Huang Tingjian joined the army of cat slaves, roughly starting from a rat infestation
In the autumn of that year, his old cat went to the cat, and the rat bullied him that there was no cat in the house, and he was so domineering that he almost overturned the house, causing Huang Tingjian to not sleep well. At this moment, he heard that the cat of the "Sui Master Book" family had given birth, ahhhh God really helped me, Huang Tingjian was very happy, hurriedly bought small dried fish, and respectfully hired the cat. As a sign of sincerity, he wrote this poem Seven Uniques:
Begging cats
Song Huang Tingjian.
In autumn, the rats deceived the cat to death, and the peeping urn turned over and disturbed the night's sleep.
Hearing that the raccoon slaves will count the sons, buy fish and wear willows to hire cicadas.
Brief analysis
Begging cat", a "begging cat from the master book", that is, begging the owner for a kitten. In ancient times, the status of cats was very high (and it is also today), and the seeker should lower his posture and beg with a very solemn ceremony. The Ichir was originally a wax ......Welcome cats, for which they eat voles also. "You see, even the Son of Heaven has to hold a ceremony to "welcome the cat". So, what kind of ritual should ordinary people pay attention to when welcoming cats?
Write a letter of appointment and give a dowry, just like marrying a daughter-in-law. Huang Tingjian's poem "Begging Cat" is actually a letter of appointment. What about the dowry? Of course, it's the cat's favorite fish. (Sometimes expensive salt is also used, such as Lu You's "salt wrapping to hire raccoon slaves").
In autumn, the rats deceived the cat to death, and the peeping urn turned over and disturbed the night sleep", the first two sentences wrote that they were infestation by rats and could not sleep peacefully, highlighting the heart of the cat.
I heard that the "raccoon slave" in "Tanuki Slave Will Count the Sons" is a term of endearment for cats. "Will", there is information for "raising, raising" solution, and the poem feels that it is more appropriate to understand it as "birth, production". Coincidentally, the poet's hometown dialect uses "jiāng" (but I don't know which word) is used in the hometown dialect of animals.
Huang Tingjian believes that among the several cat cubs born to the raccoon slave, one must be worthy of the task of exterminating rats, so he can't wait to hire the cat back in his heart - "buy fish and wear willows to hire cicadas".
"Buying fish and wearing willows" means that the fish bought are strung with wicker and carried to the master's house. "Cicada" is also a term of endearment for cats. There are several theories circulating about this. One said, the white cat with black spots on its mouth looks like a cicada in its mouth from a distance, so it is named the cicada, also known as the "cicada slave". One said that there was indeed a cat with cicadas in the ancient paintings of the Tang Dynasty, hence the name. Another said that Princess Qionghua in the Tang Dynasty raised two cats, one with a white body and a spotted mouth, and the other with a black body and a white tail. In short, the name of "cicada" is not only good, but also with a kind of majesty and domineering, perhaps in Huang Tingjian's view, as soon as the kitten comes, not only the cicada, but also the mouse, in order to avenge the revenge of "the rats bullying me".
This little poem is very life-like, very cute and interesting, and I want to share it with a smile for readers.