The grass is vast, and the poplars are also small.
In the middle of September, the severe frost sent me out of the far suburbs.
The first time I heard these poems was in the TV series "Qingyunzhi" adapted from "Xue Xian", Yu Kewei sang the interlude "Ballad of Qingyi", which began with these poems.
The desolate screams, the desolate and mournful tunes, with these few poems, only feel infinite sorrow.
Later, I learned that these poems describe the scene of the funeral, from Tao Yuanming's "Three Quasi-Elegy Words", which is a set of elegy written by the poet for himself two months before his death.
The elegy poem was originally a funeral song sung for the coffin bearer at the funeral of the deceased, but Tao Yuanming wrote an elegy for himself before he died, imagining the scene after his death with the tone and perspective of a deceased.
Confucius said, "The unknown is born, but the unknown knows death." "Chinese is most afraid of life and death, and the attitude toward death is often either to avoid talking about it or to be full of desolation.
But in Tao Yuanming's group of poems, we can see another attitude towards death--"In the great wave of waves, neither joy nor fear." It should be done, and there is no need to worry about it. ”
One:
There must be life and death, and early death is not a hurry.
Yesterday twilight is the same person, this day in the ghost record.
Where is the soul dispersed? Dead-shaped parasitic wood.
Jiao'er So's father cried, and my good friend touched me to cry.
Gain or loss is not known, it is not safe to feel!
Long live the thousands of years, who knows the glory and disgrace.
But when hate is alive, drinking alcohol is not enough.
Second:
In the past there was no wine to drink, but now it is empty.
Spring mash is born floating ants, when can you taste more.
Before the dish case wins me, the old cry me.
There is no sound in the mouth, and there is no light in the eyes.
In the past, I slept in Gaotang, and now I live in the barren grass village.
Once you go out, you come back to the night.
Third:
There is no one on all sides, and the high tomb is on the ridge.
The horse is looking up to the sky, and the wind is self-depressing.
The claustrophob is closed, and the millennium is no longer in the dynasty.
The millennium is no longer the dynasty, and the virtuous are helpless!
They have always sent people away, and each returned his home.
Relatives or grief, others have also sung.
Dead Ho Dao, to the body of the same mountain.
In the first poem, the poet describes the scene of his daughter's girlfriend crying after his death.
When a person lives for one lifetime, there is a day of birth, and there is a time to leave. Life is actually thin and fragile, last night maybe I was still alive in the world, this morning I may have been destined to go to Huangquan.
After a person dies, there is only an empty shell left, no matter how much the child and girlfriend cry, no matter how much entanglement and honor and humiliation there are behind them, there is no way to perceive, and there is no need to worry.
Like a lamp, it went out.
The poet thus outlines the inevitable course of a person from birth to death, but his only regret is that when he was alive, he was too poor at home to drink freely.
Beginning with "There must be life and death" and ending with "drinking is not enough", the seemingly heavy and sad death is gently dissolved by the poet, and it seems insignificant.
In the second poem, the poet immediately follows from the wine.
When I wanted to drink, I had no wine to drink, but now the shrine in front of the spirit is full of fine wine, but I can no longer drink it, so I can only leave it there.
Think about it, this spring's new wine will be ready to drink next spring, but I can't wait for that time.
The delicacies were placed in front of the spiritual case, and the pain of relatives and friends was beside me. I want to speak, but the words are silent; I want to open my eyes, but there is no light.
In the past, I slept peacefully on the high hall, but in the future I will sleep alone among the deserted tombs. Once you leave home, you will never return.
In the second poem, the tone suddenly becomes poignant and low. The "I" in the poem seems to really realize what it means to die?
It means that this life and this life are over, it means that all those who have to do with me and everything related to me have been cut off, and it means that this vast gap between life and death can never be crossed.
In the third poem, the process of funeral is written throughout, and the poet looks at the living to see the living from the perspective of a deceased to give himself a funeral.
In the vast wilderness, the weeds withered and yellowed, and the autumn wind stirred the poplars. It was the middle of September, and my relatives carried my coffin to the outskirts for burial.
The surrounding area was so lonely and deserted, and the high tomb was so desolate. The horses seemed to mourn for me, and the wind also made a mournful sound because of this depression.
Once the deep tomb door is closed, it will never be possible to see the dawn of tomorrow, it will never be possible to see the dawn of tomorrow, even if you are a wise man, you are helpless!
The people who had just sent me into the ground crying and crying naturally dispersed as soon as the tomb door was closed.
After a while, my family members may still grieve for me, but other people who are not deeply related have long forgotten their sorrows and continued to be happy in their own lives.
Reading this, I can't help but think of a sentence that Lu Xun once said: The sorrows and joys of human beings are not connected, and I only think that they are noisy.
But I think that whether it is Lu Xun or Tao Yuanming, they did not say such things because they wanted to harshly criticize the indifference of human nature, but precisely with great compassion and tolerance for human nature.
As Mu Xin said: I don't know what to forgive, but I sincerely feel that everything in the world can be forgiven.
Everyone has their own rough world road to go, has their own difficult sea of suffering to cross, and has to endure all kinds of grinding love and thirst, and they can never escape the dark and bottomless death barrier.
Life is really difficult, we are just like mud bodhisattvas crossing the river, it is still difficult to protect ourselves, let alone take care of the people around us all the time? All we can help and carry with us is only the personnel in this corner of our side.
In this way, where can we blame others for "relatives or sorrows, and others have sung"?
The one who has gone is gone, and the living must continue their unfinished life, to sing, to cry, to mourn, to rejoice, and this is true of everyone, and so it is for generations to come.
"Death to the Tao, to the body of the same mountain" is a combination that sublimates the whole group of poems.
What else is there to say after death? It is better to entrust the body to this mountain, this white cloud, this long sky, this grass and trees, turning into dirt and dust.
Let everything that comes from the earth return to the earth; let everything that comes from nature return to nature.
When the snow melts in winter, the warm sun of spring shines on the soil, the grass grows new shoots, the drizzle is moist, the breeze blows, and life will begin a new round of adventure between heaven and earth.
How have we really left, we have always been there, sharing this mountain and river, sharing this sun, moon and stars, sharing this endless sorrow and joy, hatred and love for generations to come...
【Copyright Notice】This article is originally published by Poetry World, author: Ye Han.