There are strange trees in the courtyard with lush green leaves. Climb the bar and break the glory, leaving behind what you thought. The fragrance fills the sleeves, but the road is far away. This thing is not expensive, but the feeling lasts forever. ——The Two Han Dynasties·Anonymous "There are Strange Trees in the Courtyard" There are Strange Trees in the Courtyard
The Two Han Dynasties: Nineteen anonymous ancient poems, about flowers, women, lovesickness and loneliness. Translation and annotations
Translation
There is a beautiful tree in the courtyard, full of green leaves and dense flowers, which looks particularly full of spring.
I climbed the branches and picked the most beautiful bunch of flowers, hoping to give them to my relatives who miss me day and night.
The fragrance of flowers fills the lapels and sleeves of my clothes, but it is so far away that no one can deliver it to my relatives.
It’s not that there’s anything precious about this flower, it’s just that I’ve been away for too long and I wanted to use flowers to express my nostalgia. Appreciation
This poem writes about a woman’s deep nostalgia for her husband who is traveling far away. From trees and leaves, from leaves and flowers, from flowers to picking, from picking to sending, from sending to thinking. There are eight sentences in the whole poem, which can be divided into two levels, and every four sentences is one level.
The first two lines of the poem, "Climbing the bar to break its glory, will leave you with thoughts." depicts such a picture: in the spring courtyard, there is a beautiful tree, set off by the green leaves of the tree. Below, dense flowers bloomed, which looked particularly lively. This is an environmental description, describing a scene full of spring. But the word "in the courtyard" in the first sentence implies that the scenery here is not in nature, but in a boudoir. It is a poem expressing the resentment of a missing woman.
So the missing woman came on stage: "Climb the branches and break off the glory, and you will miss the things left behind." Facing this scene of blooming flowers, the missing woman couldn't help but climb the branches and break off the branches. The most beautiful bouquet of flowers, give it to your loved ones who miss you day and night. The use of flowers to express feelings reveals the main theme of the poem - longing for people who have traveled far away.
In ancient poems, women's lovesickness often begins with the change of seasons. Because ancient women were severely bound by feudal ethics and lived in a very narrow circle. Unlike many men, changes in the environment and the hardships of the journey may cause emotional waves; these women were locked in their boudoirs, and everything around them was forever It's so boring and lacks change, making people feel numb. Only climate changes and seasonal transitions are the most sensitive to them, because they mark that their precious youth is passing away, and their lingering thoughts of longing for their relatives far away have no end.
The first four sentences of the poem are very simple, and they show a scene that people often see in their daily lives. However, combining this scene with the specific theme of longing for her husband creates a deep and implicit artistic conception, which triggers many associations among readers: This woman must have been missing her husband in loneliness for a long time. Perhaps, throughout the cold winter, she has been waiting for the coming of spring every day, because the vibrant spring always brings joy and hope to people. At that time, the people who miss you day and night may come back, and when the spring comes, they will reunite under the flower trees, holding hands and looking at each other, talking to each other. However, now that the branches and leaves are sparse and the trees are full of flowers, she is still alone under the tree, which makes people feel infinitely melancholy. Besides, if she only saw this tree occasionally, it might suddenly arouse some surprise and emotion: time flies so fast, and it’s another year in the blink of an eye! However, this tree grew in her courtyard. She watched the leaves grow piece by piece, from light yellow to emerald green, gradually covering the crown of the tree; she watched the flowers bloom one after another, and the stars gradually grew. It turned into a gorgeous piece. The worries in her heart were piling up bit by bit, and the pain that was growing day by day was even more unbearable. At this moment, she would naturally break off a flower and want to give it to her relatives far away. Because this flower embodies her sorrow and hope, and entrusts her deep love. Perhaps, she means that this flower can take away part of the pain of lovesickness, so that the heart of the ups and downs of thoughts can be temporarily calmed; perhaps, she hopes that the flower branches in the hands of relatives in her hometown can touch the hearts of distant wanderers and urge him to return as soon as possible. . In short, this short four-line poem contains many contents that the poet did not express clearly.
From the fifth sentence, there is a turning point and it enters the second level. The sentence "The fragrance fills the sleeves" closely follows the two sentences above "Climb the strips and fold the glory, leaving behind the thoughts", and simultaneously depicts the preciousness of the flowers and the expression of the characters. This flower is from a "wonderful tree" and its fragrance is particularly rich and fragrant. It is different from ordinary wild flowers. It can be seen that it is perfect to use it to express pure love and express deep longing. As for the expression of the character, although the poet did not write it clearly, the word "ying" implies that the protagonist stood for a long time holding a flower branch in his hand. Originally, she "climbed the strip to break off the glory" because she had been thinking for a long time and couldn't help it. But when she broke off the flower, she suddenly thought: the world is far away, and this flower cannot be delivered to the hands of her relatives no matter what. In ancient times, transportation was inconvenient and communication was difficult, not to mention that this is a flower that withers easily. At this time, she was just holding the flowers in her hands, standing under the tree for a long time, letting the fragrance fill her sleeves and doing nothing. She seemed to have forgotten time and everything around her, and fell deeply into meditation in front of the flowers.
"The fragrance fills the sleeves, but there is a long way to go", two simple ten words, paint a clear and vivid picture; and trigger the reader to further imagine: this woman is thinking about something What? Is she reminiscing about past happiness? Because this strange tree grew in their courtyard, the couple may have spent many happy hours under the flower tree in the past. When the leaves were luxuriant and the flowers were in full bloom, did the one she loved put those beautiful flowers between her temples? And now, where is the husband she misses all the time? Have you ever encountered anything? Does the pain she feels also felt by people far away? No matter what she thought about, there was one thing she couldn't get rid of, and that was the incomparable regret that her youth had passed away in loneliness. The life of ancient women was originally so narrow and monotonous. Only sincere love can bring them a little joy in life. How bleak life is when this little bit of fun cannot be retained! Flowers bloom and fall, and precious youth cannot withstand several storms.
Looking back at the description of the strange tree in the courtyard in this poem, we can clearly see that the poet has always secretly used Bixing's technique to set off the characters with flowers and write out the inner world of the characters. On the one hand, the prosperity of the flowers shows the loneliness and pain of the characters; on the other hand, it also hides a deeper meaning, that is: although the flowers are flourishing, they will soon fall due to wind and rain. It is a symbol of the protagonist's life experience. In another chapter of "Nineteen Ancient Poems", "Bamboo Grows Slowly and Solitarily", there is a passage: "The cymbidium orchid that hurts it contains heroic glory; if it is not picked out of season, it will wither in the autumn grass." Using cymbidium orchid as a symbol It will wither in autumn, which is a metaphor for the heroine's youthfulness that does not last long and beauty that ages easily. This is a metaphor commonly used in ancient Chinese poetry. However, in the article "There is a Strange Tree in the Garden", this meaning is not stated clearly, but is left to the readers to experience.
The last two sentences of the poem, "This thing is not valuable, but I feel sorry for you forever" are words of self-comfort uttered by the protagonist in helplessness, and they also point out the theme of the whole poem. Life is short, and women are like flowers in their hands. They cannot withstand the waiting of time, let alone the wind and rain. Such emotions may be like what Wen Tingyun wrote in "Looking to the South of the Yangtze River": "After washing up, I rely on the Wangjiang Tower alone. There are thousands of sails, but the slanting light is long and the water is long. The heart is broken by Bai Pingzhou." Each hope. , one by one disappointed, in the end maybe "the beauty is cut off before she gets old, and she leans against the smoked cage to sit until dawn" (Bai Juyi's "Harem Ci"), maybe "the beauty is old in spring, and the flowers fall and the people are dead" ("Dream of Red Mansions") ·The Song of Burial Flowers").
Judging from the first six sentences, the poet originally highly praised the rare and beautiful flowers. But at the end of the writing, he suddenly said, "Why is this thing so valuable?" This is a bit surprising. In fact, the first touch of suppressing the falling flowers is to later promote the theme of "but the time has passed", the longing for lovesickness. Regardless of whether flowers are valuable or not rare, they are all intended to express the same thoughts and feelings. But with this ups and downs, the emotion of the poem becomes stronger, and the final sentence becomes particularly prominent. Creation background "There is a Strange Tree in the Courtyard" is a poem about the resentment of a missing woman and her longing for a long time ago. It is the ninth poem in "Nineteen Ancient Poems". There are many opinions about the historical background of "Nineteen Ancient Poems". Yuwen Suo'an believed that early Chinese poetry was a copying system and could not find conclusive evidence that "ancient poetry" was earlier than the Jian'an period. As for the specific creation time of "Strange Trees in the Courtyard", it is difficult to confirm. The bright moon is so bright that it shines on my bed curtains. I can't sleep due to sadness, so I pick up my clothes and wander around. Although it is a pleasant trip, it is better to return home early. When I go out and feel alone, who should I complain to for my worries? The leader returned to the room and shed tears on his clothes. ——The two Han Dynasties·Anonymous "How bright is the bright moon"
How bright is the bright moon
Two Han Dynasties: Three hundred anonymous ancient poems, Nineteen ancient poems, The moon thinks about returning and travels again, with you. Separation. They are more than ten thousand miles apart, and each is at the end of the world. The road is long and blocked. Do you know if the meeting will be safe? Hu Ma follows the north wind and crosses the southern branch of the bird's nest. The day is far away from each other, and the clothes are worn slowly. Floating clouds cover the day, and the wanderer does not care to return. Missing you makes you grow old, and the years are suddenly too late. Don’t give up and don’t return to the road, but work hard to get more meals. ——The two Han Dynasties·Anonymous "Xing Xing Xing Xing Xing"
Xing Xing Xing Xing Xing
The Two Han Dynasties: Anonymous three hundred ancient poems, nineteen ancient poems, Woman, after parting, the lovesick guest comes from afar. , leave me a piece of beauty. We are more than ten thousand miles away from each other, but our hearts are still kind to you. Literary talent is a pair of mandarin ducks, cut into an albizia quilt. The relationship is longing for lovesickness, and the relationship is inextricable.
Using glue to paint, who can leave this? ——Liang Han·Anonymous "Guests Come from a Far Away"
Guests Come from a Far Away
Two Han Dynasties: Anonymous Three hundred ancient poems, Nineteen ancient poems, Missing each other