Original text:

south of the Yangtze River

Lotus can be picked in Jiangnan, so there is no lotus leaf.

Fish are frolicking among the lotus leaves.

Fish hits the lotus leaf east, fish hits the lotus leaf west, fish hits the lotus leaf south, and fish hits the lotus leaf north.

To annotate ...

Han Yuefu: It was originally the official music department in the early Han Dynasty, and later it specifically refers to Yuefu poems in the Han Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Hui of Han Dynasty, there was an official of Yuefu, and there was probably Yuefu at that time. During Liang Wudi's period, Yuefu was expanded to become a special official position, in charge of music during suburban sacrifices, itineraries, court meetings and banquets, and was also responsible for collecting folk songs for rulers to observe customs and habits and understand the thickness of people's feelings. These ballads and other poems written by Yuefu are called Yuefu poems by later generations.

Tian Tian: Lotus leaves are very lush.

Ke: It means "appropriate" and "just right" here.

translate

It's the season suitable for picking lotus in the south of the Yangtze River. Lotus leaves surfaced, squeezed, overlapped and fluttered with the wind. Beneath the thick lotus leaves, cheerful fish are constantly playing.

I stayed here for a while, and then I suddenly swam there. I don't know whether it is in the east, west, south or north.

Appreciate:

This is a lotus-picking song in Yuefu folk songs of Han Dynasty. The whole poem does not directly describe the happy mood of lotus pickers, but fully reveals their joy through the description of lotus leaves and fish, as if hearing and seeing many lotus pickers singing and laughing with their own eyes, and many young men and lotus pickers are still flirting and courting.

First of all, the song begins with the sentence "Lotus can be picked in the south of the Yangtze River", and the word "Ke" has revealed the news. Lotus was originally a common cultivated plant in Zegoutang, a lake in the south of the Yangtze River, but the singer (that is, the protagonist in the poem) insisted that "lotus can be picked in the south of the Yangtze River", because although the lotus cultivation area is very wide, it is the most prosperous in the south of the Yangtze River; Most lotus pickers in Jiangnan are young men and women, especially young women; At the same time, the folk customs in the south of the Yangtze River are soft, and it is very common for young men and women to flirt for love when picking lotus, so the folk love songs prevailing in the Southern Dynasties are actually very popular in the south of the Yangtze River in the Han Dynasty. In this kind of folk love songs, metaphors and puns are often used. "Lotus" and "pity" are homophonic, symbolizing love. Obviously, this song is also a metaphor and pun. The word "picking lotus" in the first sentence also means having fun and courtship. It can be inferred that this singer is a romantic minority. He may not be from Jiangnan, but from other places. He came to Jiangnan to pick lotus seeds, but it was actually "the meaning of drunkenness is not wine." Otherwise, he can't pick lotus flowers and stay in Jiangnan alone, which shows the meaning of the word "guest".

Secondly, the second sentence, "Lotus Leaf Tian Tian", from the previous sentence, is obviously a beautiful lotus leaf, which is a metaphor for a large number of girls picking lotus leaves with beautiful posture. The third sentence "Fish playing between lotus leaves" and the last four sentences "Fish playing with lotus leaves in the east, fish playing with lotus leaves in the west, fish playing with lotus leaves in the south and fish playing with lotus leaves in the north" are metaphors of happy scenes in which men and women flirt for love. This is also a common expression in folk love songs. It can be seen that this lotus picking song is actually a love song that combines labor.

This song has only seven sentences, which are as clear as words. The last four sentences are basically the repetition of the third sentence. Its beauty lies mainly in the use of comparison and pun, which are common in folk songs, and the joy of flirting between men and women is extremely euphemistic, implicit and intriguing, without the disadvantages of frivolous and vulgar. The whole poem is completed in one go, but it can be divided into two parts in structure: the first three sentences reveal the theme; The last four sentences further show the joyful scene and broad scene when picking lotus. The third sentence in the poem plays a connecting role in the whole poem, connecting the upper and lower without trace. The artistic conception of the poem is fresh and cheerful, the mood is in the scene, and people are in the scene, such as hearing their voices and seeing their people, picturesque and relaxed, showing a scene full of business.

In the classification of Yuefu, this poem belongs to the "harmony song", which was originally a song sung by two people or by everyone, so the four sentences of "fish beating lotus leaves" may be the harmony song. Therefore, the first two sentences of the poem may be sung by male singers; The third sentence is male and female chorus; The last four sentences should be sung by men and women in groups. In this way, the scene of picking lotus is more vivid and interesting, and the mystery of this song can be better understood.

The juxtaposition of "East", "West", "South" and "North" in the poem is easy to become dull, but this song is so laid out that it is unrestrained and extremely vivid, which fully reflects the endless aftertaste of the song.