pian riding here? The messenger in yellow is in white.
He holds the document in his hand and pronounces the edict, returns to the carriage and scolds the oxen to lead them north.
A cart of charcoal weighs more than a thousand kilograms, and the palace envoy will regret it.
Half a piece of red gauze and one foot of silk ribbon are tied directly to the cow's head and filled with charcoal.
Translation:
There was an old charcoal seller who spent the whole year cutting firewood and burning charcoal in the Nanshan Mountains. His face was covered with dust and looked burnt by smoke, his hair on his temples was gray, and his ten fingers were blackened by charcoal. What do you use the money you get from selling charcoal? Buy the clothes you wear and the food you eat. Unfortunately, he was only wearing thin clothes, but he was worried that he would not be able to sell the charcoal, and he also hoped that the weather would be colder.
A foot of heavy snow fell outside the city at night. In the early morning, the old man drove his charcoal cart over the frozen wheel tracks to the market. The cows were tired and the people were hungry, but the sun was already high, so they rested in the mud outside the south gate of the market. Who is that proud man riding two horses? They were the eunuchs and eunuch's subordinates in the palace.
The eunuch held the document in his hand, but said it was the emperor's order, and shouted at the ox to pull it towards the palace. A cart of charcoal weighed more than a thousand kilograms, and the eunuchs and servants insisted on driving it away. The old man was reluctant to part with it, but he had no choice but to do it. Those people hung half a piece of red yarn and a foot of silk on the cow's head and used it as the price of charcoal.
Author: Bai Juyi of the Tang Dynasty
Poetry Appreciation
This poem is the 32nd poem in "New Yuefu" written by Bai Juyi in the Tang Dynasty. The author said in his preface: "Kugong City is also". "Gongshi" was a system in which the supreme ruler of the Tang Dynasty plundered people's property. Originally, officials were in charge of purchasing things; in the late Zhenyuan years, eunuchs were in charge of this matter. They sent hundreds of "baiwang" to the market, and when they saw the things being sold, they took them away in the name of "gongshi", paying only a small price; at the same time, they also asked for "gateway" and "football price" money, causing some sellers to leave empty-handed. Back.
This poem accuses the suffering of "gongshi". The poem tells about an old man who chops wood and burns charcoal in Nanshan to make a living. Although his clothes were thin, he still hoped that the weather would be cold in order to sell more charcoal. Finally, the longed-for "a foot of snow outside the city at night" came, so I caught up with the ox cart early in the morning to haul the charcoal to the market.
However, at this time, the "messenger" sent by the eunuch came and forced him to send the charcoal to the palace. It took more than a thousand kilograms of charcoal to exchange for "half a piece of red yarn and one foot of silk". Through this typical example, the work exposes and criticizes the unreasonable "palace market" system at that time.
The ancient poem "Charcoal Selling Man" with pinyin
The authentic pinyin version of Charcoal Selling Man is as follows:
Charcoal Selling Man, màitànwēng, cuts firewood and burns charcoal in Nanshan. fáxīnshāotànnánshānzhōng.
The face is dusty and smoky, mǎnmiànchénhuīyānhuǒsè, and the temples are gray and the fingers are black. liǎngbìncāngcāngshízhǐhēi.
Where do you get money from selling charcoal? màitàndéqiánhésuǒyíng? The clothes on your body and the food in your mouth. shēnshàngyīshangkǒuzhōngshí
My poor clothes are just plain, kěliánshēnshàngyīzhèngdān, I am worried that the weather will be cold. xīnyōutànjiànyuàntiānhán.
At night, there was a foot of snow outside the city, and at dawn, the charcoal cart rolled over the ice tracks. xiǎojiàtànchēniǎnbīngzhé.
The cows are trapped and the people are hungry. The sun is getting high, and they rest in the mud outside the south gate of the city. shìnánménwàinízhōngxiē.
Who is Pian Pian riding here? piānpiānliǎngjìláishìshuí? The messenger in yellow is in white. huángyīshǐzhěbáishānér.
He holds the document in his hand and pronounces the edict, shǒubǎwénshūkǒuchēngchì, returns to the carriage and scolds the oxen to lead them to the north. huíchēchìniúqiānxiàngběi.
A cart of charcoal weighs more than a thousand catties, and the palace envoy will regret it. gōngshǐqūjiāngxībúdé.
Half a piece of red gauze and one foot of silk, bànpǐhóngxiāoyízhànglíng, tied straight to the cow's head to fill it with charcoal. jìxiàngniútóuchōngtànzhí.
The pinyin version of Bai Juyi, the charcoal seller
The authentic pinyin version of the charcoal seller is as follows:
The charcoal seller, màitànwēng, cuts firewood and burns charcoal in Nanshan. fáxīnshāotànnánshānzhōng.
The face is dusty and smoky, mǎnmiànchénhuīyānhuǒsè, and the temples are gray and the fingers are black. liǎngbìncāngcāngshízhǐhēi.
Where do you get money from selling charcoal? màitàndéqiánhésuǒyíng? The clothes on your body and the food in your mouth. shēnshàngyīshangkǒuzhōngshí
My poor clothes are just plain, kěliánshēnshàngyīzhèngdān, I am worried that the weather will be cold. xīnyōutànjiànyuàntiānhán.
At night, there was a foot of snow outside the city, and at dawn, the charcoal cart rolled over the ice tracks. xiǎojiàtànchēniǎnbīngzhé.
The cows are trapped and the people are hungry. The sun is getting high, and they rest in the mud outside the south gate of the city. shìnánménwàinízhōngxiē.
Who is Pian Pian riding here? piānpiānliǎngjìláishìshuí? The messenger in yellow is in white. huángyīshǐzhěbáishānér.
He holds the document in his hand and pronounces the edict, shǒubǎwénshūkǒuchēngchì, returns to the carriage and scolds the oxen to lead them to the north. huíchēchìniúqiānxiàngběi.
A cart of charcoal weighs more than a thousand catties, and the palace envoy will regret it. gōngshǐqūjiāngxībúdé.
Half a piece of red gauze and one foot of silk, bànpǐhóngxiāoyízhànglíng, tied straight to the cow's head to fill it with charcoal. jìxiàngniútóuchōngtànzhí.
Full text of the charcoal seller
Full text: The charcoal seller cut firewood and burned charcoal in the southern mountains. His face was dusty and smoky, his temples were gray and his fingers were black. Where do you make money from selling charcoal? The clothes on your body and the food in your mouth. Poor clothes and clothes, worried about the cold weather. There is a foot of snow outside the city at night, and at dawn the charcoal cart is rolling over the ice tracks.
The cows were trapped and the people were hungry. The sun was getting high and they rested in the mud outside the south gate of the city. Who is Pian Pian riding here? The messenger in yellow is in white. He holds the document in his hand and pronounces the edict, returns to the carriage and shouts at the oxen to lead them north. A cart of charcoal weighs more than a thousand kilograms, and the palace envoys will regret it. Half a piece of red gauze and one foot of silk are fastened to the cow's head and filled with charcoal.
Translation: There was an old man selling charcoal, who spent the whole year cutting firewood and burning charcoal in the Nanshan Mountains. His face was covered with dust and looked burnt by smoke, his hair on his temples was gray, and his ten fingers were blackened by charcoal. What do you use the money you get from selling charcoal? Buy the clothes you wear and the food you eat. Unfortunately, he was only wearing thin clothes, but he was worried that he would not be able to sell the charcoal, and he also hoped that the weather would be colder.
A foot of heavy snow fell outside the city at night. In the early morning, the old man drove his charcoal cart over the frozen wheel tracks to the market. The cows were tired and the people were hungry, but the sun was already high, so they rested in the mud outside the south gate of the market. Who is that proud man riding two horses? They were the eunuchs and eunuch's subordinates in the palace.
The eunuch held the document in his hand, but said it was the emperor's order, and shouted at the ox to pull it towards the palace. A cart of charcoal weighed more than a thousand kilograms, and the eunuchs and servants insisted on driving it away. The old man was reluctant to give it up, but he had no choice. Those people hung half a piece of red yarn and a foot of silk on the cow's head and used it as the price of charcoal.
"The Charcoal Seller" was created by Bai Juyi, a poet of the Tang Dynasty.
Extended information
This poem uses individual cases to express a common situation, describing the hardship of an old man who burns charcoal to make a living. Through the experience of the charcoal seller, it profoundly reveals the "palace" It gave a powerful lash and criticism to the rulers for their crimes of plundering the people, and satirized the corrupt social reality at that time.
It expresses the author's deep sympathy for the lower class working people, and has a strong social typical significance. The description of the whole poem is concrete and vivid, vivid and picturesque, and the ending ends abruptly, implicitly and powerfully. It is unique in the choice of details and the portrayal of the characters' psychology.
This poem is deeply ideological and artistically unique. The poet uses the two sentences "Where can I make money from selling charcoal? What is the food in my mouth?" The poet shows the only hope that the old man who is almost on the verge of despair can have.
This is the poetic eye of the whole poem. All other descriptions focus on this poetic eye. In terms of expression techniques, foil and contrast are used flexibly. The old man is highlighted by his "gray temples", the hardship of "cutting firewood and burning charcoal" is highlighted by his "dusty and smoky face", and the desolate and dangerous Nanshan Mountain is used as a background, and the old man's fate arouses people's sympathy even more.
And all this reflects the burning fire of the old man's hope: selling charcoal to get money to buy clothes and food. The old man is "dressed neatly", and the "foot of snow" that comes at night and the "icy ruts" on the road are used as foils, making people feel even more "poor" about the old man. And all of this reflects the burning fire of the old man's hope: the weather is cold and charcoal is expensive, so he can buy more clothes and food.
Next, "the cow is trapped and the man is hungry" and "two graceful riders" reflect the disparity in the situation of workers and rulers; "a cart of charcoal, more than a thousand catties" and "half a piece of red yarn "Zhang Ling" reflects the cruelty of "Gongshi" plunder. As far as the whole poem is concerned, the blazing fire of hope in the front is precisely to contrast the sadness and pain of hope in the end.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Charcoal Selling Man