A couplet and six allusions, do you know?
There is such a couplet:
The teacher's home is filled with peaches and plums, and the dragons and snakes in the East are full of role models.
This couplet has only 14 characters, but it cleverly uses six allusions, with neat dialogue, harmonious phonology, rich semantics, and full of interest. In order to help readers further understand the connection, this article briefly analyzes the allusions used in it as follows:
Teacher:Honored as teacher. Why did the ancients respect teachers as "teachers"? This is related to Liu Zhuang, Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty. According to Volume 8 of the "Record of Titles": "Emperor Huan Rong of the Han Ming Dynasty honored Huan Rong as his teacher. He went to Taichang Mansion and ordered Rong to sit on the east side. There was a table set up. Therefore, the teacher called him Xixi." There are historical records on this matter: Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty was Guang The heir of Emperor Wu Liu Xiu, he worshiped Huan Rong as his teacher when he was the prince. After he ascended the throne, he still respected Huan Rong very much. He often went to the Taichang Mansion where Huan Rong lived, asked Huan Rong to sit in the seat facing the east, and set up the table and cane for Huan Rong. He personally held the scriptures in his hand and listened to Huan Rong's explanation of the scriptures. Why did he ask the teacher to sit "facing east"? Because in the Han Dynasty, "Xixi" (facing the east) was the most respected indoor seat. "Xixi" means "sitting west facing east". Emperor Ming arranged this arrangement to show his respect for the teacher. Since the emperor arranged for teachers to sit in the teacher's chair, people respectfully called tutors and even all teachers "teachers".
peaches and plums:Metaphor refers to students. Volume 7 of "Han Shi Wai Zhuan" is quoted: "Peach and plum trees grow in spring, and they can provide shade under them in summer, but they can be eaten in autumn. Tribulus trees grow in spring, and their leaves cannot be picked in summer, but their thorns can be harvested in autumn." Who was right about this statement? Who said that? During the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a minister in the Wei State named Zizhi. When he became powerful, he trained and recommended many people. Later, because he offended Wei Wenhou, he ran to the north alone. In the north, he met a man named Zijian and complained loudly, complaining that those whom he had trained and recommended were unwilling to contribute to him. After hearing this, Zijian smiled and said: "If you plant peaches and plums in spring, you can enjoy the coolness under the trees in summer, and you can also eat the fruits in autumn. However, if you plant tribulus (a thorny plant) in spring, then not only will You can't use it in summer, even in autumn, its thorns will sting people." Then Zijian said: "So a gentleman should cultivate talents like planting trees. He should first select the right people and then cultivate them. You select The best people should not be selected in the first place!" Here, Zijian uses "planting trees" as a metaphor for "educating people", which is both vivid and profound. Later, people referred to the outstanding talents cultivated by teachers as "peaches and plums", and gradually the students they educated and the younger generations they cultivated were also called "peaches and plums".
Sangzi:Called hometown. Quote from "The Book of Songs, Xiaoya Xiaobian": "Wei mulberry and catalpa trees must be respectfully stopped. Looking at the father is a thief, and relying on the mother is a thief." The main idea of these four lines of poetry is: When I see the mulberry tree and the catalpa tree, I think of my home. My parents around me also planted them, which made me miss my parents, so I looked at them respectfully. What I respect is my father, and what I am attached to is my mother. Based on this poetic sentiment, there is also a sentence in "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" that "It is still appropriate to be respectful and solemn when facing pines, cypresses, and mulberry trees." Because mulberry trees and catalpa trees were planted by their parents and grew in their hometown, later generations used them to refer to their hometown; and because of the need for simplicity and smoothness, people collectively called the two trees "mulberry trees". "Sangzi" gradually became a synonym for "hometown". For example, Liu Zongyuan, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, had a sentimental line in his poem "Hearing the Oriole": "Country birds come here no matter what, and it makes me remember my hometown."
Dongtan:Refers to son-in-law. According to the note on "Dong Tan" in "Ci Yuan", "Dong Tan" is the abbreviation of "East bed Tan belly". Why does "Dongtan" refer to son-in-law? This is related to the marriage of the great calligrapher Wang Xizhi. Xi Jian, the Grand Tutor of the Jin Dynasty, wanted to find a son-in-law in the family of Prime Minister Wang Dao, so he sent his disciples to Wang's family to choose a son-in-law on his behalf. The disciple came to the east wing where the Wang family's children gathered, looked at each other, and went back to report to Xi Jian: "The young men of the Wang family are all very good, and it's hard to tell them apart. However, I heard that you want to choose a son-in-law, and they all Dressed up neatly and behaved elegantly, hoping to be selected, there is only one young man lying on the bed in the east, with his clothes open and belly exposed, indifferent, as if he didn't even know you were going to choose your son-in-law." After hearing this, Xi Jian said happily "This man is the perfect son-in-law for me." So Taifu Xi betrothed his daughter to this man. The man lying on the bed with his belly exposed was Wang Xizhi, who later became a great calligrapher. This story has been passed down as a good story, and gradually people began to call the good son-in-law "the best son-in-law in the east bed", "the best son-in-law in the east bed", "the east bed and the belly", "the east bed" and "the east tan".
Dragon Snake:The metaphor is very personal. According to "Zuo Zhuan Xianggong 21st Year": "Dragon and snake grow in deep mountains and swamps." This means: deep mountains and vast waters are indeed places where dragons and snakes grow. According to Du Yu's annotation quoted in "Cihai", "Extraordinary places produce many extraordinary things." It can be seen that the original meaning is that unusual regional environments often produce unusual things, that is, bells, bells, beautiful flowers, and earth spirits. The meaning of outstanding people. Li Bai, the great poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem "A Gift to Pei Qiu Zhongkan in Early Autumn", in which the two sentences "Baby comes out of poverty, and dragons and snakes are found in Daze" can also be used as evidence. In addition, the word "dragon and snake" is often used to describe hiding and retreat, to describe weapons such as spears and halberds, to describe twisting branches, to describe calligraphy that is vigorous, free and easy, bold and unrestrained, etc. But judging from the content of the above couplet, the "dragon and snake" here should refer to "extraordinary people", that is, outstanding and talented people.
Role model:Metaphor refers to a model person. The word "model" comes from "Guangqun Fangpu" compiled by Wang Hao under the orders of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty. The regular tree is the coptis tree. Its branches are sparse and unyielding, straight and straight. According to legend, it was born on the tomb of Confucius, a great educator and thinker in ancient times. After Confucius died, three thousand of his disciples stayed at his grave for three years. Only Zigong was unable to visit Confucius when he was ill because he was away on business, so he stayed there for six years. When Zigong was attending a funeral, he broke a branch into a mourning stick and inserted it next to the tomb. Later, the branch sprouted and grew into a large tree with luxuriant leaves, sparse branches and a straight trunk with good quality. The mold tree is said to have grown on the tomb of Duke Zhou, a politician in the early Western Zhou Dynasty who advocated "clear virtues and careful punishment" and treated virtuous corporals. This tree is evergreen all year round, with luxuriant branches and leaves. Its leaves change with the seasons - green in spring, red in summer, white in autumn and black in winter, with pure color. Because both kinds of trees grow beside the tombs of sages, and their shapes and textures are loved and admired by people, later generations call those exemplary figures with high moral character, respected people, and can serve as role models as "models."
To sum up, the meaning of the six allusions is clear, and the main idea of the entire couplet is self-evident. It turns out that it praises the teacher: My teacher educates well and has proud students all over the countryside; his son-in-law is extraordinary and all of them can be regarded as role models.
