(Arabic transliteration is Dam'ah Wa lbtis mah／English translation is A Tear and a Smile) is Gibran's first collection of prose poems and one of his most beautiful collections of prose poems.Including "Introduction" and "Conclusion", there are 56 works in total, and the content is very rich; the collection was officially published in 1913, but the chapters in it were written and published as early as 1903-1908.What published these literary sketches was the Arabian "diaspora" published in New York, USA.The host of the newspaper is a compatriot of Gibran, named Naci L. Alida.It is precisely because of the encouragement and persistence of this insightful publisher that the collection was published.Around the beginning of the second decade of this century, Gibran has been influenced by Nietzsche’s philosophy. He has already expressed a negative attitude towards the lamentation, pain and confession revealed in the book, and even expressed “ashamed and uneasy” about publishing it again, but finally agreed to publish it. up.The ins and outs of this process are documented in the preface written by Nahi L. Arid.

From the beginning, the literary themes that Gibran is most concerned about are presented: love and beauty, nature, philosophy of life, humanitarianism, social criticism, poet's mission and loneliness, etc.All the prose poems in this collection have foreshadowed Gibran's creative direction throughout his life, and also concentratedly reflected the development trend of Gibran's artistic style. In "Beauty" and "Before the Throne of the God of Beauty" and other articles, the author regards "beauty as a religion, as the main god; he believes that there is truth and light in beauty; Stairway "beauty makes people's soul return to nature". In "Happy Homeland", "Couple" and other articles, he compares love and beauty to a pair of lovers, and describes wisdom as the pair of lovers The "daughter" of Gibran. In the life process described by Gibran, love and beauty are his starting point and his end point, and he will eventually "return to the sea of ​​love and beauty".

The article "Words Written by Fire" shows Gibran's positive philosophy of life, full of confidence in life and the future.Contrary to the British romantic poet Keats' view that "fame is written in water", he proposed that "fame is written in the sky with fire".He believes that after human beings have walked "a road paved with thorns" and passed through "the shadow of the night of life, "the dawn will eventually come." In one article, he described himself walking with "youth" and "hope in the Leading the way ahead and galloping ahead" is the ideal life path. The article "Under the Sun" points out that life has its meaning and is not empty. The so-called pessimism of the emptiness of life in the Book of Ecclesiastes.

There are many chapters in the book that directly address the injustice and evil in human society.The author exposes an upside-down and absurd world: "I see the priests are as cunning as foxes; the deceitful emperors are doing everything possible to win over the hearts of the people." ", "The poor poor are farming, but the rich are harvesting". "Between the Cottage and the Palace" and "Two Children" used contrasting methods to show the tragedy that humans have performed on the stage of time for many years, and criticized the "audience" who "applauded" this tragedy. "Criminal" accuses the evil society of turning good people into murderers and dumb beasts. Through a guard dog "suffered from human cruelty", how to escape from the land of "no benevolence and justice", It vividly reveals the tragic fate of those abandoned by society.The social criticism of some works is comparable to the social criticism of Gibran's novels in terms of intensity and depth, and has the power to shake people's hearts.

It also touches on the themes of nationalism and patriotism. "Meeting" expresses the eternal love between the "Son of Lebanon" and the "Nile River Fairy" through historical memories, and actually sings the praises of the brothers and sisters of all nations in the Latin Arab world. Affection. "Time and Nation" examines the rise and fall of a nation with the deep eyes of an old man of history, and expounds a philosophy of history.The author uses the words of the old man Time to point out that in the East: the decline of some nations is just a kind of "necessary sleep", and "the Song Dynasty will be full of vigor and vitality".

Gibran's patriotism and nationalism are connected with his view of human unity.He believes that the motherland and the world are unified, not opposed.In "To Those Who Criticize", he stated: "The whole earth is my motherland, and all human beings are my fellow countrymen. In "The Voice of the Poet", he elaborated his position more specifically. He said: " Human beings are divided into different nations, different collectives, belonging to different countries, and different regions.But I consider myself neither a country nor a place.Because the entire earth is my motherland, and the entire human race is my brother; because I think that human beings are not strong enough, so it would be absurd to dismember themselves into pieces. The earth is not big enough, and then divided into big and small A small country, isn't it too stupid?" So he said: "I love my hometown, and I love the whole earth even more. "He opposes and hates occupying and aggressing neighboring countries in the name of "patriotism" and massacring innocents. This is a typical theory of human unity, and the homeland of the earth has fallen. On the eve of the First World War, when the clamor of national chauvinism and national revanchism was rampant , making this rational call, shouting "You are human, I love you, my brother! "Such a slogan fully demonstrates Gibran's sobriety and conscience.

It is also a concentrated display of Gibran's values ​​and life ideals.In "Between True and False" and "To My Poor Friend" and other chapters, we can see the most important and key words that reflect his values: "life", "freedom", "conscience", "justice" , "fraternity", "truth, and of course the main gods "love" and "beauty" in Gibran's temple.In "Looking to the Future", "Fantasy Queen" and other chapters.We can see his social ideal, the blueprint of the future world, a world where there are no poor, no "doctors", no "priests", no "lawyers", and everyone is equal.

"Song of the Waves" in "Group Songs" is probably the most beautiful and charming lyrical prose poem in the book. "Song of Rain", "Song of Beauty" and "Song of Flowers".These Jichang's works are full of emotions and thoughts, graceful and elegant, and crystal clear. They can be regarded as the best works in prose poetry and are deeply loved by readers. It is not wrong to regard them as the "model" or "standard" of prose poetry.The reason why these works are popular is that they have achieved the goal of "nature" which is difficult for ordinary poems to achieve.This excellent work not only shows the real external "nature", but also reveals the pure and pure internal "nature", and integrates emotion, reason and scenery through various images selected from "nature". , there is no trace of chiseling, it is really superior.