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As the oldest farewell poem in China, the Book of Poetry Yanyan is believed by Zheng Xuan, a great Confucian of the Eastern Han Dynasty, to have been composed when Wei Guozhuang Jiang bid farewell to Dai Fei. However, according to the Records of History, Dai Fei died shortly after giving birth to her son Ji, so Zhuang Jiang adopted her son and later supported Ji Ji to complete the title of Duke of Wei Huan.
Who should be the author of this "Yan Yan"? How did an inconspicuous little swallow achieve the "ancestor of the farewell poems of the ages"?
(Last article: A suspicious point in the Spring and Autumn Blood Case: The Weiguo Outbreak of State Rebellion, whether this woman is alive or dead)
For the above reasons, I don't quite trust Zheng Xuan's judgment. This song "Shao Feng Yan Yan" is probably not written when Zhuang Jiang sent off Dai Concubine.
In fact, since the Song Dynasty, scholars have been trying to bypass Zheng Zhi and put forward new speculations, speculating that "Yan Yan" may be a work written by Wei Jun—which weijun is specific, it is impossible to point out—when he sent his sister to marry.
However, even if we infer that the author of "Yan Yan" is so presumed, there are still many difficulties in entering the scene created by the poem smoothly. The first chapter of the poem reads:
Yan Yan Yu Fei, Poor Pool Qiyu.
The son of Yu Gui, far away in the wild.
Looking at the Buddha, weeping like rain.
- "Poetry Shao Feng Yan Yan"
"Yan Yan Yu Fei, Poor Pool Qiyu" two sentences, Zheng Xuan said that it was Qixing. That's probably true. It's just that what kind of excitement these two sentences describe is worth investigating deeply. Mr. Chen Wenzhong wrote:
You see, in the spring of March, flocks of swallows fly, stagger up and down, and murmur and sing. However, the poet's intention is not just to paint a "spring swallow test flight map". Instead, it is the free singing of Yan yan and yan to reflect the sorrow and sorrow of the parting of compatriots.
—— Appreciation Dictionary of Pre-Qin Poetry
In this short appreciation text, there are two details that deserve further consideration. The description of these two details will directly affect our judgment of poetry and the restoration of poetry.
The first is the season described in poetry. According to Mr. Chen's analysis, Yan Yan yu fei, when the Yang Spring march. I'm not quite sure what basis Mr. Chen based his analysis. However, if this picture is restored, I am afraid it will have to be as outlined in Qiu Chi's "Book with Chen Bo":
In the late spring of March, Jiangnan grass grows, miscellaneous peanut trees, and warblers fly wildly.
- "The Book with Chen Bo"
What a beautiful and warm picture this must be, and how can it raise up the sadness of parting? According to my personal opinion, I prefer to believe that "Yan Yan" depicts an autumn scene. Because the third chapter of the poem says:
The son of Yu Gui, far away to the south.
The monarch's sister married to the South. Just like the swallows of the southern return, they drift away in the autumn wind. Therefore, the poet thought of his sister marrying from the fluttering Swallow, probably because Qiu Yan returned to the south and was in the same direction as the destination where she married.
And once we change the background of spring light to the autumn wind, the loneliness and desolation brought about by the separation of brothers and sisters will also jump on the paper.
The second detail to ponder is whether what the protagonist sees in the autumn wind is a flock of swallows, or a swallow? Mr. Chen Wenzhong obviously believes that it is a group of swallows, but Zhu Tianguanghong, the author of "Mao Shihui Notes", insists that the so-called "Yan Yan" is just a swallow.
In fact, to judge whether "Swallow" is a swallow or a group of swallows, the key is how we interpret the next sentence "Poor Pool and Its Feather". Regarding this sentence, mao shi zhengyi says:
"Mao Biography" said: Yan yu fei, will send chi qi yu.
"Zheng Zhi" said: Poor pool its feathers, called Zhang Shu its wings.
- "Mao Shi Justice"
What exactly does "differential pool" mean? The explanation of the Biography of Mao is quite obscure, and even the Swedish sinologist Gao Benhan said:
("Mao Biography") does not have a precise explanation of the meaning of "poor pool". Zheng Ji also said that Zhang Shu was on his tail wing. There is no left-hand evidence in the texts.
- Commentary on the Poetry of Gao Ben Han
As a scholar with an international reputation, Gao Benhan's academic spirit is extremely rigorous. But the above remarks seem to show that he failed to really read Mao Chuan and Zheng Zhi. The "Mao Biography" says that "the swallow is flying, and it must be worse than the pond and its feathers", which should be translated to say that the swallow will only show the appearance of "poor pond and its feather" when flying.
Here, "Mao Chuan" is not to explain what a "bad pool" is, but to emphasize "bad pool and its feathers", which must be at the time of "swallow to fly".
Zheng Xuan's addition to the Biography of Mao also means this. It does not mean that the word "poor pool" is spoken as "Zhang Shu", but further explains the "Mao Zhuan", when the so-called "swallow is flying", it means that the swallow has already spread its wings at this time.
Let's take a look at two diagrams like this:
The meaning of the word "poor pool" should be trained as "uneven" according to Zhu Zi's interpretation.
We look at the swallow in the first picture, and when it stands on the branches, we can't see the uneven length of its wings and tail.
In the second picture, the swallow spreads its wings and flies, and the shape of the wings and tail wings is not evenly seen. Therefore, the Mao Shihui Notes say:
"Biography" Yun: "Swallow to fly, will be worse than the pool and its feathers." It is the "Biography" that means "a swallow", and the person who says "poor pool", that is, the "Shuowen" says that the shape of the swallow, the cloth wing branch tail is also. Yan fei wei qi, and its wings are long and short, so Zheng Yun said "stretch its tail wings", that is, the righteousness of the uneven pool.
- "Mao Shihui Notes"
With this explanation, the meaning of "poor pond and its feathers" is clear: it depicts swallows spreading their wings and flying rather than staggering the wings of swallows.
So why doesn't the Mao Chuan and the Zheng Zhi interpret the original meaning of the word "cha chi", but especially emphasize the time when "cha chi" appears?
We only need to read the first three chapters of this poem in this way, and we will understand:
Yan Yan Yu Fei, Poor Pool Qiyu;......
Yan Yan Yu Fei, Jie Zhi Zhi;......
Yan Yan Yu Fei, up and down its tone;......
The first chapter says that the swallow leaves the branch and spreads its wings and flies; the second chapter says that the swallow stumbles and flies away; the third chapter says that the figure of the swallow has disappeared into the vast wilderness, and only its cry is looming in the autumn wind. The excitement of the three chapters progresses one after the other, and it is the situation in which the sister of the monarch goes to the country to marry.
As for the pawn, the poet writes:
The thoughts of the first kings, to the widow.
My sister's car has disappeared into the southern horizon, but the instructions she gave when she left—let me remember the legacy and teachings of the ancestors—still haunt my ears, like the sound of swallows coming from time to time in the autumn wind, how can it not make people cry and be sad!
bibliography:
Gao Ben Han's Commentary on the Poetry of Gao Ben Han;
Kong Yingda's "Mao Shi Justice";
Appreciation Dictionary of Pre-Qin Poetry.
— THE END —
The text | Prince of Jin
Typography | cream belly
The picture | the network