Start chanting: Whoever speaks from the heart of an inch of grass will be rewarded with three rays of spring.
From: Meng Jiao [Tang Dynasty] "Wandering Son Yin".
Original text: The thread in the hands of a loving mother, the clothes on the wanderer's body. Before leaving, I was afraid of returning late. Whoever speaks of an inch of grass will be rewarded with three rays of spring light.
Interpretation: A loving mother uses the needle and thread in her hand to make clothes for her son who is traveling far away. Before leaving, I sewed it stitch by stitch, fearing that my son would come back late and the clothes would be damaged. Who dares to say that children with filial piety as weak as Xiaocao can repay the kindness of Chunhui Puze?
Extended information:
Creative background
"Wandering Zi Yin" was written in Liyang (now Jiangsu). Meng Jiao's own annotation under the title of this poem: "Composed to welcome his mother in Li." Meng Jiao was homeless in his early years and lived in poverty all his life. It was not until the age of fifty that he got the humble position of a Liyang County captain, ending his long-term career. Living a wandering life, he took his mother to live with him.
The poet was frustrated in his official career and experienced the harshness of the world. At this time, he became more and more aware of the value of family love, so he wrote this heartfelt and deeply touching poem in praise of his mother.
The first two sentences, "The thread in the hands of a loving mother, the clothes on the wanderer's body" are actually two phrases, not two sentences. In this way, the writing goes from people to things, using the two words "thread" and "clothing". This very common and ordinary thing closely connects "loving mother" and "wandering son", describing the flesh-and-blood love between mother and son who depend on each other for life.
The following two sentences, "There is a tight gap before leaving, and I am afraid that I will return later." They write the human movements and moods, focusing the pen and ink on the loving mother. Here, through the actions and psychological portrayal of the loving mother rushing to make clothes for the wanderer to go out, the flesh-and-blood relationship between mother and child is deepened. At this moment before departure, the mother was sewing thousands of needles and threads "closely" because she was afraid that her son would not return home "with a delay".
The deep affection of a loving mother is naturally revealed through the details in daily life. Simple, natural, friendly and touching. There are neither words nor tears here, but pure love overflows from this ordinary scene.
The first four sentences are drawn in line without any modification, but the image of the loving mother is truly touching. The last two sentences are the sublimation of the first four sentences, using the intuition of the person involved to reveal a deeper meaning: "Whoever speaks from the heart of an inch of grass will be rewarded with three rays of spring." The author expresses his heart directly and sings heartily about maternal love. These two sentences use traditional metaphors: children are like grass, and maternal love is like spring sunshine.
Children cannot repay their mother's love in case of any eventuality. The suspenseful contrasts and vivid metaphors express the child's heartfelt passionate feelings for his loving mother.
This is an ode to maternal love. When the poet was frustrated in his official career, he experienced the harshness of the world and suffered from poverty and sorrow all his life, so he became more and more aware of the value of family affection. "Poetry comes from the heart, and the heart often feels sad" (Su Shi's "Reading Meng Jiao's Poems"). Although this poem has no paintings or carvings, it is fresh and smooth, simple and bland, which shows the rich and mellow poetic flavor.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Wandering Ziyin