What kind of social reality does "Altair" reflect?

"Altair" reflects the reality that women in feudal society suffered from various constraints and were unable to control their own destiny.

The first sentence of this poem borrows the story of "Cowherd and Weaver Girl", describing the scene of them missing each other all day long and looking at each other across the river, which foreshadows the sadness of Weaver Girl in the later text.

Here it is clearly written about Cowherd and Weaver Girl, and it actually depicts the situation where wives and children in many families are separated and unable to meet due to social unrest and other reasons. It implicitly and tortuously reflects the social reality in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and shows the The painful and helpless emotional world of young women in turbulent times is sad, touching and tear-jerking.

The original text of the anonymous "Altair of the Far Far Away" written by the Han Dynasty:

The Altair of the Far Far Away is a Han woman on the Jiaojiao River. The slender hands are used to make tricks.

I can’t make up my mind all day long, crying like rain. The river is clear and shallow, but how far away it is! There is a room full of water, and the pulse is speechless.

Translation:

Altair is visible in the distance in the southeast of the Milky Way, and Vega is bright and clear in the west of the Milky Way. The Weaver Girl was waving her long, white hands, and the loom was making a steady sound. I didn't weave a piece of cloth all day long, and my tears fell like rain. The Milky Way looks clear and shallow. How far is it between the two banks? Although they were only separated by a Milky Way, they could only look at each other affectionately and speechlessly.

Extended information

Creative background

Morning Glory and Weaver Girl are originally the names of two constellations. In China, folk tales about the morning glory and the weaver girl originated very early. "The Book of Songs·Xiaoya·Dadong" has already written about the Morning Glory and the Weaver Girl, but only as two stars. "Spring and Autumn Yuan Mingbao" and "Huainanzi Chuzhen" began to say that the Weaver Girl was a goddess.

In Cao Pi's "Yan Ge Xing", Cao Zhi's "Luo Shen Fu" and "Nine Odes", the morning glory and the Weaver Girl have become a couple. It can be seen that the story of Morning Bull and Weaver Girl during the Three Kingdoms period at the end of Han Dynasty has probably been finalized. "Altair Far Far Away" is based on the storyline of Altair and Weaver Girl.

This poem is one of the "Nineteen Ancient Poems". Modern people comprehensively examine the emotional tendencies expressed, the social life situations reflected in "Nineteen Ancient Poems" and its proficient artistic skills. It is generally believed that the age of these nineteen poems should be several dozen years before Emperor Xian'an in the late Han Dynasty. Years.

Comments from famous writers

Modern Xu Zhongyu and Jin Qihua's "Selected Ancient Chinese Literary Works": "On the surface, every word of this poem describes the sorrow of the Weaver Girl in heaven, but in fact, every sentence expresses her thoughts. The woman's hatred on the ground flashes the brilliant colors of romance. "The first four sentences and the last two sentences of the poem use redundant words to describe the physical state and express the emotions very vividly. The overlapping words echo each other, forming a harmonious and reverberating rhythm throughout the poem, which enhances the musical beauty of the poem."

Poetry Appreciation

This poem is based on the myth and legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl being blocked by the Milky Way. The tragedy of not being able to meet each other expresses the woman's longing for her after parting, and the sadness of the couple not being able to reunite in the world. There is a certain sense of dissatisfaction and resistance between the lines.

This poem is full of emotion, real and moving. The whole poem uses objects as metaphors for people and is exquisitely constructed. The poem mainly talks about the Weaver Girl, with only one sentence about the morning glory. It is also written from the perspective of the Weaver Girl, which is very clever. From the "failed" weaving of the Weaver Girl, to "tears like rain", to "speechless", the tragedy of separation is fully expressed.

The poem describes the Weaver Girl very delicately and captures the details, such as "slender hands" and "crying like rain". At the same time, "Zhaza playing tricks" is also a dynamic description. In this way, the characters jump out from this description.

Baidu Encyclopedia--Far Altair