Lamentations of a Low-Ranked Official

The poem “I depart from the city through the North Gate, burdened with sorrow in my heart. Pressed by troubles and poor in wealth, no one knows my hardships. Since this is how it is, let it be, all determined by fate, what can I do! Assignments from the Wang family burden me, official duties from the government increase. Returning from outside to home, family members all scold me. Since this is how it is, let it be, all determined by fate, what can I do! Assignments from the Wang family compel me, official duties from the government fully dispatched. Returning from outside to home, family members all ridicule me. Since this is how it is, let it be, all determined by fate, what good ideas do I have! This poem tells the tale of a minor official lamenting his woes. From the language of the poem, there is no “loyal official unable to fulfill his aspirations” or “content with a poor official position” meaning, the old sayings are not as convincing as modern “complaints.” The poem’s minor official duties are too numerous, though hardworking to deal with, but life remains impoverished. The superiors not only do not empathize with his hardships but give him assignments, making him unbearable. The long suffering and poor status, make him fill with complaints, and family’s reprimand makes him more embarrassed, he feels the way is difficult, human nature is thin, so he only sighs, painful, helpless, only to be back on the day, calm as if. This poem, the beginning of the opening of the north gate, since ancient times, the north to “back”, Zhu Xi explained the first chapter of the opening for “comparison”, in advance of the fate of the protagonist facing the fate of the poem. In fact, from the county yamen north gate, of course, it is facing the light, it is natural to image dark dim, spirit listless. He was worried and walked back home with his head down. Because there is no job and no power, of course, it will be poor, want decent but can’t afford it, his heart is so dark and sad, you can imagine. But others don’t know his hardships, which include not only his superiors who eat and drink all day long but also his family, who rely on him to make a living. He knew he had no ability, but he was helpless, leaving only a sad face, sighing. This minor official, resigned to poverty, internal and external troubles, dressed shabbily, ashamed of his family, but also so hard-working, loyal to the king’s affairs, diligent in political affairs, is truly a dedicated and trustworthy man. Although the protagonist of this poem is an official, the whole poem is not self-pitying, indeed reflecting the spirit of realism in the Book of Songs “hungry, song of food, labor, song of things.” Realism. The emotional color contained in the poem is expressed purely in the form of a response without any exaggeration. However, at the end of each chapter, the three sentences “already, the sky is real, what is it called” are repeatedly used, greatly enhancing the tone, deepening the effect of singing and lamenting. Niu Yunzhen’s “Poetry Chronicles” believes that these sentences, like “abandoning the don’t return to the road, and striving to add meals,” are all extremely sad and angry words, not to be recognized as the order of the abandoned.