Zhinan

Monk Zhinan

Monk Zhinan, monk of Southern Song Dynasty. Zhinan is his legal name. Because he is a monk, he is called Seng Zhinan. His common surname is to be tested, and he can write poems.

Basic information

Zhinan's life has no history to test, and his literary fame at that time was not as great as those of "the four great poets of Zhongxing" and "Mr. Erquan". But with this short poem, as well as its delicate feelings and true description of early spring and February, his name was recorded in the history of Song Dynasty poetry. In the volume of Yu Shu Tang Shi Hua written by Zhao Yu Ting of Song Dynasty, it was once recorded that "monk Zhi can write poems in the south, and Zhu Wen Gong can taste and postscript poems in the volume:" the poems in the south are more beautiful than those in the west, and they are more leisure than those in the West. Ruyun: "if you want to wet the apricot flower rain, you will not be cold when you blow the willow wind. To love deeply. " Zhu Xi's appreciation of his poems is based on whether there is "vegetable shoot spirit", which is actually one of the problems of poetic theory in Song Dynasty. Su Shi said in his poem "giving poems to monks and Taoists" that "the language with haze is less in ancient times, and the gas contains vegetables and shoots to the public." Self note: "that no acid filling gas also." It may be the first to put forward this proposition. He commented on Sikongtu's two sentences of "the sound of chess, the quiet of flower yard, the shadow of flag, the high of stone altar" in Tang Dynasty, saying: "I try to travel to Wulaofeng, enter baiheyuan, the pine shade is all over the court, there is no one in sight, only to hear the sound, then I know the work of this sentence. But there is a monk's attitude to hate his cold and thrifty. " (Shu Si Kong Tu Shi) clearly shows this tendency. His opposition to monk poetry has also been approved by many poets. For example, ye mengde said in the volume of Shi Lin Shi Hua: "there are so many monks learning poetry in modern times that they are not complacent. They often pick up and copy what the literati left behind. It's also a kind of monk style. Its rhyme is very common. It's called sour stuffing in the world. " Investigating the connotation of vegetable shoot Qi, we can say that it is a state closely related to the monk's life and spirit. It is a kind of specific "under the forest" and seems to have its rationality of existence. Therefore, the former Volume 57 of Hu Zai's Tiaoxi yuyinconghua quoted Xiqing Shihua as saying: "Dongpo '. At present, misunderstanding, then for the world network in the language, but I do not know the family style, waterside forest weather, cover can not be without. If you wash away the charm of Qing Ba and make it the same as the common customs, how can it be In the preface to mu'an poetry anthology, Yuan Haowen said more directly: "the poems of monk poets are different from those of poets, and they are full of vitality." (collection of works of Mr. Yishan, Vol. 37) indeed, if we admit that life is the only source of all literature and art, then why not recognize the vegetable shoot spirit which can best reflect the life state of the monk? In fact, Su Shi's view is to bring all poetry creation into the aesthetic taste and standard of scholar bureaucrats, and to erase its uniqueness. This is not even consistent with Su Shi's pursuit of diversity in his poetry theory. Therefore, we would rather understand it as his temporary words, because, judging from some of his specific works, there is no lack of "vegetable shoot spirit" (bookish spirit). Then back to Zhinan's poem, Zhu Xi praised him for his lack of "vegetable shoot spirit", which was also said from the standpoint of literati. This shows that Zhinan is a versatile poet. Monks can write good poems with or without "vegetable shoot spirit". This is monk Zhinan's masterpiece jueju.

Main works

representative work:

"Jueju" a short awning in the shade of an ancient wood, and a stick of Chenopodium help me across the east of the bridge. Wet apricot blossoms with clothes, not cold willow wind.

Note to each sentence:

tie a short awning in the shade of ancient trees: tie up the boat in the shade of old trees. Zhang Li helped me across the east side of the bridge: I took my crutch and walked across the east side of the bridge. wet apricot flower rain with clothes: what feels a little wet with clothes is the spring rain (drizzle) when apricot flowers open. blowing face is not cold willow wind: blowing face also do not feel cold, is the willow green when blowing the spring wind.

notes:

1. Canopies - boats. A canopy is a sail. The name of a ship. 2. Zhang Li: the inverted text of "Li Zhang". Chenopodium album is an annual herb with upright stems, which can be used as crutches.

Translation:

In the thick shade of towering ancient trees, I tied a boat and walked slowly across the bridge to the East with the help of chenzhan. Spring in March, apricot blossom, continuous drizzle, like deliberately wet my clothes like, the next non-stop. Gently blowing people's face, with a fresh breath of willow warm wind intoxicating.

Appreciation:

this little poem is about the poet's pleasure of spring outing in the breeze and drizzle. The poet's spring outing with a stick, but he said "help me with a stick" personifies the stick, as if it were a reliable companion, silently helping people forward, giving people a sense of intimacy and security, which made the old monk's pleasure soar and happily go all the way to the East through the small bridge. The scenery may not be very different between Qiaodong and Qiaoxi, but for the poets on spring outing, the artistic conception and taste are quite different from east to west. "East" is sometimes synonymous with "spring". For example, spring God is called Dongjun, and Dongfeng refers to spring breeze. When the poet crosses the bridge to the East, there is just an east wind blowing in front of him. No matter whether he goes West, north or south, there is no such poetic flavor. The last two sentences of the poem are particularly wonderful: "apricot rain", rain in early spring, "willow wind", wind in early spring. This is more beautiful and picturesque than "drizzle" and "gentle wind". The willow branches are rippling with the wind, giving people the impression that the spring breeze is born from the willow. The rain in early spring is called "apricot rain", which is exactly the same as the rain in early summer is called "yellow plum rain". In the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty, Lu You, a great poet, linked apricot blossom with spring rain. "Wet clothes" is used to describe the drizzle in early spring as if it were wet but not wet. Imagine the poet walking eastward with his staff. All the way, the red apricots are burning, the green willows are dancing, and the drizzle is on his clothes. It seems that he is wet but not wet. The gentle wind is blowing in front of him, and he does not feel a chill. What an impatient and pleasant spring outing! Some people can't help but think that the old monk is so excited to go down and enjoy himself. When he remembers that he should go back, he is afraid that he will not be able to support himself. Will he not even move his chenopollen? Don't worry about it. The first sentence of the poem says: "the ancient wood is a short awning in the shade." Isn't a canoe a boat? The old monk came by boat along the stream. The boat was under the old tree by the stream and was waiting for him to come back to the temple.

Chinese PinYin : Zhi Nan