Chapter 49 Nine Ancient Poems (Part 9)

Planting mulberry along the Yangtze River is expected to be harvested in three years. The branches are about to flourish, but suddenly the mountains and rivers change. Ke Ye breaks itself, and its roots float in the sea. Spring silkworms have no food, so whoever wants to take cold clothes. I didn't plant the plateau originally, so why regret it today. Tao Yuanming's poems expressing his ambition to return to seclusion are often free-spirited, while his poems expressing the thoughts of his homeland are often euphemistic.Among them, such as "Shujiu", it is extremely obscure and tortuous.Therefore, it is not comprehensive to only talk about Tao Shi's understanding. The ninth of the nine poems in "Imitation of Ancient Times" is also a work that expresses the thoughts of the homeland with metaphorical techniques.

"When planting mulberry along the Yangtze River, it is expected to be harvested in three years." It has been three years since planting mulberry along the Yangtze River, and it seems to be expected to be harvested.At first glance, the writing in the first two sentences is just a trivial matter, but this event actually refers to a major political event.The mulberry tree is a symbol of the Jin Dynasty.Fu Xian of the Western Jin Dynasty's "Mulberry Fu Preface" said: "Shi Zu (Emperor Wu of Jin) used to be the general of Zhongbai. He planted a mulberry plant in Zhilu. It has been flourishing for more than 30 years. The crown prince (Emperor Hui of Jin) entered the In the dynasty, this hut was used as a place to sit." "Fu" also said: "Only the foundation of the emperor and Jin Dynasty was born here." It can be seen that the mulberry tree symbolizes the Jin Dynasty, which has a history.The riverside is not a place for planting mulberry, so "planting mulberry along the Yangtze River" implies that Emperor Gong of Jin was established by Liu Yu.Emperor Gong ascended the throne in December of the fourteenth year of Yixi (418), and was forced to become a Buddhist by Liu Yu in June of the second year of Yuanxi (420).Originally, if a mulberry tree is planted for three years, its leaves can be expected to be harvested—this means that it will be flourishing; if the monarch has been in power for three years, it can be expected to achieve results—this means that it should be self-reliant.Although it is hopeless for Emperor Gong, those who sympathize with the Jin Dynasty hope that it can consolidate its foundation and stand on its own feet.What was the result? "The branches are about to flourish, but suddenly the mountains and rivers change." The branches just started to grow, but they were suddenly changed by the mountains and rivers.It is said that "beginning to flourish", but it is not yet flourishing.It is said that "Mountain and River Reform" echoes "By the Yangtze River". It is self-evident that the flood is surging and the river bank is collapsing.Is there a place to grow mulberries along the Yangtze River?In the past, mulberry was planted here, and today mulberry is destroyed here. This is a metaphor that Emperor Gong was established by Liu Yu, and he was also abolished by Liu Yu. The sentence "Suddenly worth the change of mountains and rivers" is shocking, although it is a metaphor, it is also a clear statement.In June of the second year of Yuanxi, Liu Yu forced Emperor Gong to abdicate, usurped Jin and called Song, changed Yuan Yongchu, and the mountains and rivers changed color. "Ke Ye breaks itself, and the roots float in the sea." The flood surged, and the high bank became a valley, breaking the branches and sweeping away the roots.The flood was surging like the tide of the sea.The three-year mulberry was destroyed once.Liu Yu forced Emperor Gong to abdicate, that is to say, he was abolished as Lingling King. The sentence "roots and plants float in the sea" refers to this matter.In the second year of Song Yongchu (421), Liu Yu sent someone to kill Emperor Fei.From the sentences of "Three years of looking forward to harvesting" and "roots and plants floating in the sea", we can know that this poem was written after Emperor Gong was abolished and before he was killed the next year.After Emperor Gong was murdered, Tao Yuanming responded with the poem "Shujiu".Cheng Muheng's "Tao Shi Cheng Zhuan" says: "'Ke Ye' and 'Zhizhi' refer to the affairs of Sima Xiu. Xiuzhi refused to guard Jingzhou, but Dao bestowed Xuancheng, and Chu Zhi belonged to Changshe. Liu Yuke Jiangling, fled to death One after another, Jin Zuo was beheaded." What he said was true.Judging from "the branches are beginning to flourish" and "the leaves are self-destroyed", the Jin family did not make efforts to improve themselves, and "three years hope to harvest" is not without reason, but the Jin family is not Liu Yu's opponent. The hopes of the sympathizers have finally come to naught. "Since the spring silkworms have no food, whoever wants the cold clothes will take care of them." These two sentences, from the superficial aspects of Bixing, mean that the mulberry trees are destroyed, and the spring silkworms have no leaves to eat; silk cannot be made, and cold clothes have no resources to make.From the deep affection entrusted, it is to express the people who sympathize with the Jin Dynasty, including the poet himself. After the fall of Jin Dynasty, the deep sadness of loss, and his attachment to the Jin Dynasty are also seen outside the words.The fall of the Jin Dynasty and its influence on people in these two sentences refer to the spring silkworms and cold clothes, but they are still closely related to the basic symbol of the mulberry tree. The whole poem is thoughtful and natural. "I didn't plant the plateau originally, so why regret it today." The original is the root.Concluding two sentences, returning to the mulberry tree, is still a two-pronged approach.On the surface, it means that the mulberry trees were planted on the riverside at that time, but not rooted in the plateau. Today, the roots of the mulberry trees are all destroyed, so how can we regret it!The deep implication is that the Jin Dynasty relied on Liu Yu at that time, and today the death of Jin Dynasty is due to Liu Yu, and there is nothing to regret.Just as Huang Wenhuan said in "Analysis of Tao Poetry": "When something is unbearable to regret, the pain will be deeper!"

Tao Yuanming wrote this poem shortly after the fall of the Jin Dynasty.As shown in the poem, in the depths of Tao Yuanming's heart, he was really angry with Liu Yu, sympathized with the Jin Dynasty, and deeply grieved for the death of Jin Dynasty.This shows that Tao Yuanming is by no means a person who has forgotten the world after sixteen years of hermitage. He still has a firm judgment of right and wrong and a clear love and hatred for the politics of the world.It is not appropriate to call him a family.At the same time, as shown in this poem, Tao Yuanming, as a contemporaneous person, was able to express a clear understanding of the contemporary history of the fall of the Jin Dynasty and put forward sober lessons.In particular, the two sentences "I didn't plant the plateau, so why regret it today" can be seen from his sober and rational attitude.This is obviously inseparable from the fact that he has long since abandoned his official position and retired to seclusion, and has kept a considerable distance from real politics.It can be said that Tao Yuanming's poem is a poetic history of the fall of Jin Dynasty.

Tao Yuanming's poem has a high artistic attainment.The mulberry tree, a symbol of the Jin Dynasty, is used in the poem to describe a period of history of the fall of the Jin Dynasty, and the analogy can be described as clever and appropriate.What is particularly worth mentioning is that this poem is composed of bixing, and the mulberry tree is the basic symbol. The whole poem is consistent and never deviates from this basic symbol.There is no sense of fragmentation in the imagery.Bixing is the fundamental method of Chinese poetry art.The analogy of Xing, the rise of many bureaus at the beginning, is a simple metaphor.As for "Chu Ci", it developed into a symbol of self-consciousness, entrusted with deep meaning, but it is also mostly fragments, and the main body of the poem is still straightforward.In Tao Yuanming's poem, the same symbolic image runs through the entire poem, which is extremely complete and complete, and the sustenance is far and deep without trace.It can be said that Tao Yuanming's creation of this poem has enriched the artistic tradition of Chinese poetry.