Translation of "Spring Day" by Zhu Xi of the Song Dynasty:
When you visit the shores of Surabaya on a sunny day, the boundless scenery is refreshing.
Everyone can see the face of spring, it is a riot of colors and flowers are blooming everywhere.
The original text is as follows:
The beautiful scenery along the Surabaya coast is a new one.
Easy to recognize the east wind, colorful colors are always spring.
Appreciation of "Spring Day"
On the surface, this poem looks like a landscape poem, describing the beautiful scenery of spring; in fact, it is a philosophical poem, expressing the poet's feelings in troubled times. The good desire to pursue the way of a saint. The whole poem embodies theory and interest in the image, and the conception and writing are wonderful.
From a literal point of view, this poem seems to be about the impressions of spring outing, but upon closer inspection, the location of the search for fragrance is the shore of Surabaya, which had long been occupied by the Jin people when the Song Dynasty was crossing south. Zhu Xi had never gone north, so of course it was impossible for him to travel to the shores of Surabaya to sing and sing in spring. In fact, the word "Sishui" in the poem refers to Confucius, because in the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius once taught students by singing string songs between Zhu and Si.
So the so-called "seeking fragrance" refers to seeking the way of a saint. The space shown in "Boundless Scenery" is extremely vast, which reveals the poet's original intention of pursuing the holy way. "East wind" is a metaphor for enlightenment, and "a riot of purple and red" is a metaphor for the richness and variety of Confucianism. The poet compares the way of the saint to the spring breeze that stimulates vitality and ignites all things. This is actually a philosophical poem that embodies truth and interest in images. Philosophical poetry does not reveal traces of reasoning, which is Zhu Xi's brilliance.