Picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, leisurely seeing the Nanshan Mountain

The silt is not stained, the green lotus is not evil

Love the Lotus

(Song Dynasty) Zhou Dunyi

The flowers of land and water are very lovely. Tao Yuanming of the Jin Dynasty only loved chrysanthemums; since the Li and Tang Dynasties, the world has loved peonies; I only love the lotus that emerges from the mud but is not stained; Jingzhi can be viewed from a distance but cannot be played with. I say chrysanthemum, the flower that represents seclusion; peony, the flower that represents wealth and honor; lotus, the flower that represents the gentleman. Alas! The love of chrysanthemums is rarely heard of after Tao; the love of lotus, no one can give it to anyone; the love of peony is suitable for everyone.

Love Lotus"

Flowers of water, land and vegetation are very lovely. Tao Yuanming of the Jin Dynasty only loved chrysanthemums; since the Li and Tang Dynasties, the world has loved peonies; I only love the lotus that emerges from the mud but is not stained; Jingzhi can be viewed from a distance but cannot be played with.

I say chrysanthemum, the flower that represents seclusion; peony, the flower that represents wealth; lotus, the flower that represents the gentleman. Alas! The love of chrysanthemums is rarely heard of after Tao; the love of lotus, no one can give it to anyone; the love of peony is suitable for everyone.

[Note]:

(1) Ailian said: Selected from "Collection of Zhou Yuan Gong". The author Zhou Dunyi is a famous idealist philosopher. "Yuan Gong" is Zhou Dunyi's posthumous title. He is the author of "Taijitu Shuo", "Tongshu" and other "Shuo", which is a genre of ancient argumentative essays that can explain things and discuss principles.

(2) Fan: many.

(3) Jin Tao Yuanming loves chrysanthemums alone: ??Tao Yuanming (365~427), a Qian with a courtesy name of Yuanliang, was born in Xunyang (now Jiujiang County, Jiangxi Province) in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and a famous poet. He loved chrysanthemums very much, and often wrote about them in his poems, such as "Picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, leisurely seeing the Nanshan Mountains" in the poem "Drinking Drinking", which has always been known as a famous line.

(4) Since the Tang Dynasty, people have loved peonies very much: Since the Tang Dynasty, people have loved peonies very much. Li Tang refers to the Tang Dynasty. The emperor of the Tang Dynasty was named Li, so he was called "Li Tang". People in the world, ordinary people in society. People in the Tang Dynasty loved peonies, and there are many records in ancient books. For example, "Supplement to the History of the Tang Dynasty" written by Li Zhao of the Tang Dynasty said: "Peony is highly valued when traveling in the capital... Every spring and evening, the horses and carriages are like crazy... Planting for profit. This (one plant) is worth tens of thousands (referring to money)"

(5) I only love the lotus, which emerges from the mud and remains unstained: I only like the lotus, I like it. Born from the mud but not contaminated. Silt, sludge accumulated in ponds.

(6) Zhuo (zhuó) is clean but not charming: washed in clear water but not charming. Mao, washing. Qinglian, the water is clear and has the appearance of microwaves, here it refers to clear water. Demon, beautiful but not dignified.

(7) Not vines, not branches: not involved, not branchy.

(8) The fragrance is farther away and clearer: the farther away the fragrance is, the clearer it becomes. Benefit, more, more.

(9) Tingting: towering appearance. The pavilion is tall and neat, standing there straight and clean.

(10) xiè: play with. Obscene, close but not solemn.

(11) Hermit: A person who lives in seclusion. In feudal society, some people did not want to join the ranks of the rulers, so they lived in seclusion.

(12) Peony, the richest flower: Peony is the "rich" flower.

(13) Gentleman: A person with high moral standards.

(14)噫(yī): interjection, equivalent to "alas".

(15) Chrysanthemum love: Hobby for chrysanthemums.

(16) Xian (xiǎn) Youwen: Rarely heard. Fresh, less.

(17) Yihu: Yi, Dang, used here with "hu", means "of course".

[Translation]: There are many lovely flowers of various grasses and trees on the water and on the ground. Tao Yuanming of the Jin Dynasty only loved chrysanthemums. Since the Tang Dynasty, people in the world have loved peonies very much.

I only like the lotus. It grows out of the mud but is not polluted. It has been washed in clear water but does not look charming. Its stems are straight in the middle and straight in appearance. They are not involved or branchy. The fragrance spreads far away, and becomes even more fragrant. It stands there straight and clean. You can watch it from a distance, but you can't get close and play with it lightly.

In my opinion, the chrysanthemum is the hermit among flowers; the peony is the rich and noble among flowers; and the lotus is the gentleman among flowers.

Alas! People who love chrysanthemums are rarely heard of since Tao Yuanming. People who love lotus, who else is like me? As for people who love peonies, there are certainly a lot of them! "Shuo" is one of the ancient literary styles. It often depicts things to express emotions and aspirations. Zhou Dunyi's "A Love of the Lotus" is a rare masterpiece handed down from generation to generation in this style of expressing one's ambitions. To express one's ambitions by means of a specific object is to express a certain sentiment, ambition or thought and feeling.

[Appreciation]: Zhou Dunyi, a native of the Northern Song Dynasty, was indifferent to fame and wealth throughout his life and did not seek to be famous or successful. His noble character is just as praised by Huang Tingjian, a literary master of the Northern Song Dynasty: "He has a very high character and a generous mind, like the light, wind and moon..." and his handed down prose masterpiece "The Theory of Love and Lotus" is exactly what he said. The spiritual refraction transmitted through the wine-dropped mind. The lotus has been the object of praise by literati throughout the ages, but most literati marveled at its pure appearance and described it in their writings. However, this masterpiece of prose has a unique approach, through the description of the image and quality of the lotus. , praising the steadfast character of the lotus, thus also showing the author's noble personality and open mind of being pure and self-respecting.

From the content point of view, this article can be clearly divided into two parts: the first part does its best to describe the noble image of the lotus; the second part reveals the metaphorical meaning of the lotus and comments on it. The three flowers, and the lotus describing itself, express the author's deep inner sigh.

In the first part of the article, it was written that the beauty of the lotus lies in the word "clean". First of all, "It emerges from the mud but is not stained, and the lotus is clean but not evil" describes the valuable spirit of the lotus in the mud, but it is not stained, does not follow the world, is pure and self-loving, and is innocent and natural without showing any flattery; secondly, "It is straight in the middle and straight in the outside, neither creeping nor branching", which describes its noble quality of being connected inside and outside, straight in appearance, consistent inside and outside, and not involved in clinging; again, "can be viewed from a distance but not played with", which describes the lotus as being proud and proud. Like a distinguished gentleman, he will never be despised or toyed with by the common people.

Everything mentioned above is actually a reflection of the author's personality and a self-evident expression of the author's will. We can get clear proof of this from the second part of the article. As the author said: "Who can give the love of lotus?" The subtext is that there are too few people who have the purity of lotus like him.

In terms of writing method, "Ai Lian Shuo" has the unique characteristics of the "Shuo" style, that is, expressing ambitions by supporting things. The article starts from "coming out of the mud without staining, washing the clear ripples without being evil", depicting the magnanimity and grace of the lotus with thick ink and colorful colors, which expresses the author's affirmation and pursuit of ideal personality, and also reflects the author's disdain for greed for wealth and honor. The mentality of chasing fame and fortune and the beautiful sentiment of pursuing purity and self-discipline. At the same time, the article also uses contrast and contrast techniques, using chrysanthemums and peonies to contrast the beauty of the lotus several times in the article; it also contrasts the seclusion of the chrysanthemum, the wealth of the peony and the nobility of the lotus, which deepens the theme of "loving the lotus" , there is no empty preaching, but through the contrast of three images, it plays the role of highlighting the center and deepening the idea. The technique can be described as extremely clever. Moreover, the word "love" runs through the entire article, making the structure of the article rigorous. At the end of the article, the author laments that there are very few truly reclusive scholars, that there are rare gentlemen with noble character, and that there are many common people who are greedy for wealth. It is thought-provoking and thought-provoking.

This poem is also distinctive in language, that is, it is beautiful and concise, indeed as beautiful as a lotus - "neither vine nor branch"