1. "Cold Food"
Han_Tang Dynasty
Flowers are flying everywhere in the Spring City, and the east wind of Cold Food keeps the willows from slanting.
At dusk, candles were passed around the Han Palace, and light smoke dispersed into the house of the Five Marquises.
2. Translation
In late spring, catkins are flying everywhere in Chang'an City and there are countless fallen reds. During the Cold Food Festival, the east wind blows the willow trees in the imperial city.
In the evening, candles were sent from the Han Palace to reward princes and ministers, and the light smoke drifted to the homes of the emperor's favorites.
3. Appreciation
"There are flowers flying everywhere in the spring city, and the east wind blows cold food and the willows slant." The poet is based high and has a broad field of vision, with the whole city in sight. The word "Spring City" is highly condensed and gorgeous. "Spring" is a natural season, and the city is a human city. The combination of the two presents an infinitely beautiful landscape. "Flowers flying everywhere" is a typical picture captured by the poet. The feeling of spring is strong, covering the whole city. The poet does not say "flowers are flying everywhere", because that is just a general summary, but "flowers are flying everywhere". This double negative sentence structure greatly strengthens the affirmative tone and effectively highlights that the whole city is full of flowers. A grand occasion to be immersed in the rich spring atmosphere. The poet does not say "flowers are blooming everywhere", but "flowers are flying everywhere". In addition to the strong dynamic of the word "fly", which helps express the vitality of spring, it also illustrates how precise the poet's wording is when describing the time sequence. . "Flying flowers" are fallen flowers flying in the wind. This is a typical late spring scene. Instead of saying "falling flowers" and saying "flying flowers", this is to express flowers and covertly express wind. The word "fly" has far-reaching implications. It is no exaggeration to say that this poem has been passed down through the ages, mainly because of the aphorism "Spring City is full of flying flowers", and the most eye-catching thing in this poem is the word "fly".
"The cold east wind blows the willow tree". The spring breeze blows throughout the city and naturally blows into the imperial garden. The weeping willows in the garden also fluttered in the wind. The wind is invisible and shadowless. Its existence can only be indirectly felt by the flying flowers and the slanting willows. According to this, a "slant" character also indirectly writes style.
The first two sentences of the poem describe the day, and the last two sentences describe the night: "At dusk, candles are passed down from the Han Palace, and light smoke disperses into the houses of the five princes." "Sunset" means evening. "Han Palace" refers to the imperial palace of the Tang Dynasty. "Five Marquises" generally refers to the five relatives who were granted the title of Marquis on the same day during the Eastern Han Dynasty. Here, we use the Han Dynasty to describe the Tang Dynasty, alluding to the domineering and domineering relatives favored by the emperor since the mid-Tang Dynasty. These two sentences mean that during the Cold Food Festival, no fire or lamps can be lit in every house, but the palace is an exception. Before it gets dark, the palace is busy distributing candles. In addition to the palace, nobles and favored ministers can also receive this grace. The words "pass" and "disperse" are used in the poem to vividly draw a picture of a horse passing a candle at night, which makes people feel like seeing the light of candles and smelling the smell of light smoke. It is a long-standing custom in our country that cold food and fire are prohibited, but powerful ministers can make an exception and light candles. The poet makes a subtle satire on this corrupt political phenomenon.
This poem is good at selecting typical themes and quoting appropriate allusions to satirize the corruption phenomenon of foreign relatives gaining favor and exclusive power. Although the writing is very subtle, readers can still understand the theme of the poem with hints of historical allusions and confirmation of the social situation in the mid-Tang Dynasty.