"Early Plum Blossoms"
Tang Dynasty: Liu Zongyuan
Early plum blossoms grow on tall trees, reflecting the blue sky of Chu.
The night fragrance blows in the early morning, and the frost nourishes the dawn.
If you want to give me a gift from thousands of miles away, you are separated by mountains and rivers.
What use is there to comfort distant guests when Han Ying is in ruins?
Translation
Early plum blossoms bloom on the high branches, reflecting the vast blue sky from a distance.
At night, the north wind blows the fragrance of flowers, adding a white sheen to the thick frost.
I want to break a branch and send it as a gift thousands of miles away, but I have no choice but to be thousands of miles away and blocked by mountains and rivers.
Seeing that the winter plum blossoms are about to fall and wither, what will I use to express condolences to my friends far away?
Appreciation
In the poetry of the past dynasties, there are many works that praise plum blossoms. The first half praises the plum blossoms that stand proud of the frost and snow, blooming alone in the cold weather, and are overflowing with fragrance, which is a metaphor for the poet's unyielding and noble character of not colluding with the popular customs; the second half describes the poet's sadness when he missed his distant friends and wanted to break the plum blossoms but could not give them to him. Affection. The whole poem is simple, sparse, and contains soothing rhyme, expressing the poet's pursuit of his ideal.
"Early plum blossoms grow into tall trees", the sentence begins with a direct description of plum blossoms, and the writing style is flying and eye-catching. The word "Fa" is full of charm. It not only writes the image of plum blossoms blooming, but also gives people a feeling of vitality that "can bloom the spring of heaven and earth" (a poem about plum blossoms by Shen Qinqi of the Qing Dynasty), which makes the early plum blossoms bloom with high heads and vitality. The vivid image is vividly displayed in front of the readers' eyes. The high and vast blue sky in the background not only reflects the color of the plum blossoms, but also highlights its elegance and unusualness. The tall tree is not only a realistic description, but also a representation of the poet's inner image. It means that he is higher than the people of his time, and is closely connected with the "blue sky reflecting the Chu sky" in the later period, forming a harmonious artistic conception. Looking away from the Chutian, the vastness and clear blue sky reflect the luster of the early plum blossoms, making people feel that the plum blossoms are exceptionally quiet and noble. These two lines of poems are concise and full of emotions, which deeply express the poet's admiration for the early plum blossoms. As Wang Guowei said, "When I look at things, all the old things have my color."
The first and second sentences describe the external shape of plum blossoms, "The night fragrance blows in the new moon, The two sentences further describe the inner temperament of early plum blossoms. Although the north wind is blowing and the frost is approaching, the plum blossoms are still exuding wisps of fragrance in the cold wind, adding a white luster in the thick frost. These two lines of poems, one writing "fragrance" and the other writing "color", focus on the style of early plum blossoms defying the wind and frost and trying their best to bring back spring. The word "piao" means to scatter in all directions. Wang Mian's poem "Mo Mei" has the same meaning as "only the pure air is left to fill the universe". The purpose of poets praising plum blossoms is to express their feelings and express their ambitions. The character of plum blossoms in the poem is also a materialization of the poet's soul.
The next four sentences of the poem shift from chanting things to expressing feelings, and then introduce new ideas. When the poet saw the early plum blossoms blooming, he couldn't help but miss his distant friends, so he borrowed things to express his feelings: "I want to give gifts thousands of miles away, but they are separated by mountains and rivers. What is the use of comforting distant guests when the cold and lonely people are lying there?" The past is like a tide, flowing in. Come to mind. He desperately wanted to break off a cold plum and give it to his friends to express his condolences. But then I thought about it, it was thousands of miles away and blocked by mountains and rivers, so it was impossible to achieve what I wanted. After Liu Zongyuan was demoted to Yongzhou, "crimes and slanders were intertwined and suspicions prevailed", and the "old ministers" no longer dared to communicate with him. Liu Zongyuan, who was struggling to live in loneliness and loneliness, missed his relatives and friends so much! So I thought of folding plum blossoms as gifts, but my relatives and friends were thousands of miles away, so it was impossible to deliver them. In addition to geographical reasons, there are also political reasons. As a "prisoner", he cannot harm his relatives and friends. Through reading between the lines, it is not difficult for people to understand the poet's feeling of confusion and injustice. These two lines of poems originally adapted the poetic meaning of "Giving Fan Ye" by Lu Kai of the Northern Dynasty, "When I meet the messenger, I send it to the people in Longtou; if I have nothing in the south of the Yangtze River, I just want to give a spring branch." Both describe longing for old friends, but the taste of the two poems is completely different. Lu's poem is free and easy, while Liu's poem is melancholy. It is precisely because they were in different situations and moods when they wrote poems that they had different tastes.
"What is the use of comforting the distant guests when the cold heroes are in ruins?" The two lines of the poem are developed closely from the previous two lines and contain a deeper meaning. The poet realized that due to the barrier of Guanshan, the plum blossoms would wither and wither over time, so he sighed, "What will I use to comfort my friends far away?" Liu Zongyuan thought of his own life experience and situation from the early blooming and early falling of plum blossoms, and he couldn't help but worry about it. Precisely because he was worried about its early growth and early fall, Liu Zongyuan also encouraged and pushed himself.
The language of this poem "Early Plum" is plain and straightforward, without any decoration, the meaning is vague, the artistic beauty and the personal beauty are integrated, the form is simple, the emotion is pure, and the poet's nobility is revealed. , aloof emotion. The poet euphemistically expresses his integrity and selfless mind with the heroic posture of early plum blossoms fighting against the cold wind and openness, showing his will to persevere in the pursuit of ideals, his arrogant and noble character and his indomitable fighting spirit. This poem uses simple and sparse words to depict the image of early plum blossoms standing proudly in the wind and frost, with their heads held high and open, and to express the poet's emotions. The indescribable things seem to be in front of his eyes, and there are endless opinions behind the words. The character of the plum blossoms is closely related to the author's. His personality is integrated into one, implicit and subtle, his emotions are deep and tolerant, giving people a strong appeal.
Extended reading: Liu Zongyuan’s philosophical thoughts
Liu Zongyuan was a politically innovative person who admired the "ancient prose" movement.
In Liu Zongyuan's philosophical treatises, he takes a negative attitude towards the theory of fortune-telling advocated by Dong Zhongshu, a great scholar of the Han Dynasty, as "the fortune-telling talisman of the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties". He opposed the theory of heaven, criticized theology, emphasized human affairs, and replaced "god" with "human". Liu Zongyuan turned his criticism of theology into a criticism of politics, used a materialist point of view to explain "the relationship between heaven and man", that is, the relationship between heaven and man, and criticized the idealist theory of destiny. His philosophical thoughts were in line with the development of social productive forces and the level reached by natural science at that time. He developed the ancient simple materialist atheism thought to a new height and was an outstanding thinker in the mid-Tang Dynasty. [Liu Zongyuan's philosophical works include "Fei Guoyu", "Zhenfu", "On Seasons", "On Punishment", "Tian Shuo", "Tian Dui", etc. In these treatises, Liu Zongyuan held a negative attitude towards the theory of fortune-telling advocated by Dong Zhongshu, a great scholar of the Han Dynasty, who advocated "the talisman of destiny in the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties". He also opposed the theories of talisman, destiny and heaven's way, criticized theology, emphasized human affairs, and used "people" to replace "arsenic". Liu Zongyuan also turned his criticism of theology into a criticism of politics, using a simple materialist perspective to explain the "between heaven and man", that is, the relationship between heaven and man.
Some of Liu Zongyuan’s works on social politics are a concrete reflection of his political thoughts and a means for him to participate in political struggles. Liu Zongyuan believes that the entire social history is a natural development process, with an inevitable trend of objective development that does not depend on people's will. His remarks gave a harmonious explanation of Confucianism, Legalism, Buddhism, Taoism and other schools of thought from an eclectic and harmonious standpoint.