Huanxisha·Jujube flowers are falling on the clothes and towels
Author: Su Shi
Jujube flowers are falling on the clothes and towels, and the milling wheel is ringing in the south of the village and in the north of the village. Niu Yigu Liu sells cucumbers.
I feel sleepy when I'm tired after drinking for a long time. When I'm high in the sun, I'm thirsty and think about tea. Knock on the door and ask the savages.
Translation
Jujube flowers fall on the skirts of clothes one after another. The sound of silk reeling could be heard from the south of the village to the north of the village, and a farmer in cow clothes was selling cucumbers under the old willow tree.
The journey is far away, the drunkenness is on my mind, and I feel dizzy and just want to take a nap. The sun was shining brightly, but I was so thirsty that I wanted to find some water anywhere. So he knocked on the door of a villager's house and asked, "Can I give you a bowl of tea?"
Appreciation
The poem "Huanxisha" was written by Su Shi when he was the prefect of Xuzhou at the age of 43. In the spring of 1078 AD (the first year of Yuanfeng), a severe drought occurred in Xuzhou. As a local official, Su Shi once led his people to a stone pond twenty miles east of the city to pray for rain. After it rained, he went to Shitan with the people to thank him for the rain. Su Shi wrote the composition "Huanxi Sand" on his way to Xie Yu in Shitan, Xumen. This is the fourth of five poems. The work describes his experiences and feelings in the countryside. It is artistically ingenious. The words start from typical things commonly seen in rural areas, and express the honest rural flavor in an interesting way. Fresh and simple, clear as words, vivid and lifelike, are the distinctive features of this word. The first part of this poem describes the scenery, and the second part is lyrical. It should be pointed out that the scene described in this poem is not a unified picture formed through visual images under normal circumstances, but a scene reflected on the screen of human consciousness through various different sounds transmitted to the ear drum. A series of continuous memories.
"The sound of jujube flowers falling on clothes and towels" begins with the sound of date flowers falling on clothes and towels, reflecting the joy of a prefect who cares about people's lives for the new scene in the countryside after the rain. The author was on the "Xie Yu Road". After a long journey, he was still drunk and sleepy, so he couldn't help but feel a little tired. Suddenly, a "swishing" sound came to my ears, and it seemed like something was hitting my body and headscarf. Only then did he realize: it was a jujube flower falling on him. The sound of jujube flowers falling on the clothes and scarf is slight, but it is so real to the author's ears. Then, there was another squeaking sound in my ears. The further we walked, the stronger the sound became. It came from the south, from the north, and from all directions. There was no need to look or ask. This was the sound of the reeling car that the author was familiar with. sound. "South of the village and north of the village" summarizes the sound of "reeling", which shows how seriously, how carefully and how excited the author listened. From the sound, the author realized that he had entered the village. At this time, a sudden burst of shouting came into my ears. I looked closely and saw that it was a farmer wearing a "cow jacket" sitting in the shade of an ancient willow tree with a pile of cucumbers in front of him. "The Cow Clothes the Ancient Willow", the author changes his perspective to write about his joy over the harvest of vegetables. Three sentences, three images, seemingly scattered and completely unrelated. But when strung together with the line "Xie Yu's Road", people feel that this comic strip has a strong three-dimensional sense. This group of pictures is not only beautiful in color, but also beautiful in music. Whether it is the sound of falling flowers, the buzzing sound of cars, or the cries of melon farmers, they are all full of rich flavor of life, vividly showing the prosperous scene of the countryside.
The first part describes the busy scene of rural production and labor, and the second part turns to the hardships of traveling on the way to pray for rain, highlighting the author's feelings and conscious activities. "Drunk and sleepy after a long journey" is a supplement to the previous film. Structurally, this sentence is a flashback. It shows that the reason why the first three sentences were written from the auditory perspective is mainly because the drunkenness has not passed, the journey is long, and the body is tired, so what is written down is just a snippet that was heard in a sleepy state. , is not a complete and unified picture of visual composition. The two sentences "The sun rises and people are thirsty", although they describe the conscious activities of eager to find water at farmers' homes due to thirst, they also reflect the author's informal and happy-go-lucky character. Walking from village to village, it was already hot and sunny, and people were thirsty and sleepy. They couldn't help but think of tea to quench their thirst and refresh themselves. The word "question" is used very carefully. It not only expresses the author's full hope of asking for a cup of tea to quench his thirst, but also worries that during the busy farming season, there will be no one at the farm and it will be inconvenient for him to rush in.
The letter is written without polish, but it is lifelike, portraying the image of a humble and approachable magistrate, and describing the relationship between a prefect and ordinary farmers in a cordial and natural way. "Knock on the door and ask the savages", the words stopped abruptly here. What is the result of the poet knocking on the door? Did you get some tea? How did the farmers entertain him? There is not a word of explanation in the poem, leaving it to the reader's imagination, which leaves an endless aftertaste. This is the "inexhaustible meaning, seen beyond the words" that is emphasized in classical poetry. Why does the author want to "knock on the door and ask questions"? 1. He is a good parent official who is considerate of the people and loves them as his own son. He is modest and polite and will not rush into the farmhouse; 2. He just asked for rain after the drought. The owner may be out farming in the fields and not at home, so he wants to test the home. Is anyone there?
The sentence "Jujube flowers rustling on clothes and towels" in the poem "Huanxisha" is actually the reverse text of "Jujube flowers rustling on clothes and towels"; Du Fu's poem "Autumn Xing" has "Fragrant rice" The original meaning is: Parrots peck at the remaining fragrant rice grains, and the phoenix perches on the old phoenix branches. While the subject and object are inverted, the objects "fragrant rice grains" and "biwu branches" are also split into the positions of the subject and the guest. Regarding the inversion of verses in classical poetry, Hong Liangji from the Qing Dynasty said: "Poets often use inversion to find it strange and vivid."
The whole poem of "Huanxisha" contains scenery and people, tangible and colorful, and has a strong local flavor. The sun is high, the road is long, the person is drunk, and the person is thirsty. It literally represents the fatigue of the journey, but it still conveys joy and joy, and conveys the spirit of the protagonist, the county magistrate, who is considerate of the people. This poem not only paints a realistic picture of rural life in early summer, but also records the author's experiences and feelings on the road, opening up a new world for the social content of Northern Song Dynasty poems.
About the author
Su Shi (1037-1101) was a writer, calligrapher, painter and gourmet in the Northern Song Dynasty. His courtesy name is Zizhan and his nickname is Dongpo Jushi. Han nationality, Sichuan native, buried in Yingchang (now Jiaxian County, Pingdingshan City, Henan Province). He had a bumpy official career throughout his life, but he was knowledgeable and talented. He was excellent in poetry, calligraphy and painting. His writing is unbridled, clear and fluent. Together with Ouyang Xiu, he is called Ou Su, and he is one of the "Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties". His poetry is fresh and vigorous, good at using exaggeration and metaphor, and his artistic expression is unique. He is also called Su Huang together with Huang Tingjian. He started a bold and unrestrained school and had a huge influence on later generations. Together with Xin Qiji, he was called Su Xin. He was good at calligraphy in running script and regular script. He was able to create his own ideas. His pen was rich and ups and downs, and he had an innocent taste. He was called Song Dynasty together with Huang Tingjian, Mi Fu and Cai Xiang. The four schools have the same painting studies and literature, advocate spiritual similarity in painting, and advocate "scholar painting". He is the author of "The Complete Works of Su Dongpo" and "Su Dongpo Yuefu".