When writing this poem, Tao Yuanming was forty-four years old. Blaming a son is blaming a son. In a humorous tone, the poet accused his sons of not working hard and being far from what they hoped. Encourage them to be eager to learn and make progress and become outstanding talents. It reveals the poet's deep and sincere feelings for his beloved sons.
I am old, my hair is gray, my body is weak and my skin is slack. I have five sons, none of whom like studying. A Su of 16 is lazy, and A Xuan of almost 15 doesn't like studying either. Ayong and Antonie, 13, don't even know 6 and 7. The youngest son, Tong Er, is almost nine years old and only knows how to find food. If this is my life, I have no choice but to drink to relieve my worries. This poem written by Tao Yuanming is very interesting, vivid and humorous. This poem first says that he is old: "White hair is wrapped around his temples, and the skin is no longer solid." These two sentences are well written about people's aging. Grey temples are the most common way to describe people's aging, but Tao Yuanming is unusual. It is rare for him to describe his aging by saying that his skin is flabby and no longer full. "Tung Tzu is nine years old, but he is looking for pears and chestnuts." Here is the allusion of "Kong Rong Rangli". The Biography of Kong Rong in the later Han Dynasty said that Kong Rong knew how to make pears at the age of four. But A Tong is nine years old, so he is stupid.
This poem is very interesting. About its intention, the two great poets in later generations have completely different understandings. One is Du Fu and the other is Huang Tingjian. Du Fu's opinion is that the poem "Responsibility" criticizes his son's lack of progress, which Huang Tingjian denies. The title of this poem is "Blaming the Son", which really means blaming the philosopher. The author also has another poem "The Son of Life" and "Disappear with Yan Zi", which has strict requirements for philosophers to learn Tao and be human. Although Tao Yuanming gave up his official career, it does not mean that he is divorced from the responsibility of society, civilization and education for his children. He also has all kinds of ordinary people's feelings, and his concern for the success of his children is one of the natural feelings.
Du Fu understood this poem in this sense. However, Du Fu's understanding is too serious and practical. There are criticisms, but the sentences in the poem are humorous. Instead of giving lectures with a straight face, the author uses a playful pen and kind and loving eyes. It can be said that the shortcomings of his son are exaggerated and caricatured, and some interesting rhetorical devices are used in the narrative, which reflects the author's angry and funny mood when writing. This is a criticism with a smile, and it is the deep affection of the old man. In this way, Huang Tingjian's experience is quite subtle.
It seems that parents have always been the same. In their eyes, children will always have shortcomings, children will never be as good as they think, and their children will never be as good as "other people's children." It is wrong to think that this is because parents don't love their children. Parents' love for their children is innate, without asking for price or return, but there are many ways to express this love. Swearing is actually a kind of love in disguise. The more familiar people are, the more deeply they can point out shortcomings and mistakes. Parents are the closest people, and their criticisms are sometimes the most profound. If parents can't tell the truth, who can tell you the truth