Exhausted workers dug and dug all day and dug out the soil in front of the house, but there was not a tile in their own house.
A rich man lives in a tile-roofed building without touching mud.
The author of this poem is Mei, a poet in the Northern Song Dynasty. Liu Kezhuang called him "the ancestor of the Song Dynasty" in "Hou Cun Shi Hua".
A few months ago, I had a wrong impression of Song poetry. Although I have studied Wang Anshi's "Counting Plums in the Corner", "Always Replacing New Peach with Old Symbols" and Lin Hejing's "Thin Shadow and Clear Water", I always subconsciously think that the poems in the Song Dynasty are underdeveloped, and even think that there are no poems in the Song Dynasty. When I read Lin Yutang's Su Shichuan, I feel awkward when I see Su Shi writing poems when he was young, because I am most familiar with his words "river of no return, the waves are exhausted", "Left leads to yellow, right leads to blue" and so on. I also felt very novel when I saw a book, A Dictionary of Appreciation of Song Poetry. There is also the concept of "Song Poetry". After a little understanding, I realized that in the Song Dynasty, poetry was equally developed. The reason why we often say "Tang poetry" and "Song ci" is that in the Tang Dynasty, poetry dominated, while in the Song Dynasty, poetry and ci were equally divided. In addition, our language always pays attention to a kind of symmetrical beauty, and "Tang poetry and Song poetry" is more symmetrical. If you add "Song Poetry", it will not be beautiful. In this way, we have neglected such a large field of Song poetry.
I don't know how much people who study China's classical literature value Mei Yao Chen, but I guess most ordinary people don't know him, and there are few books about Mei Yao Chen now. This is extremely inconsistent with his poetic talent and his influence on the poetry circle in the Northern Song Dynasty. I also blame this on the signboard of "Tang Poetry and Song Poetry". When I was at school, I studied the literary representatives of various historical periods, including Li Bai, Du Fu, Meng Haoran, Meng Jiao, Du Mu, Li Shangyin and Liu Yuxi. Representative figures of Song Ci: Li Yu (Five Dynasties), Yan Shu, Liu Yong, Su Shi, Li Qingzhao, Xin Qiji, etc. Guan Hanqing and Wang Shifu are the representatives of Yuan Zaju. These are all introduced according to the classification of "Tang Poetry", "Song Ci" and "Yuan Qu". In this way, poets born in the Tang Dynasty have a chance to remain famous even if their poetry achievements are not as good as Mei's. Unfortunately, in the Song Dynasty, Mei Sheng took Song Ci as a signboard and had to erase it from the textbook (including Lin Bu). So few people who are not literature majors know him. Many writers were in trouble before they died. Unfortunately, Mei was frustrated in her career before her death, so far she has not been famous for her poems.
So long-winded, let's get down to business and introduce May.
Mei (1002- 1060), whose name is Wan Ling, was born in Xuancheng, Anhui. He and Ouyang Xiu are contemporaries and close friends of Ouyang Xiu's life. Together with Ouyang Xiu, Su Shunqin and others, they launched a poetry innovation movement in the Northern Song Dynasty, and they were called "Mei Ou" with Ouyang Xiu and "Su Mei" with Su Shunqin.
Mei liked reading since she was a child, but when she grew up, she was admitted to Jinshi. He started his career by the kindness of his uncle Xun Mei. The "Yin En" system was the most important way to be an official in the Song Dynasty besides the imperial examination system. The imperial court stipulates that officials above a certain level can give the names of their descendants or other relatives when they meet celebrations (such as emperor sacrifices) in the country, and they can get official positions, which shows that the emperor cares about the friendship between the monarch and the minister. The Song Dynasty attached great importance to the imperial examination system. Generally speaking, those who have relatives who are officials in the DPRK and win the Jinshi have the most successful career; Secondly, people who only rely on Jinshi to enter the official career want to be reused, on the one hand, by their own talents, on the other hand, by the appreciation of court ministers, such as Fan Zhongyan; People who enter the official career only by grace are generally placed in unimportant positions and are difficult to be reused.
After Mei Pingen entered the official career, she was admitted to the Jinshi many times, but she was not admitted. This was related to the examination system at that time, and many talents such as Liu Yong and Ceng Gong repeatedly hit a wall in the examination room. But you can't be a scholar. Even if you are talented, you can't advance in your career. Therefore, Mei spent most of her life as a subordinate and worked as a subordinate of a county magistrate or magistrate. It was not until he was fifty years old that Renzong gave him a kindred spirit through the recommendation of the DPRK minister. Later, under the recommendation of Ouyang Xiu, he worked in the imperial court and participated in the compilation of the New Tang Book. In the fifth year of Jiayou (1060), an epidemic broke out in Bianjing, and Mei died of illness at the age of 59.
Mei and Ouyang Xiu met when they were young. At that time, Ouyang Xiu had just entered the official career and went to Luoyang to be an official. Mei is also in Luoyang. They soon become friends and often study literature together. Later, although Ouyang Xiu was relegated, he rose step by step in his official career and eventually became an important official of the imperial court. May Yao Chen can only wander at the bottom. However, the widening status gap did not affect their friendship. They talk about everything and are each other's soul mates. In poetry creation, Ouyang Xiu is not as good as Mei Yao Chen; However, Ouyang Xiu's literary achievements are extensive, and there are many works in poetry, ci and prose, while Mei only writes poetry. Mei's poems are plain and profound. Because he has been an official at the bottom for a long time, he has seen the poor life of the lower class and the oppression of the people by officials. Therefore, a large part of his poems is a portrayal of the life of the poor, such as the above-mentioned Pottery, as well as two sister articles, Tian and Pink Poor Girl, which are being arrested by the government. In addition, because of his low official position and low salary, he also suffered from poverty, and the death of his children and wife also brought him deep pain. His poems are very different from other poets because of their deep feelings, and the quality is better. Based on Mei's experience and poetry, Ouyang Xiu put forward the theory of "poetry is poor and backward" after thinking.
When Mei was alive, his poems became famous all over the world and spread to the royal family and foreign countries. Ouyang Xiu recorded in the Record of Returning to the Field that once he went to Mei's home to drink, the wine was very mellow, unlike what ordinary people drink. Mei's family was poor and should not be able to afford it. Ouyang Xiu asked where the plum wine came from, and Mei said it was sent by relatives. Some royalty holders spend a lot of money on May Yao Chen's poems. After Mei's illness, scholar-officials visited his home constantly, which caused the road near his residence to be congested and pedestrians could not pass. Residents nearby were surprised and asked each other, "Which adult lives here?" After his death, the scholar-officials cried and hanged themselves. In this way, Mei became famous before his death, but it was a pity that he couldn't make a living by writing poems at that time.
Mei Yao Chen liked to write poems before her death, but after she finished writing, she threw them about casually and did not pay attention to preservation. After Mei's death, Xie Jingchu, the son of his wife and brother, collected and compiled his poems into Wan. Later, Ouyang Xiu collected some poems of Mei to supplement them. Mei has nearly 3,000 poems.
Finally, several poems by Mei are introduced.
The following two songs "Tianjiayu" and "As Poor as a Pink Girl" were written by the author when he was appointed as the magistrate of Xiangcheng County in the first year of Kangding, Song Renzong (1040). At that time, in order to defend Xixia, the court hurriedly ordered the villagers to be archers and stepped up their vigilance. Lower-level officials took this opportunity to run amok, causing the people to suffer from internal troubles instead of external ones, leaving them in a miserable situation. May Yao Chen saw this scene with her own eyes, but there was nothing she could do. Deeply distressed, he had to write poems to relieve his resentment.
Tianjiayu
Who is Le Jia in Paddy Field? Spring tax and autumn are not enough.
Xu Li locked our door and cooked hard every day.
There are many streams in midsummer, and white water is high.
Water harms me and locusts eat my millet.
A few months ago, the imperial edict came, dental records.
Sanding nationality makes a strong one, and evil makes a bow and arrow (dú).
Now the state is in strict control, and the old officials are holding the whip.
Looking for childlike innocence and love, you can only limp and have no purpose.
Tian Lu dared to complain, and his father and son cried sadly.
What happened to Nanmu? Buy arrows and sell calves.
Trouble becomes long and rainy, and there is no porridge in the air.
Blind and lame can't plow, it's too late to die.
I am ashamed of honesty, but I feel sorry for you.
But singing back and forth, cutting wages to the deep valley.
Translation:
Who says we farmers are happy? The taxes owed in spring have not been paid in autumn. The village official knocked on my door, urging me hard, neither early nor late. This summer, it rained heavily and the flood rose higher than the house. The water has flooded and washed away the rice, and locusts have eaten it up. Some time ago, the imperial edict was issued, and the household registration was made door to door. One of the three men must be selected, hastily become an archer and be incorporated into the army. The order in the state is very strict, and the old collectors keep urging the road with whips. Only the lame and the blind are left, and the elderly and children are not spared. Who dares to sigh and complain in the village? Father and son cried bitterly. How to do a good job in the field? I have sold the calf in order to buy an arrow. The gas of resentment turned into continuous autumn rain, and the pots and pans were empty, and I couldn't eat a bite of porridge. How do the blind and the lame farm? Death is only a matter of time.
After listening to the old farmer's words, I was ashamed and deeply felt that I had taken the salary of the court for nothing. It's better to abandon your official position and return to your hometown to collect firewood and farm in the ravine.
Poor girl in Lu Fen.
Rufen was poor, and she cried bitterly.
Say to yourself, "I have an old father, but I am not lonely."
County officials dare not resist any violence from county officials.
The old father was overwhelmed for a moment and walked on the road with crutches.
Diligent in admonishing neighbors: I am willing to live together.
Just now, I heard from my fellow villagers that he was very upset when he asked them about his father's whereabouts.
Sure enough, my father froze to death on the river bank in the cold rain.
My thin woman has no one to rely on, and my father's body can't be buried.
It is better to have a daughter than a man, although it is worth saving!
Called heaven, life and death must be tolerated "?
Translation:
Your daughter, a poor family by the water, cried while walking, and her voice was sad. She said that there is an old father at home, except for her daughter, who has no Ding Zhuang. County officials are rude, and county officials dare to express their dissatisfaction. Pushing hard does not allow a moment's delay, and the old father is on the road with a cane. Please ask the neighbors to ask again and again when you leave, hoping to help the weak women. I just heard my fellow villagers come back and asked them where my father was. Sure enough, my father froze to death on the river bank in the cold rain. I am a helpless thin woman, and my father's body can't be buried. It is better to have a daughter than a man. Although I am alive, what can I bear? Touching my chest, stamping my feet and shouting at the sky is a dilemma for me to live or die!