Song Dynasty Fan Chengda's "Heavy Snow Sends Charcoal and Mustard Hidden"

For no reason, we both plowed the ashes from the stove, expecting that the firewood and thorn bushes had not bloomed at night.

It is not necessary to provide charcoal in times of need, but to talk about the scenery and ask for poems.

The meaning is that if the charcoal is not sent in difficult moments, the artistic conception and poetry created will be forced and artificial.

Allusions

Fan Chengda was a famous poet in the Southern Song Dynasty. He wrote many poems in his life. In his later years, he retired to his hometown of Shihu and called himself a Shihu layman. He left behind a "Collection of Poems by Shihu laymen", in which there is a poem titled "Send charcoal and hide in mustard under heavy snow". There are two sentences in this poem: It is not necessary to send charcoal when the snow is in need, but to talk about the scenery and ask for poetry.

According to the "History of Song Dynasty·Taizong Ji", it snowed heavily one year and the weather was very cold. Song Taizong suddenly remembered the pity of the poor in the palace, so he sent officials to bring grain and charcoal to the poor and lonely old people, so that they could have rice to cook and charcoal to light a fire to keep warm.

Sending charcoal in the snow

Source: Song Dynasty Fan Chengda's poem "Sending charcoal in heavy snow and mustard concealment": "It is not necessary to send charcoal in the snow, but to talk about the scenery requires poetry."

Explanation: Bringing charcoal to people to keep warm on snowy days. It is a metaphor for giving material or spiritual help to others when they are in urgent need.