This poem is titled "Snow", but its intention is not to chant the snow scene, but to use the topic to express the poet's anger and dissatisfaction with the rulers, and to reveal the poet's deep sympathy for the poor people. .
Original text:
"Snow"
Tang Dynasty: Luo Yin
Even if there is a good year, what will happen in a good year.
If there is a poor person in Chang'an, the auspiciousness should not be too much.
Translation:
It is said that auspicious snow heralds a good year. What will happen in the good year? There are still many people who are hungry and cold in Chang'an. Even if it snows, it is still not advisable to go out too much.
Extended information:
Appreciation of "Snow"
Auspicious snow heralds a good harvest. The hard-working farmers have the association and expectation of good harvest when they see the falling snow. This is Very natural. But now in the prosperous imperial capital of Chang'an, the voice of "finishing the road to good times" is worth pondering.
The word "the end of the road" contains sarcasm. From the following, it can be inferred that those who "end their lives in good times" are people from another world different from the "poor people".
These dignitaries and wealthy businessmen, who live in luxurious houses in deep courtyards and are dressed in furs and furs, are shouting in unison while they are feasting, warming themselves by the fire, and enjoying the wind and snow all day long. By talking about auspicious snow heralding a good harvest, they may claim to be benevolent people who are compassionate and caring about people's sufferings!
Precisely because it is this generation that "will have a good harvest", the next step is to ask coldly: "How is the good year going?" Even if it is a good year, what will happen? This is a rhetorical question. There is no answer and there is no need to answer it. Those who "will have good harvests and prosperous years" know it in their hearts.
At the end of the Tang Dynasty, heavy taxes and high land rent exploitation put farmers in the same miserable situation regardless of good times or bad times. "New silk is sold in February, and new grain is sold in May." "The crops are not showing in June, but the officials have built warehouses." "There is ripe rice in front of the mountain, and the purple ears are fragrant. The harvest is fine and fine, and the grains are like jade."
Keep it in the hands of officials, there is no warehouse in your private room." These verses provide a clear answer to the question "how it is." But in this poem, Bu Dao Po is more artistically powerful than Dao Po. It is like a sap in the head, hitting those who "finished their good years" speechless.
"If there are poor people in Chang'an, the auspiciousness should not be too much." The two sentences do not follow the line of "What will happen in the good years" to further express feelings and comments, but return to the question of whether snow is auspiciousness raised at the beginning. .
Because the author's main purpose of writing this poem is not to express sympathy for the poor who are still suffering from cold weather despite good years, but to throw a dagger at those who talk about the good times of good times. "If there are poor people in Chang'an, it is not advisable to have too much auspiciousness."
It seems to be coldly reminding these people: when you are enjoying the delicacies of the mountains and seas and talking about the auspicious snow in the high-rise buildings, I am afraid that you have long forgotten it. In Chang'an, the imperial capital, there were many "poor people" who had no food to eat, no clothes to cover their bodies, and lived on the streets.
They cannot look forward to the benefits brought by the "good harvest", but they will be frozen to death by the "good harvest" that you talk about so much. After a night of snow and wind, how many "frozen bones" will appear on the streets of Chang'an tomorrow! "It is not advisable to overdo it for auspiciousness", which seems to be an understatement and a slightly humorous statement.
In fact, there is deep anger and burning emotion in it. Smooth and calm tone and sharp revelations, cold sarcasm and deep anger are harmoniously combined here.
Whether snow is an auspicious sign or a disaster is difficult to determine without certain prerequisites. The poet has no intention of entering into such a debate. What he felt disgusted and indignant was that those dignitaries and nobles who had enough to live and have no worries did not have any of the same feelings or the same language as the poor.
But he wanted to pretend to be the most concerned about good harvests and the poor, so he seized on the topic of "good harvests" and cleverly wrote a negative article, tearing off those The mask of "benevolent people" exposes their dignity to the broad daylight.
The valuable thing about "Snow" is that it not only has a profound theme and thought, but also has a novel conception. It is different from the clichés in the snow-chanting poems of the past dynasties that used chants to praise the "royal auspiciousness". The author's sarcastic feelings are also vivid and can be touched and felt.
The word "全道" at the beginning of the poem "the end of the road is auspicious and good years" is sarcastic; the rhetorical question in the second sentence is a further problem that the poet poses to the person who "finishes the road".
Although the three or four sentences seem to be written lightly and lightly, the sarcasm contained in them is more icy and vivid, giving people a strong sense of coldness.