Poets plow fields and write poetically about labor. "Planting beans in Nanshan", what a simple spoken language; The Moon Lotus Returning Home is a unique style of Tao poetry with plain language and mellow artistic conception.
Gui Tian yuan ju qi San
I planted beans at the foot of Nanshan, and the weeds in the field were covered with peas.
Get up early in the morning to get rid of weeds, and come back with hoes in the moonlight at night.
The narrow path covered with vegetation, the night dew wet my clothes.
It's not a pity to get wet, but I hope it won't be against my will.
translate
There is a bean field I planted at the foot of Nanshan, which is overgrown with weeds and has few bean seedlings. ?
Get up in the morning to clear the weeds in the field, and go home with a hoe in the moonlight at night. ?
The road was narrow and covered with vegetation, and the dew in the evening wet my clothes. ?
There is nothing to regret when your clothes are wet, as long as it doesn't go against your wishes.
Distinguish and appreciate
The two sentences at the end of "Returning to the Garden, Less but No Folk Rhyme" are: "If you are caged for a long time, you will return to nature." The so-called "nature" refers not only to the rural natural environment, but also to the natural way of life. In Tao Yuanming's view, duplicity, taking social values as his own code of action, and blindly pursuing wealth and fame are behaviors that distort human nature and lose oneself. The natural way of life is to cultivate one's self-cultivation, eat by oneself, be satisfied with a simple life and abandon the competition and struggle between people. No matter how this understanding should be evaluated in sociology, it is an idea repeatedly put forward at all times and in all countries. Of course, as a descendant of a noble, Tao Yuanming, a scholar-bureaucrat who rarely experienced the hardships of real life, relied entirely on his own physical strength, which was actually difficult to support his family. In fact, his family also has servants and "proteges" who have an affair to farm for him. But he is really trying to practice his special understanding of life and society, often taking part in some agricultural labor, and praising the happiness and beauty of this kind of labor in his poems. Readers should note that Tao Yuanming's "ploughing" cannot be equated with ordinary farmers' farming, because it is not his main economic means to maintain family life; Nor can Tao Yuanming's feelings about labor be equated with those of ordinary farmers, because this feeling contains profound thoughts about life and society. In ancient times, it could only appear on a few outstanding intellectuals. If you want to find a similar expression, readers can see it in Tolstoy's famous novel Anna karenin. Levin in the novel is the embodiment of the author to some extent. He also personally participated in agricultural labor, seeking the truth of life, in order to criticize the hypocrisy, emptiness and boredom of aristocratic society. ?
So this poem looks very simple, as if it is just a fragment of daily life, but in fact there are many connotations that need to be deeply understood. ?
First of all, this poem subtly contains the works of predecessors, that is, a poem by Yang Yun (the grandson of Sima Qian) in the Han Dynasty:?
The field is in the south of Shannan, and the filth has not been treated. Plant a hectare of beans and they will be preserved. Eat, drink and have money! ?
This poem was written by Yang Yun to vent his dissatisfaction after offending and dismissing officials. According to Yan Shigu's quotation of Zhang Yan in Hanshu, Nanshan is a "statue of man and monarch", and filth can't cure the "chaos of the imperial court", so beans are scattered in the wild and "give up my opinion". This statement is generally good. ?
Comparing the poems of Tao and Yang, the similarities are obvious. "Planting beans in Shannan" means "Tianbi Nanshan"; "Grass is full of beans and seedlings are sparse", which means "filth is not treated"; Sorrow and filth in the morning is also written for the sentence "filth is not healed" Considering Tao Yuanming's familiarity with ancient books, this obvious similarity can be concluded to be no coincidence. ?
So, what is Tao Yuanming's intention of stealing Yang's poems? First of all, this application transplanted some meanings of Yang's poems into his own. For those who are familiar with Hanshu, the metaphor of "the chaos of the imperial court" and the theory of the uselessness of sages will immediately come to mind. ?
However, this poem is not simply detached from previous works. Planting beans and weeding written in the poem are all things in the author's real life. Tao Yuanming not only transplanted a certain meaning of Yang's poems to express his views on real politics, but also showed his attitude towards life in view of the metaphorical meaning of Yang's poems: in a dirty and chaotic society, it is a desirable choice to lead an honest and clean life and cultivate the countryside. At the end of Yang's poem, he said, "When you have to be rich, be happy." On a certain premise, this is agreed by Tao Yuanming. However, through his own poems, he also shows that working life contains rich joy in life. Sow the harvest when you are busy, drink a glass of wine to entertain yourself, jump and forget the world. This is the real "life, eat, drink and be merry". ?
By analyzing the connotation of allusions used in this poem, we can further analyze the poem itself. ?
Some people say that this is because Tao Yuanming first returned to the countryside and was unfamiliar with farming. In fact, his fields are mainly not cultivated by himself, but only part of the labor, which is meaningless. The first poem of the group poem "Returning to the Garden, Less but No Folk Rhyme" has the sentence of "Reclaiming Land in the South", which can prove that the land under Nanshan is newly reclaimed. So it is not suitable for planting other crops, so we have to plant beans that are easy to grow. Everyone who tills the fields knows this truth. If you don't consider the use of allusions, these two sentences are like an old farmer's gossip, which sounds bland and gives people a sense of intimacy. ?
I had to hoe when the grass was full, so I went to the fields early in the morning. This is a documentary. But the word "reasonable waste and filth" is widely used and seems to have ulterior motives. In Yang Yun's poems, "filth is incurable" is a metaphor for the chaos of the imperial court. So, in Tao Yuanming's view, what caused the social chaos? That's because many people are divorced from the natural way of life, playing clever thinking and fighting for benefits. So there are wars and bloodshed all over the world. "Life belongs to the Tao, and food and clothing are solid. I don't want to camp, but I want to be safe! " This poem shows that Tao Yuanming regards self-cultivation as the fundamental principle that everyone should follow. Therefore, "treating waste and filth" also contains the profound meaning of rectifying the "filth" of the whole society in a way of self-cultivation ?
"Take (wear) a hoe home" means working all day. Tao Yuanming is not a real farmer after all. He has servants to go to the fields with him. Even if he is not so nervous and tired at work, this day is enough. But he is in a very happy mood. I can't write such a beautiful poem because I'm not in a good mood. Moonlight filled the fields, carrying hoes, and walking home along the field path. What a beautiful picture! In another poem, Tao Yuanming said this about field work: "Four bodies are sincere and tired, and ordinary people do the same." Although I was very tired, I avoided a lot of injuries. This includes not only fierce fighting, but also deception between people. Living in labor is practical and powerful, so it is pleasant and beautiful. ?
Because it is newly reclaimed land, the roads are narrow, but the vegetation grows very high. It was getting late, and a little dew condensed on the grass leaves, which made the clothes wet. It seems unnecessary to mention such a trivial matter. It is really a pity to emphasize that "clothes are not cherished enough" and clothes are wet. Tao Yuanming, who is so open-minded, should not say anything. But "dirty clothes" means not only that clothes are wet, but also a symbol. I used to be an official. Although uncomfortable, there is always a salary to support the family and lead a drunken life. Life is naturally much more difficult to resign and live in seclusion, and it is not easy for a scholar like him to work in the fields, and this situation will continue. It's easier said than done. Not many people can do it. Tao Yuanming himself is at war with the rich and the poor. It's just that the poet doesn't want to talk too far and too openly, destroying the atmosphere of the whole poem and only focusing on the small things in front of him. ?
"But do what you want" is the conclusion and theme of the poem. "Wish" is to keep the integrity of personality, adhere to the ideal of life, and complete this short life with sincere attitude and natural way. This is too important. So everything is difficult, compared with it, it becomes insignificant. And what is quite worthy of self-appreciation is that I did "what I wanted to do without violating it".