Melancholy of the Departed Fields

The poem “Look at those rows of millet, sorghum seedlings also growing tall. Stepping slowly on familiar ground, heart filled only with sorrow and grief. Those who understand me say I am filled with sorrow. Those who don’t ask what I seek. O lofty heavens above, who caused me to leave my home? Look at those rows of millet, sorghum ears also growing. Stepping slowly on familiar ground, feeling as if drunk. Those who understand me say I am filled with sorrow. Those who don’t ask what I seek. O lofty heavens above, who caused me to leave my home? Look at those rows of millet, sorghum ears red and bright. Stepping slowly on familiar ground, heart pained as if choked. Those who understand me say I am filled with sorrow. Those who don’t ask what I seek. O lofty heavens above, who caused me to leave my home? Regarding the poem “Shu Li”, although “Shi Xu” clearly stated: “Shu Li, Min Zongzhou also. Zhou Dafu walks, arrives at Zongzhou, passes the old ancestral temple palace, all for crops. Mingzhou’s house is overturned, hesitates unwilling to leave, and thus makes this poem.” Moreover, since this poem is at the beginning of “Wang Feng”, it is indeed the intention of the compiler. But there have been many disputes over the years, with different interpretations from Han and Lu remnants, different from the Mao sequence, and Song Confucianism has even more speculation that “the seedlings of Jizhi” are the seedlings of Jizhi. Recent readers have emerged with new theories, the most representative of which is Guo Moruo’s classification in “Ancient Chinese Social Studies” as the lament of the old aristocrat himself. Chapter, Yu Ying in “The Book of Songs” believes that it is a wanderer telling his worries. There are also patriotic figures like Lan Jusun who worry about the country and fight (“Shi Jing National Wind Today Translation”), and Cheng Junying’s hard to say homeland (“Shi Jing Translation Notes”) and so on. Although there are many arguments, it is indisputable that the worry caused by the changes of the times and seasons in the poem is indisputable. Although the specific background cannot be seen from the poem, the shock of the soul shown in it is worth appreciating. On the other hand, from the perspective of poetry teaching, precisely because it is the work of the minister Min Zongzhou, it is listed first in the “Wang Feng”, which is the orthodox poetry, which cannot be reached, and is analyzed in detail from two aspects. Why is the poem of Minister Min Zongzhou placed first in the “Wang Feng”, it is necessary to clarify what “Wang Feng” is. Zheng Jianyun said: “Zongzhou, Haojing, namely Xizhou. Zhou, the king’s city, said Dongzhou. The chaos of King You and Zongzhou was destroyed. King Ping moved east, the government was weak, and listed among the princes. Its poems cannot be restored to ‘Yaya’, but are the same as ‘Guofeng’.” It can be seen that “Wang Feng” has meanings of geography and politics. From a geographical point of view, it is the song of the king’s city. From a political point of view, there are no “Yaya” poems, so it is “Wang Feng”. If the poem is as “Shi Xu” said, its typical situation should be: After the eastern migration of King Ping for a short time, a minister visited the ancient capital of the western week, Haojing, which is the so-called Zongzhou. Looking around, there was no former city palace, nor the prosperity and splendor of the city, only a lush field of millet, perhaps occasionally a few screams of wild pheasants. This situation and scene made the poet unable to help but be sad. This is a matter of heart. The locust and millet sprouts are not emotional, but in the eyes of the poet, they are a starter of infinite sorrow, so he walked slowly on a desolate path, his heart swayed, full of sadness. The melancholy that cannot be understood is unbearable. What people think I am unhappy, but not understand me, people ask me what the pursuit is. It is the embarrassment of everyone is the mind of the other, the spirit is the sadness of the other. The saying is many, the poem, the sorrow caused by the change of the era, is the argument, but the literature is not enough. The poem of sadness can be made, and sadness is there, and it is, there is and. […]