Auspicious Times

徐夤Nanhai Publication Company · ChinaJun 2024

3.2

Word count: 3.6K words
Chapters: 48

Summary

A gourd hangs by the window, and this thing is in between. Snow-white are the old man's temples, peach-blossom the boy's face. Sacrificing to stars on an autumn divination day, gathering herbs at dawn climbing the mountain. Long ago he released the long-life deer, which now and then brings back auspicious grass.

Editor's review

This book centers on the poem "Jiayun." Gourd vines hang by the window and things are there in between; snow-white are the old man's temples, peach-blossom the boy's face; on autumn days he sacrifices to the stars and divines, at dawn he climbs the mountain to gather herbs; the long-life deer he once released now and then returns with auspicious grass. The poem sets such images side by side—gourds by the window, snow-white temples, a boy's peach-blossom face—and depicts the daily round of star sacrifice, herb gathering, and deer releasing in the mountains, creating a picture of life aloof from the dust and unhurriedly at ease. The language is plain and clean yet the images are vivid; the notes focus on clarifying the objects and actions, while the running commentary helps readers appreciate the poem's interest in health cultivation and reclusion. The book is short and suited to slow reading in quiet hours: readers can feel how classical poetry catches everyday detail, and reflect on the ancients' imaginings of longevity, auspicious omens, and mountain life. For readers who enjoy close reading of short poems and care about the traditional theme of reclusion, it is a handy little volume.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy short classical poems and prefer the theme of mountain reclusion
Readers of literature and history interested in traditional health-cultivation and auspicious images
General readers who need a light volume for slow reading on the commute or before sleep
Readers who have some grounding in classical poetry and want to practice analyzing imagery

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a full narrative or plot development
Beginners with little interest in classical Chinese annotation and image explication

Reading tips

Read the whole poem first, mark out images such as the gourd, snow-white, peach blossom, and deer, then consult the notes.
After reading the middle two couplets, note the temporal order and rhythm of life among star sacrifice, herb gathering, and deer releasing.
Read this poem alongside short Tang poems on reclusion and compare their choices of imagery.
Try retelling in your own words the sequence of a day in the mountains, to check whether the thread of actions is clear.

About the publisher

Nanhai Publication Company China · Founded in 1988

Nanhai Publication Company is a comprehensive publisher known for its literature and arts titles, covering fields such as classical poetry, martial arts fiction, and folk literature. Judging from the more than 1,600 books in the database, the company has released classical poetic works including the Nineteen Old Poems and the Nine Songs, as well as multiple volumes of Huanzhulouzhu's series The Swordsmen of Mount Shu, along with related writings by authors such as Guan Hanqing, Qu Yuan, Zuo Si, and Wang Zhihuan. Its publishing character lies in balancing the organization of classic texts with the dissemination of popular literature, placing poetry anthologies alongside long martial arts novels and presenting a relatively diverse literary profile. Public information is limited, and further details about its editorial practices and series planning remain to be supplemented.

版权信息
【赠东方道士】徐夤
卷708_5【题僧壁】徐夤
卷708_6【和人经隋唐间战处】徐夤
卷708_7【追和常建叹王昭君】徐夤
卷708_8【赠董先生】徐夤
卷708_9【河流】徐夤
卷708_10【题南寺】徐夤
卷708_11【北山秋晚】徐夤
卷708_12【昔游】徐夤
卷708_13【酒胡子】徐夤
卷708_14【吊崔补阙】徐夤
卷708_15【吊赤水李先生】徐夤
卷708_16【香鸭】徐夤
卷708_17【鸡】徐夤
卷708_18【白鸽】徐夤
卷708_19【龟】徐夤
卷708_20【银结条冠子】徐夤
卷708_21【蜀葵】徐夤
卷708_22【华清宫】徐夤
卷708_23【再幸华清宫】徐夤
卷708_24【喜雨上主人尚书】徐夤
卷708_25【回文诗二首】徐夤
卷708_26【不把渔竿】徐夤
卷708_27【古往今来】徐夤
卷708_28【十里烟笼】徐夤
卷708_29【偶书】徐夤
卷708_30【润屋】徐夤
卷708_31【退居】徐夤
卷708_32【闭门】徐夤
卷708_33【开窗】徐夤
卷708_34【灯花】徐夤
卷708_35【东归出城留别知己】徐夤
卷708_36【咏怀】徐夤
卷708_37【郊村独游】徐夤
卷708_38【经故翰林杨左丞池亭】徐夤
卷708_39【经故广平员外旧宅】徐夤
卷708_40【潘丞相旧宅】徐夤
卷708_41【门外闲田数亩长有泉源因筑直堤分为两沼】徐夤
卷708_42【北园】徐夤
卷708_43【溪上要一只白簟扇盖头垂钓去年就节推…遂成拙句】徐夤
卷708_44【招隐】徐夤
卷708_45【忆山中友人】徐夤
卷708_46【溪隐】徐夤
卷708_47【酒醒】徐夤
卷708_48【梦断】徐夤
卷708_49【人事】徐夤
卷708_50【休说】徐夤

FAQ

What scene of life does this poem describe?

It describes a mountain dwelling where gourds hang by the window, the old man's temples are white and the boy's face ruddy; on autumn days he sacrifices to the stars and divines, at dawn he climbs the mountain to gather herbs, and the long-life deer he once released now and then returns with auspicious grass—altogether a picture of mountain life aloof from the dust and unhurriedly at ease.

Are the notes detailed enough to help understand the imagery?

The notes focus on clarifying objects and actions, explaining the gourd, star sacrifice, herb gathering, and the long-life deer, while the running commentary helps link the images together. Readers may consult the notes first and then reread the poem for a smoother understanding.

Is it suitable as bedtime reading?

Fairly suitable. The poem is short, its images calm and unhurried, and the notes concise; one can read it once or twice before sleep without rushing. For deeper study, return the next day to the echoes among the images.

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About the author

徐夤 Author

Xu Yin was a poet of the Tang dynasty; details of his life, including his dates and birthplace, are limited in publicly available sources and remain to be further verified. Judging from the six works collected here, his writing consists mainly of classical poetry, with some engagement in literary appreciation. Representative pieces include "To Yan Sizhi," "Good Fortune," "Inscribed at a Monk's Lodging," and "Newly Embroidered Socks," among which "To Yan Sizhi" and "Newly Embroidered Socks" each appear more than once, suggesting these are relatively common among his extant works. "To Yan Sizhi" is a dedicatory poem expressing friendship and esteem for a companion; "Inscribed at a Monk's Lodging" relates to a monk's dwelling and carries the flavor of a responding or inscribed verse; "Newly Embroidered Socks" takes an everyday object as its subject, with a touch close to daily life. Overall, Xu Yin's poems draw their subjects largely from social exchange, dedicatory verse, and observations of daily life, in plain and concise language, and occupy a place within the Tang tradition of dedicatory and occasional poetry. Because the transmitted materials are scattered, his biography and poetic lineage cannot be described in detail; readers may glimpse his writing through the works mentioned above.