Drinking·Part 5

Tao Yuanming? [Wei and Jin Dynasties]

The hut is in a human environment, without the noise of cars and horses.

How can you do this? The mind is far away from itself.

Picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, you can leisurely see Nanshan Mountain.

The mountain air is getting better day by day, and the birds are flying back and forth.

There is a true meaning in this, but I have forgotten to explain it.

Translation

Build your house in a place where people come and go, but will not be disturbed by worldly interactions.

Ask me why this is possible. As long as the thoughts in your heart are far away from the world, you will naturally feel that the place you are in is secluded.

While picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, Nanshan Mountain in the distance came into view.

The scenery of Nanshan Mountain is very beautiful in the evening, with mist lingering among the peaks and birds flying back together.

This contains the true meaning of life. I want to distinguish it clearly, but I have forgotten how to express it.

Notes

Jielu: To build a residence, here it means to live. Knot, build, construct. Hut, simple house.

Human realm: the bustling world.

The noise of carriages and horses: refers to the noise of worldly interactions.

Jun: refers to the author himself.

He Neng'er: Why is this possible? Er: So, so.

Leisurely: leisurely and indifferent.

See: see (pronounced jiàn), verb.

Nanshan: generally refers to the mountain peak, and sometimes refers to Lushan Mountain.

Mountain Qi: Cloud Qi in the mountains.

Rixi: evening.

Xianyou: intersect, become companions.

True meaning: The true meaning of life understood from nature.

Return with each other: Return together.

Appreciation

"The house is in a human environment, but there is no noise of carriages and horses." At the beginning of the poem, the author says that although he lives in the human world, he is not disturbed by worldly interactions. Why is there no trouble in this place without the noise of cars and horses? Because "the mind is far away from itself", as long as the heart can be far away from the shackles of the world, then even in a noisy environment, it will be like living in a secluded place. Tao Yuanming was full of ideals of making achievements in his early years, and he became an official several times just to realize his ambition of helping the times and benefiting the world. But when he saw that "the real wind has died, great things are booming", the officialdom was in danger, the secular world was corrupted by hypocrisy, and the whole society was corrupt and dark, so he chose the path of being clean and self-sufficient, staying in poverty and living in seclusion in the countryside, working hard to cultivate his own life. capital. The four sentences "Making a house in a human environment" describe his spiritual feelings after getting rid of the interference of the secular environment. The so-called "heart is far away" means that the heart does not care about fame and fortune, the love is not tied to the door of the rich and powerful, the world is abandoned, and it is transcendent and refined. Because these four sentences have lofty meanings and profound feelings, predecessors highly praised their "brilliant lyrics".

The word "afar" in "I ask you what I can do?" means being far away from the officialdom. To put it further, it is far away from the secular world and transcending the world. ? Rejecting the socially recognized value scale and asking where the author established the basis of his life, this involves Tao Yuanming's philosophical thoughts. This philosophy can be called "natural philosophy". It not only includes the self-cultivation and self-feeding, frugal and ascetic lifestyle, but also deepens the unity and harmony of human life and nature. In Tao Yuanming's view, people not only exist in society and in relationships between people, but even more importantly, every individual life, as an independent spiritual subject, exists directly facing the entire nature and universe.

If these principles are written directly, the poem will become a thesis. Therefore, the author just embodies philosophy in images. The poet was randomly picking chrysanthemums in his garden. He accidentally raised his head and his eyes met Nanshan Mountain. "Seeing Nanshan leisurely", according to the rules of ancient Chinese grammar, can be interpreted as "seeing Nanshan leisurely" or "seeing Nanshan leisurely". Therefore, this "leisure" not only belongs to people, but also to the mountains. People are leisurely and comfortable, and the mountains are quiet and high. At that moment, it seemed that a different melody was playing from the human heart and the mountain together, blending into a light piece of music.

"Picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, I leisurely see the Nanshan Mountain. The mountain air is beautiful day and night, and the birds fly back and forth." These four lines describe the leisurely and contented manner in which the poet's spiritual world and natural scenery are in perfect harmony after he retired to seclusion. .

I was casually picking chrysanthemums by the east fence, and by chance I looked up and saw Nanshan. In the evening, the scenery of Nanshan is very beautiful, with mist lingering among the peaks and birds flying back together. The poet associated his own retreat from the beautiful scenery of Nanshan Mountain, and realized the philosophy of returning to simplicity and authenticity. Birds fly away in the morning and return in the evening, and the mountains and forests are their destination; I left home many times to become an official, and finally had to return to the countryside, which is also my destination. The poet once wrote in "Come Back and Come Back": "The clouds have no intention of leaving Xiu, and the birds know when they are tired of flying." He used clouds and birds as metaphors for themselves. The clouds have no intention of leaving Xiu, just like he has no intention of becoming an official. An official; a bird knows when it is tired and flies back, just like I hate officialdom and hide. The two lines in this poem, "The flying birds return to each other", have the same meaning as the two lines in "The Birds Return When They Are Tired of Flying" in "Returning to Lai Xi Ci".

The ancients spoke highly of the four sentences "Picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence". Zhang Jie said: "'Pick chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, leisurely see the Nanshan Mountain', this scenery is in the present, not in leisure and quiet, you can't see it, this taste is out of reach." So, what Zhang Jie said " What is "taste"? Why do you say "this taste is out of reach"? We know that Tao's poems are not decorated or carved, they are as clear as words, simple and natural, so the predecessors often used the word "plain" to summarize his poetic style. But the plainness of Tao's poems comes from the "composition of beauty", which is plain but interesting, light and interesting. This seemingly plain but actually mellow feature is actually a higher artistic realm, which is not only known to people, but also beyond the reach of people. The "taste" mentioned by Zhang Jie should be the mellow charm of Tao's poems. There are many reasons why this kind of charm is "out of reach". We put aside conditions such as literary accomplishment and artistic talent. It can be said that this kind of charm can only be written by poets like Tao Yuanming who are unwilling to follow the customs and are unwilling to stir up troubles. That is to say, they can only write with their hearts set far away and with a state of mind that is "at leisure." Only those who are quiet can write it.

"There is a true meaning in this, but I have forgotten to tell it." In the last two sentences of the poem, the poet said that he understood the meaning of life from the beautiful scenery of nature, revealing his pure and natural tranquil mood. The "here" in the poem can be understood as the here and now (beside the fence on autumn evening), or the entire pastoral life. The so-called "forgetting words" actually means that the peaceful and peaceful pastoral life is one's real life, and the joy of this life can only be understood, not expressed in words, and does not need to be described. This fully reflects the poet's noble character of being content with poverty and enjoying humility, inspiring and observing integrity. What these two sentences say is that there is the true meaning of life here. I want to identify it, but I forget how to express it in words. In layman's terms, "forgetting words" means that you don't know what language to express it in. You can only understand it but cannot express it in words. "The words of true love are silent." The word "true" is emphasized here, pointing out that resigning from office and returning to seclusion is the true meaning of life.

This poem mainly describes the poet's leisurely and contented state of mind after abandoning his official position and returning to the countryside. It reflects Tao Yuanming's determination to abandon the muddy worldly fame and return to nature, reveling in nature, and even entering the state of "proud and forgetful" life. Attitudes and life experiences. This poem is based on the outline of "the heart is far away", and the connotation of "the heart is far away" is revealed in three levels. The first four sentences describe the quiet and forgetful state of being in a "human realm" and spiritually detached from the world. The fourth sentence in the middle describes the materialistic and selfless state of mind of quietly observing the surrounding scenery and immersing in the charm of nature. The last two sentences go a step further, writing that the "heart" experiences the indescribable true meaning of life in the blurring of things and self. The artistic conception of this poem advances from emptiness and tranquility, to materialization and selflessness, to elation and forgetfulness of words, and it advances layer by layer. The profoundest and most complete embodiment of Tao Yuanming's natural philosophy of life and return-to-nature poetry style after he retired to seclusion. Wang Guowei said in "Human Words": "In the state of selflessness, I observe things with things, so I don't know who is me and which are things." This poem is the "selfless state" created by Tao Yuanming's "viewing things with things" "Environment" masterpiece.

Creative background

This poem was written around AD 417, that is, the twelfth year after the poet returned to his fields, on the eve of the fall of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The author had a lot of emotions and used drinking wine to express his emotions.

About the author

Tao Yuanming (about 365-427), whose courtesy name was Yuanliang, changed his name to Qian in his later years and whose courtesy name was Yuanming. His nickname is Mr. Wuliu, his private nickname is Jingjie, and he is known as Mr. Jingjie in the world. A native of Chaisang, Xunyang (now Jiujiang, Jiangxi). He was an outstanding poet, poet, and essayist from the late Eastern Jin Dynasty to the early Liu Song Dynasty. Known as "the sect of reclusive poets" and "the originator of the pastoral poetry school". He is the first literary giant in Jiangxi.

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".