"The fish in the pond miss their old deep pool" means - the fish in the pond miss the deep pool where they used to play.
Source of the work
"The Fish in the Pond Thinks of the Old Yuan" comes from Tao Yuanming's "Returning to the Garden and Living in the Fields Part 1".
Original text of the work
Returning to the Garden and Living in the Field·Part 1
[Wei and Jin Dynasties] Tao Yuanming
There is no vulgar charm, but the nature of love Hills.
I accidentally fell into the dust net and passed away for thirty years.
The tame birds miss the old forest, and the fish in the pond miss their old abyss.
Open up the wilderness in the south, stay humble and return to the garden.
The square house covers more than ten acres and has eight or nine thatched houses.
The elms and willows shade the back eaves, and the peach and plum trees in front of the hall.
The distant village is warm and the smoke is lingering in the ruins.
Dogs bark in the deep alleys, and roosters crow at the top of the mulberry trees.
The courtyard is clean of dust and clutter, and the empty room has plenty of leisure.
After being in a cage for a long time, you can return to nature.
Translation of the work
When he was young, he did not have the character to adapt to the world, and he was born to love the scenery of nature.
I mistakenly fell into the trap of official career, and in the blink of an eye I had been away from my hometown for more than ten years.
The birds in the cage miss the forest where they used to live, and the fish in the pond miss the deep pool where they used to play.
I would like to go to the southern wilderness to open up wasteland, and return home to cultivate the fields according to my foolish mind.
There are more than ten acres of land around the house, and there are eight or nine thatched huts.
Elms and willows shade the back eaves, and peach and plum trees are planted neatly in front of the house.
The houses of neighboring villages can be vaguely seen in the distance, and smoke from cooking is floating above the village.
A few dogs barked from the deep streets, and a rooster crowed on the top of the mulberry tree.
There are no worldly distractions in the courtyard, and there is plenty of comfort and leisure in the quiet room.
After being trapped in a cage for a long time without any freedom, I finally returned to Linshan today.
Notes on the work
1. Shao: refers to the boyhood.
2. Adapt to the secular world.
3. Rhyme: temperament, emotion. Make a "wishes".
4. Qiushan: refers to mountains and forests.
5. Dust net: refers to the earthly world, where official life is dirty and restrictive, like a snare. This refers to official career.
6. Thirty years: Some people think it is a mistake of "thirteen years" (Tao Yuanming was an official for thirteen years). One theory is that the meaning here is three and ten years (the customary saying is ten and three years). The poet felt that the tone of "thirteen years in one go" was too flat, so he changed "thirteen years" to the inverted version.
7. Ji (ji) bird: a bird in a cage.
8. Love: One is "juan".
9. Pond fish: pond fish. The bird misses the old forest and the fish misses the old abyss, which is a metaphor for being nostalgic for the old home.
10. Nanye: the fields in the south. The first word is "nanmu", which refers to farmland.
11. Wild: one is "acre". Ji: between.
12. Shouzhuo (zhuō): It means not to follow the crowd and stick to one's integrity.
13. Fangzhai: The house is round. In other words, "side" means "side".
14. Yin (yìn): shade.
15. Luo: List.
16. Ai (ài): misty and vague.
17. Yiyi: rising gently and slowly.
18. Xuli: village.
19. Dian: Tong "top", the top.
20. Huting: entrance courtyard.
21. Chenza: worldly chores.
22. Empty room: empty room.
23. Leisure: leisure time.
23. Fan (fán) cage: a bird storage tool, here is a metaphor for official life. Fan, fence, fence.
24. Return to nature: refers to returning to farming.
Creative background
This set of poems was probably written in the second year after Tao Yuanming abandoned his official position and retired to seclusion after being appointed by Peng Zeling, that is, in the second year of Emperor Yixi of Jin'an (406), the poet was forty at that time. Two years old. ?
Tao Yuanming, who had only served as the magistrate of Pengze County for more than eighty days, could no longer stand the filth of officialdom and the constraints of the world. He resolutely resigned and went into seclusion to cultivate his fields, and never gave up again for the rest of his life. Become an official.
The sense of relaxation after leaving the official career, the joy of returning to nature, as well as the quiet countryside, simple interactions, and hard work experience make the poem "Returning to the Garden and Living in the Fields" an outstanding pastoral poem, which also embodies it in a concentrated way Tao Yuanming's simple, quiet and broad-minded style.
Appreciation of Works
This series of poems "Returning to the Garden and Living in the Fields" vividly describes the poet's life and feelings after returning to seclusion, and expresses the author's happy mood and joy of living in the countryside after resigning and returning to seclusion. It thus expresses his love for pastoral life and the joy of workers; at the same time, it also implies his disgust for the dark and corrupt life of officialdom, showing that the author is unwilling to join in the same trend and fights to maintain his integrity and noble sentiments. Accept the hardships of field life. This group of poems embodies Tao Yuanming's beautiful sentiments of pursuing freedom, being content with poverty, seclusion in the mountains, staying clean, staying away from officialdom, and transcending the world. Tao Yuanming's "returning to the garden and living in the fields" is actually the author's ideal former residence. ?
"Returning to the Garden and Living in the Fields" is an indivisible organic whole. The reason for this is not only that each poem depicts the poet's rich and fulfilling secluded life from several aspects: resigning from officialdom, gathering with relatives and friends, enjoying farm work, visiting old friends, and drinking at night. More importantly, in terms of the emotions it expresses, Generally speaking, this set of poems runs through this group of poems with a natural quality and a joyful taste. Although there are emotional turmoil and turning points in the poem, the joyful and optimistic bright color shines through the whole poem. ?
"Returning to the Garden and Living in the Garden·Part 1" mainly starts with regret and ends with rejoicing. It regrets the depression and pain of "falling into the dust net by mistake" and "living in a cage for a long time", and is glad that it has finally "returned to the garden and the field". ", the comfort and joy of "returning to nature" truly express the poet's disgust for the dirty officialdom, and his infinite yearning and intoxication for the secluded life in the mountains and forests. ?
“There are few people who have no vulgar rhyme, and their nature loves mountains and hills.” The so-called “vulgar rhyme” is nothing more than the mood and ability to cater to the world, socialize, and take advantage of others. This is what poets have always said. Something that has never been learned. As a sincere and straightforward person, there seems to be an inherent connection between his nature and the simple countryside and tranquil nature, so he "loves Qiu Mountain". The first two sentences reveal the author's aloof and unconventional character. After seeing through the officialdom, he insisted on leaving, expressing his dissatisfaction and despair at the darkness of the officialdom. It sets a tone for the whole poem and is also a foreshadowing. It is the fundamental reason why the poet entered officialdom but finally resigned and returned home. ?
“If you accidentally fall into the dust net, you will be gone for thirty years.” Life is often a last resort. As a child of an official family, entering an official career is a common choice; as an intellectual who is familiar with Confucian classics and wants to seek success in society, he must also enter the power organization of society; in order to support his family and maintain a relatively stable life, A comfortable daily life also requires being an official. Therefore, one has to go against one's own "rhyme" and "nature" and run around in the officialdom. Looking back, I realized that I had gone astray and fallen into the dirty and boring worldly web that bound human nature. "Thirty years in one go" should be mistaken for "thirteen years". It was exactly thirteen years from the time Tao Yuanming started serving as an official until he finally retired. This sentence seems to be just a plain description, but if you understand it carefully, it has profound meaning. The poet sighed to the countryside like an old friend with a deep friendship: "Oh, it's been thirteen years since we parted!" He felt infinite emotion and attachment in his heart, but he still concealed it in writing. ?
“A bird in a cage misses the old forest, and a fish in a pond misses its old abyss.” Although he “stumbled into the dust net”, his sentiments have not changed. These two sentences focus on describing the mood of being an official. From the above to the next, the tone is smooth and without any obstruction. Because the use of two similar metaphors and contrasting sentence patterns strengthens the mood of being tired of the old life and yearning for a new life. ??
"Opening up the wilderness in the south, returning to the garden with a humble attitude", "Shou Zhuo" responds to "little and no suitable vulgar charm" - because you don't know how to make tricks, it's better to stick to your own stupidity and don't have to forcefully blend in. In the secular world, "returning to the garden" responds to "nature loves hills and mountains" - since we have this nature, we should follow this nature to make this life naturally stretch and get what we want. The conflict I wrote about at the beginning is resolved here. ?
"A square house of more than ten acres and eight or nine thatched houses" is a simple outline to show the simplicity of the owner's life. But although there are no carved beams and painted buildings, there are green shades of elms and willows behind the house, and peach and plum blossoms in front of the hall, creating a mixture of plainness and splendor. ?
"The distant village is warm, and the smoke in the ruins is still there." Warm is blurry. The villages are far apart, so they appear blurry, just like when Chinese painters paint distant views, they often look blurry. Just like a few strokes of ink. Yiyi, describes the smoke rising gently and slowly upward.
The scenery described in these two sentences gives people a sense of calm and tranquility, as if the world is not disturbed by any force. ?
“Dogs bark in the deep alleys, cocks crow on top of the mulberry trees”, which suddenly brings this beautiful pastoral painting to life. These two sentences are adapted from the Han Dynasty Yuefu's "Crow of the Rooster" "The rooster crows high on the treetops, and the dog barks deep in the palace" with slight changes. But the poet has no intention of showing off his knowledge with allusions, he just picks them up at his fingertips. He did not write about the singing of insects and birds, but the extremely common crowing of cocks and barking of dogs. Because the sounds of cocks and dogs are heard together, they are the most characteristic of the rural environment and the most harmonious and unified with the whole picture. It is hard to say whether the ideal social concept of "a small country with few people" as mentioned in "Laozi" and "the sound of chickens and dogs can be heard, and the people cannot interact with each other until old age and death" has also penetrated into it. From the perspective of the poetic realm itself, these two strokes are indispensable. It appropriately expresses the atmosphere of rural life without destroying the peaceful artistic conception at all, without any noise or irritability. Comparing this with Wang Ji's famous line "The noisy cicadas in the forest are more quiet, and the birds singing in the mountains are more secluded", the so-called "using movement to write stillness" that has been passed down by others is too emphatic and laborious. ?
“The house is free of dust and clutter, and the empty room has plenty of leisure.” The dust refers to mundane things, while the empty room is a quiet room. Since you are an official, you will inevitably have to do a lot of stupid things that you don't want to do, as well as a lot of boring entertainment. Now they are all free from it, and they live a leisurely life in a quiet residence. However, what makes the author most happy is not this leisure, but that he can live according to his own wishes from now on. ? "After being in a cage for a long time, you can return to nature." Nature refers to both the natural environment and a life that is in harmony with nature and without distortion. These two sentences once again echo the beginning of "There is no vulgar rhyme, and nature loves hills and mountains". At the same time, they are also a highlight, revealing the main theme of "Returning to the Garden and Living in the Fields". But this response and point of view are not forced at all. The whole poem goes from the strong boredom of official life to the beautiful and moving pastoral scenery and the joy of new life. A feeling of relief is naturally revealed. Such an ending is both delicate and logical. ?
The most outstanding thing about this poem is the description of the scenery - the description of the garden scenery uses the line drawing technique to intersect the distant and near scenes, which is vivid and vivid; secondly, the poem uses dual sentences in many places, such as: "The elms and willows shade the back eaves, "In front of Taoliu Luotang." There is also the use of contrasting techniques, comparing "Dust Net" and "Fan Cage" with "Garden and Field Residence" to highlight the poet's dislike of officialdom and love for nature; and the language is clear and fresh, almost like vernacular. Unpretentious. This poem presents a complete artistic conception, and the language of the poem completely serves to present this artistic conception without seeking superficial beauty, so the poem appears natural. In short, this is the nature achieved through artistic pursuit and artistic efforts.
Introduction to the work
Tao Yuanming (352 or 365-427), named Yuanliang, also known as Qian, had a private nickname of "Jingjie" and was known as Mr. Jingjie in the world. A native of Chaisang, Xunyang. A great poet and poet from the late Eastern Jin Dynasty to the early Southern Song Dynasty. He once served as Jiangzhou Jijiu, Jianwei Army Joiner, Zhenjun Army Joiner, and Pengze County Magistrate. His last official career was as Pengze County Magistrate. He abandoned his post after more than eighty days and retired to his countryside. He is China's first pastoral poet and is known as "the sect of reclusive poets in ancient and modern times". He has "The Collection of Tao Yuanming".