Translation of Ancient Chrysanthemum Poems

chrysanthemum

Yuan Zhen

Autumn silk is like a Potter around the house, and the more she surrounds, the more inclined she is.

It's not that chrysanthemums are favored among flowers, but that this flower is even more flowerless.

Clusters of autumn chrysanthemums surround the house and look like the home of the poet Tao Yuanming. Looking at chrysanthemums around the fence, the sun will set before you know it. It's not because chrysanthemums are favored among flowers, but because they can't see better flowers after blooming.

Appreciation: Tao Qian, a great poet in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, wrote a famous sentence, "Pick chrysanthemums under the east fence and see Nanshan leisurely". Everyone knows the name he loves chrysanthemum, and chrysanthemum has gradually become a symbol of an extraordinary hermit. No wonder Zhou Dunyi, a poet in the Song Dynasty, felt that there were not many real hermits after Tao Yuanming, and he wanted to make a big fuss about "the love of chrysanthemums was rarely heard after Tao Yuanming". There are many scholars who love chrysanthemums in the past dynasties, and those who sing chrysanthemums also have excellent works. Chrysanthemum is a lyric poem written by Yuan Zhen, a poet in the middle Tang Dynasty.

The poet loves chrysanthemums from the bottom of his heart: clusters of blooming chrysanthemums surround the house, and he enjoys these personally planted chrysanthemums along the bamboo fence, unaware that the sky is sinking. The word "around" in the first sentence describes how many chrysanthemums are planted outside the house, giving people an elegant environment, such as the feeling of Tao Yuanming's home. The word "around" in the second sentence describes a strong interest in chrysanthemum appreciation, not staying in Dongli, but "walking around the fence" until I don't know when it will come. He seems to love chrysanthemums more than Mr. Wu Liu. In just fourteen words, there are scenes, feelings and associations, which vividly outline a picture of a poet strolling through chrysanthemums and enjoying flowers and poems in autumn night, but he is happy to return.

The third sentence, with a sharp turn of negative sentences, points out that I don't love chrysanthemums for no reason. In late autumn, all the flowers wither, and only chrysanthemums can survive without withering. Their independent support adds abundant vitality to the world. The poet loves life and nature. The chrysanthemums in full bloom at the end of these four seasons make him forget his feelings and can't give up his love. China's classical poems often use things to express their feelings, such as Qu Yuan's Ode to an Orange and Chen Ziang's Feeling. Yuan Zhen's poem "Chrysanthemum" eulogizes the noble integrity and strong character of chrysanthemum, and also contains profound implications.

This poem adopts the artistic conception in Tao's poems and is also sung in elegant and simple language, which is different from Tao Gong's full use of images. Instead, after describing the details, I told the reasons for loving Chrysanthemum in a self-narrative way without saying a word, leaving people with room for chewing imagination and enhancing its artistic appeal. So it has always been loved by people.