Even the plum blossoms and cranes of Gushan have feelings.

     Even the Plum Blossoms and Cranes of Gushan Have Feelings -- A Brief Analysis of Lin Bu's Poems

    Lin Bu was a famous recluse in the early Northern Song Dynasty. He lived alone on Gushan Island near Xizhen in Hangzhou, never entering the city for twenty years, cultivating plum trees and raising cranes. He remained unmarried throughout his life, and was known as "the plum-wife and crane-son." His poem about plum blossoms, particularly the couplet "Sparse shadows slant across the clear, shallow water; a faint fragrance drifts in the twilight," expresses his lofty and self-assured sentiments and is most praised by the world. Therefore, in people's minds, this "Mr. Hejing," who was pure of heart and almost detached from worldly affairs, must have been devoid of love, right? Not so. His poem "Chang Xiang Si" (Longing for Each Other) reveals his concern for human love and affection, showing people another side of his inner world.

    Longing for Each

    Other: The mountains of Wu are green, the mountains of Yue are green. The green mountains on both banks bid farewell and welcome, who knows the sorrow of parting?

    Your tears are full, my tears are full. The knot of our hearts on our silken sashes remains untied, the tide at the river's head has already subsided.

    This lingering, repetitive rhythm transcends time, transporting us back to the verdant mountains and clear waters of the Wu and Yue regions a thousand years ago. On the picturesque riverbank, a woman with deeply furrowed brows and brimming tears approaches, recounting her thousand-year-old sorrow. Ancient, ever-flowing green mountains, why are you always silent? Have you witnessed the comings and goings on the river, the joys and sorrows of humanity, and have all your happiness and grief flowed away with the river?

    The lyrics begin with the traditional folk song opening, "The mountains of Wu are green, the mountains of Yue are green," the repeated use of the word "green" vividly depicting the season and the mountain scenery of Jiangnan, leading to the next line, "The green mountains on both banks bid farewell," and further highlighting the poignant question, "Who knows the sorrow of parting?" This scene evokes deep emotion.

    "Your tears are full, my tears are full," the transition continues, moving from scenery to emotion. At parting, tearful eyes meet, choked with sobs, speechless. Why such sorrow? Because "the knot of love on the ribbon was not tied!" Hearts intertwined, yet unable to become husband and wife, they could only part, each carrying their own wounds. "The tide at the river's head has already subsided," the tide, oblivious

    to the sorrow of parting, so quickly rose to level the riverbank, the boat about to set sail. A delicate young woman stood by the river, a river of sorrow stretching endlessly! Lin Bu's other poem expressing the sorrow of parting is "Dian Jiang Chun," titled with grass and depicting a desolate garden. This poem is more subtle, euphemistic, and profound than the previous one, "Chang Xiang Si," possessing a unique character. "

    Dian Jiang Chun

    , Jin Gu year after year, spring's chaotic colors, who is the master? Where the remaining flowers fall, the ground is covered with mist and rain.

    Another farewell song, a long pavilion at dusk. The prince has gone. Countless lush grasses, north, south, east, and west roads."

    Once a magnificent and prosperous garden, now the people are gone, the garden is ownerless, long since overgrown with weeds and wild trees. Time is merciless, the grass and trees are heartless! Have you not seen the words "chaotic growth," like needles piercing the eye and heart? They not only depict the desolation but also evoke a profound sense of sorrow, a testament to the masterful use of language, and a source of deep unease. The phrase "who is the master?" beyond the small, ownerless garden, encapsulates a profound lament for the vicissitudes of life, the rise and fall of fortune.

    "Where the remaining flowers fall" deepens the desolate beauty of spring's fading in the drizzle, further emphasizing the sorrow of "the ground covered in mist and rain."

    The first stanza, through its subtle descriptions, naturally evokes the image of overgrown weeds and sparse people, the fleeting nature of spring, thus conveying a sense of helpless melancholy and desolation.

    Seeing off loved ones amidst the desolation of a overgrown garden is heart-wrenching. At dusk at the long pavilion, parting is bittersweet, "wishing one could ask the sparse woods to hold back the slanting rays," but those who must leave must leave, and those who must stay must stay. Gazing at loved ones gradually receding into the distance, slowly disappearing, only the lush spring grass stretches out in all directions, boundless and endless.

    The entire poem, from the desolate garden to late spring, to the remaining flowers, and then to the misty rain, never explicitly mentions grass, yet it naturally evokes the image of grass vying with flowers for spring's glory, flowers fading with the rain while grass grows ever more abundant. This layered, deepening imagery effectively sets the stage for the farewell scene in the second half. The farewell song, the long pavilion, the twilight, coupled with the lush wild grass, create a profound and melancholic atmosphere. The grass stretches to the horizon, creeping across the fields, conveying a lingering, endless sorrow of parting, just as Li Yu said: "Parting sorrow is like spring grass, growing ever more abundant the further one travels."

    Having read these two poems, we cannot help but say: the feelings of the plum blossoms and cranes of Lonely Mountain are truly profound!