"Passing Through My Old Friend's Village" is a five-rhyme poem composed by Meng Haoran, a poet of the Tang Dynasty. It tells the story of how the poet was invited to visit an old friend's house in the countryside. In the simple and natural pastoral scenery, the host and guest toasted to drink and chatted about daily life, which was full of fun and expressed the sincere friendship between the poet and his friends.
At first glance, this poem seems as plain as water, but when you taste it carefully, it looks like a Chinese painting of pastoral scenery. It perfectly combines scenery, things, and emotions, and has a strong artistic appeal.
Original text of the work
I passed by my old friend’s village⑴
My old friend brought chicken and millet⑵ and invited me to Tian’s house⑶.
Lvshu Village is close to ⑷, and Qingshanguo is sloping outside ⑸.
Open the Xuan Noodle Garden⑹, and talk about Sangma while drinking wine⑺.
On the Double Ninth Festival⑻, come and see the chrysanthemums⑼.
Explanation of words and sentences
⑴: visit. Old Friend's Village: The farm of an old friend. Village, farm.
⑵ Tools: preparation, purchase. Chicken millet: Refers to the sumptuous meal (literally chicken and yellow rice) served by farmers for entertaining guests. Millet (shǔ): yellow rice, considered to be the finest grain in ancient times.
⑶Invite: Invite. To: Arrive.
⑷合: Surround.
⑸Guo: The ancient city wall had two layers: the inner and outer walls, the inner city and the outer Guo. This refers to the outer wall of the village. skew (xiá): tilt. Because the ancient poem needs to rhyme with the previous sentence, it should be read xiá.
⑹Open: open, turn on. Xuan: window. Face: facing. Field: field, threshing floor, rice field; garden, vegetable garden.
⑺ Hold the wine: Hold the wine utensil, referring to drinking. To pick up: to pick up. Pick up. Talking about Sangma: chatting about farming. Mulberry: Mulberry and hemp. This generally refers to crops.
⑻ Double Ninth Festival: refers to the ninth day of September in the lunar calendar. The ancients had the custom of climbing high and drinking chrysanthemum wine on this day.
⑼Huán: return, come. Just chrysanthemum: refers to drinking chrysanthemum wine, which also means admiring chrysanthemums. Just, get close, mean to do something [2].
Explanation of the whole poem
An old friend prepared a sumptuous meal and wanted to invite me to his hospitable farmhouse.
Green woods surround the village, and green mountains lie outside the city.
Open the window and face the vegetable garden of the threshing floor, holding a wine glass in hand and chatting about the crops.
When the Double Ninth Festival comes, please come here to enjoy the chrysanthemums.
Creative background
This poem is the author Meng Haoran's description of the visit to a friend named Tian when he was living in seclusion in Lumen Mountain. The author was relaxed and happy, admiring the beautiful pastoral scenery, and created this poem.
Appreciation
This is a pastoral poem that describes the quiet and leisurely life of a farm family and the friendship between old friends. By writing about the scenery of rural life, the author expresses his yearning for this kind of life. The whole text rhymes very much. The poem flows naturally and smoothly from "invite" to "to" to "look" and then to "appointment". The language is simple and unpretentious, and the artistic conception is fresh and timeless. The author writes about the process from the visit to the farewell in a kind and simple language, as if he were talking to someone in a homely way. He writes about the freshness and tranquility of pastoral scenery, the sincere and deep friendship between friends, and the simple and cordial life of the Tian family.
The whole poem depicts the beautiful mountain village scenery and peaceful pastoral life. The language is plain and the narrative is natural and smooth. There is no trace of exaggeration. However, the feelings are sincere and the poetry is mellow. There are "hibiscus emerges from clear water, The aesthetic appeal of "nature without carvings" has become a masterpiece in pastoral poetry since the Tang Dynasty.
The first and second sentences start from the invitation. "Old friend" means that this is not the first time we are a guest. The third and fourth sentences are famous sentences describing the scenery of the mountain village, surrounded by green trees and sloping green mountains, like a light ink painting. Five or six sentences describe the taste of life in the mountain village. Facing the vegetable garden in the courtyard, drinking wine and talking about crops is cordial and natural, full of life. The last two sentences describe the depth of friendship with the theme of gathering together during the Double Ninth Festival. The words are exhaustive but the meaning is endless.
"An old friend invited me to Tian's house." This beginning is like a note in a diary. The old friend "invites" and the author "arrives". There is no exaggeration in the text, straight to the point, and the invitation comes immediately, simple and casual. This is exactly what happens between close friends without any formalities. Inviting guests with "chicken millet" not only shows the Tian family's unique flavor, but also shows the simplicity of hospitality. It is this kind of hospitality without any formality or ostentation that makes friends' hearts more open to each other. This beginning is not very focused, calm and natural, but it is an excellent introduction to the life content that is about to unfold. It shows the characteristics of the atmosphere and needs to be further enriched and developed later.
“The green trees are close to the village, and the green mountains are sloping outside.” When walking into the village, the author felt such a refreshing and pleasant feeling. The first sentence of these two sentences diffuses the surrounding area, surrounded by green trees, and appears to be a unified world of its own. The second sentence is lightly written, and the green mountains outside Guo are closely accompanying it, which makes the village not appear lonely and shows a broad vista. This uses the order from near to far to describe the scenery. This village is located in Pingchou and is far away from the green mountains. It makes people feel quiet and quiet but not arrogant and lonely. It is precisely because "Old Friend Village" appears in such a natural and social environment that the guests and hosts raise their glasses to the window.
"Have a meal in the garden, drink wine and talk about mulberry and hemp", which makes it even more enjoyable.
The word "Kaixuan" here also seems to be written into the poem very inadvertently, but the above two lines describe the exterior scenery of the village. Here the narrator is drinking and talking in the house. When the Xuan window is opened, the exterior scenery comes in. Indoors, it gives people a more relaxed and happy feeling. Regarding these two sentences, people pay more attention to "talking about sangma" and think of it as "no miscellaneous words when meeting each other" (Tao Yuanming's "Returning to the Garden and Living in the Fields"). But with the threshing floor and vegetable garden in front of the Xuan window, surrounded by green shade, it gives people a spacious and stretched feeling. The words Sangma make the readers feel more pastoral. As a result, readers can not only appreciate a stronger rural flavor and the atmosphere of labor production, but they can even smell the earthy smell on the fields, see the growth and harvest of crops, and even the characteristics of the region and season. With the combination of these two sentences and the first two sentences, green trees, green hills, cottages, fields, mulberry and hemp blend harmoniously together, forming a beautiful and tranquil pastoral landscape painting, and the laughter of the guest and host and the words about mulberry and hemp are all It seems to linger in the reader's ears. It is different from the pure fantasy of the Peach Blossom Land, but is more realistic in the society of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. It is in such a world that this poet who once lamented that "whoever is on the road is cheating, and good friends are rare in the world", not only forgets the setbacks encountered in political pursuits, the gains and losses of fame and fortune, but also the loneliness in seclusion. The depressed mood was also put away. It can be seen from his longing for the green mountains and green trees, and talking with his friends over wine that his thoughts have relaxed, and even his actions have become flexible and comfortable. The environment and atmosphere of the farm showed its conquering power here, making Meng Haoran somewhat converted.
"On the Double Ninth Festival, I will come back to see the chrysanthemums." Meng Haoran was deeply attracted by the farm life, so before leaving, he frankly expressed to the host that he would come back to see the chrysanthemums and drink chrysanthemum wine on the Double Ninth Festival in the clear autumn air. . In just two lines of poetry, the warmth of old friends treating each other, the joy of being a guest, and the cordiality and harmony between host and guest are all vividly reflected on the page. Du Fu's "Suffering Tian's Father to Drink Mud and Beautiful Yan Zhongcheng" said: "The moon rises and covers my stay, but I am still angry and asking about Sheng Dou." In Du Fu's poem, Tian's father left someone behind, his feelings were urgent and his words were urgent; in Meng Haoran's poem, he made an appointment with an old friend again, and felt comfortable. The words are slow. Readers can get a glimpse of the difference between Du Fu's depression and Meng Haoran's tranquility.
An ordinary farm and an ordinary treat of chicken and rice are presented in a poetic way. The description is of the immediate scene, using spoken language, and the level of description is completely natural. The writing seems very relaxed, and even the form of verse has become free and flexible. This light and approachable style is in harmony with the object of the author's description - the simple farmland. It shows that the form is highly adaptable to the content. It is tranquil and friendly but not boring. It contains profound sentiment in its plainness. On the one hand, every sentence shows almost no signs of effort, but on the other hand, every sentence never seems weak. For example, the first two sentences of the poem only contain invitations to friends, but they can show a simple farmhouse atmosphere; the third or fourth sentences only contain green trees and mountains, but they can reveal a whole world; the fifth or sixth sentences only contain gossip over wine, but they can express the mood and environment. A comfortable fit; the seven or eight sentences only talk about the return of the Double Ninth Festival, but they naturally reveal their attachment to this village and old friends. These sentences are balanced and even, and together form a complete artistic conception, integrating the quiet and beautiful rural scenery with the simple and sincere friendship. This is the so-called "wonderful composition, but no syntax" (Shen Deqian's "Tang Poems"), "no hooks and strange decisions... If Gongshu's family is clever but not clever" (Pi Rixiu's "Yingzhou Mengting Ji") . He integrated artistic beauty into the flesh and blood of the entire poem, making it appear natural. This kind of work is not ostentatious, does not show off skills, and does not rely solely on one or two carefully crafted sentences to support the appearance. It is a manifestation of high artistic level. It is precisely because of the true color internal reflection that the words are free and clear, so that the whole poem shows its charm from the "light touch" and no longer needs "heavy decoration".
Comments from famous experts
"Wang Meng's Poetry Commentary": Liu Yun: Anyone who uses freedom to be aggressive is extremely so.
"Yingkui Lvsui": This poem is natural and has no trace of inscription.
"Sheng'an Poetry Talk": Meng Ji has a sentence "On the Double Ninth Festival, I will come back to see the chrysanthemums." The engraving version removes the word "jiu", and some people make up for it, either as "zui" or "zui". The word "reward", "fan", or "dui" are all different. Later, I found out that the word "jiu" is the word for the rare book, so I know its beauty.
"Excerpts from Tang Poems": The entire poem is spoken in a casual manner, with almost no ink on the tip of the pen. When it is shallow, it becomes deep; when it is light, it becomes dense; when it is old, it becomes charming. When the heat reaches this point, all traces of cooking are gone. Wang and Meng were called both, but they were dissatisfied with Meng. If this is done, why should I do it? The concluding sentence is Meng's words to his old friend, and he feels that his sincerity and sincerity are beyond words.
"Additional Excerpts from Tang Poems": The word "Jiu" cannot be thought of, and if the word "Kan" is used, it will be tasteless.
"The Formation of Tang Poems": Taking the ancient as the rhythm, we get the meaning of leisure and leisure, and make Jingjie into the modern style. It is nothing more than that.
"Tang Poems": The whole body is clear and wonderful. The word "Jiu" in the last sentence means to return to nature.
"Net Master's Garden Tang Poetry Notes": Wild scenery and tranquility (bottom of the sentence "Give the wine").
"Wen Hexuan's Modern Chinese Textbook of the Early and Prosperous Tang Dynasty": The meaning is light and the conclusion is small. Although ancient and modern are different, they still have the same character. Fifth, if you want to be a foreign messenger, the couplets are also loose, and the word "Jiu" is new.
"Ying Kui Lv Sui Review": Feng Shu: Every word is precious, and the word "Jiu" is really good. Ji Yun: Wang's and Meng's poems are similar in large parts, but their physiques are slightly different. Wang Qing is far away, Meng Qing is cutting. If you fail to learn from Wang, the flow will be empty words; if you fail to learn from Mencius, the flow will be shallow talk. Such a poem is naturally diluted, and the beginner's flute will be effective, and it will not be a slippery tune.
"Modern Style of Tang Poems": The whole style is simple, but the meaning is clear and wonderful.
About the author
Meng Haoran (AD 689~740), a poet of the Tang Dynasty, whose real name was Hao and whose courtesy name was Haoran. A native of Xiangyang, Xiangzhou (now Xiangfan, Hubei), he was known as Meng Xiangyang in the world. Because he had never been an official, he was also called a Mengshan native. He was born in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. In his early years, he had ambitions to serve the world. After his official career was difficult and painful and disappointing, he was still able to respect himself and did not flatter the world, so he lived his whole life as a hermit. He once lived in seclusion in Lumen Mountain. When he was 40 years old, he traveled to Chang'an and failed to win the imperial examination. He once wrote poems in Taixue, and became famous among the officials. He was so impressed that he wrote for him. His life experience was relatively simple, and the themes of his poetry creation were not broad. Most of Meng's poems are five-character short stories, mostly about landscapes, countryside, the joy of living in seclusion, and the mood of travel. Although there are some cynical words in it, it is more of the poet's self-expression. He and Wang Wei are both called "Wang Meng". Although their realm of poetry is far less broad than that of Wang Wei, they have unique attainments in art. They are representatives of the landscape pastoral poetry school. There are three volumes of "Collected Works of Meng Haoran" and two volumes of compiled poems [7].
Meng Haoran was the first poet in the Tang Dynasty who devoted himself to writing landscape poems. He mainly writes landscape poems and is one of the representatives of the landscape pastoral poetry school. In his early period, he mainly wrote political poems and frontier knight poems, and in his later period, he mainly wrote landscape poems. There are more than 200 of his poems in existence today, most of which are landscape travel poems he wrote during his wanderings. There are also some exhilarating poems he wrote when he visited Wanshan, Xianshan and Lumen Mountains in his hometown. There are also a few poems about pastoral and rural life. The geographical scope of the poem's material is quite broad.