The Farm Family

AnonymousJinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) · ChinaJun 2024

2.8

Word count: 3.4K words
Chapters: 48

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Summary

"Tian Jia" is a seven-character regulated verse by the Northern Song poet Zheng Xie.

Editor's review

"Tian Jia" presents, in the form of a seven-character regulated verse, the Northern Song poet Zheng Xie's observations of and feelings about rural life. The poem centers on the daily life of a farming household; its language is concise and its imagery close to country scenes, making it a suitable close-reading sample for understanding Song-dynasty pastoral poetry. This printing is based on an old edition from Shanghai Jinzhang Book Company and preserves the appearance of a traditional typeset edition, which also gives it some reference value for readers interested in modern publishing forms and popular editions of classical texts. When reading, one may place it in the context of Northern Song poetry and consider how the poet accommodates pastoral experience within the regulated-verse form, noting both the care taken with parallelism and rhyme and the emotional restraint revealed between the lines. Its brevity makes it well suited as introductory material for close reading of classical poetry and convenient for teachers to guide students through couplet-by-couplet analysis in class. It should be noted that this material gives only the author and the poem's title, with no specific annotations or appreciation; readers should consult reliable anthologies of Song poetry for comparison and study, and avoid overinterpretation divorced from the text.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Lovers of classical literature who wish to closely read Song-dynasty pastoral regulated verse
Chinese teachers who need short poems as materials for classroom instruction
Readers interested in modern book-company typeset editions and popular editions of classical texts
Beginners in poetry who want to start with short poems and practice couplet-by-couplet appreciation

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting detailed annotations, vernacular translation, and appreciation
Researchers seeking a systematic understanding of Zheng Xie's life and complete works
General readers who prefer long narrative or modern-themed works

Reading tips

First read the whole poem to grasp the overall situation, then analyze parallelism, rhyme, and imagery couplet by couplet.
Check the text against a reliable anthology or complete edition of Song poetry, and note variant readings among editions.
After reading, try to summarize the picture of farming life in the poem in one paragraph to test whether your understanding is apt.
If used for teaching, students may first mark verbs and color words themselves, then discuss their expressive effects.

About the publisher

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) China · Founded in 1901

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) was a private publishing and distribution house in Shanghai during the late Qing and early Republican periods, issuing traditional works by lithographic printing. Judging from the 1,194 titles in the collection, its publishing focused on classical poetry, Eastern philosophy, historical reading, traditional Chinese medical texts, and canonical works, along with books on literary appreciation. Representative titles include the poetry and prose collections of Du Fu and Ouyang Xiu; historical works such as the Book of Han and Zizhi Tongjian; classical texts such as the Book of Documents and Mencius; and specialized and literary classics such as Treatise on Cold Damage and Li Sao. Its author resources cover major figures across the ages, including Du Fu, Ban Gu, Sima Guang, Zhang Zhongjing, Qu Yuan, Ouyang Xiu, and Tang Shenwei, reflecting the house's characteristic reliance on traditional scholarship and medical literature while serving general readers. Public information on its early history and operational details is limited, so no conjecture is offered here.

版权信息
【张天师草堂】常建
【古意三首】常建
【渔浦】常建
【空灵山应田叟】常建
【太公哀晚遇】常建
【昭君墓】常建
【吊王将军墓】常建
【古意】常建
【古兴】常建
【张公子行（一作古意）】常建
【题破山寺后禅院】常建
【送李大都护】常建
【潭州留别】常建
【听琴秋夜赠寇尊师】常建
【泊舟盱眙】常建
【江行】常建
【燕居】常建
【送宇文六】常建
【落第长安】常建
【塞下】常建
【题法院】常建
【岭猿】常建
【三日寻李九庄】常建
【塞下曲四首】常建
【戏题湖上】常建
【吴故宫】常建
【从军行】杜頠
【故绛行】杜頠
【少年行三首】李嶷
【淮南秋夜呈周侃（一作呈同僚）】李嶷
【林园秋夜作】李嶷
【读前汉外戚传】李嶷
【春怨】崔亘
【古歌二首】蒋维翰
【春夜裁缝】蒋维翰
【春女怨】蒋维翰
【怨歌】蒋维翰
【小山歌】万楚
【题江潮庄壁】万楚
【咏帘】万楚
【茱萸女】万楚
【五日观妓】万楚
【骢马】万楚
【题情人药栏】万楚
【河上逢落花】万楚
【宁王山池】范朝
【题石瓮寺】范朝

FAQ

Who is the author of the poem "Tian Jia"?

According to the material, "Tian Jia" is a seven-character regulated verse by the Northern Song poet Zheng Xie. This printing provides no further biographical information; readers who wish to learn about Zheng Xie and his work may consult reference works on Song literature or relevant chronological biographies of poets.

Does this edition include annotations and translation?

According to the material, this book is a typeset edition printed by Shanghai Jinzhang Book Company; it gives only the poem's title and author and does not state that it includes annotations, translation, or appreciation. When reading, it is advisable to have a reliable annotated anthology of Song poetry on hand for comparison, so as to understand the words and background accurately.

Why print a short poem separately?

Traditional book companies often printed famous pieces or single poems as small booklets for recitation and popularization. Such printings preserve the appearance of modern publishing and are also of reference value for studying popular editions of classical texts and their formats; their significance should not be judged by length alone.

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About the author

Anonymous Author

Anonymous is not a real personal name but a general Chinese designation for authors whose names are unknown, lost, or unsigned. Neither nationality nor dates of birth and death can be verified, and available public information is limited, so the works attributed to this name are the only basis for description. The collection holds 2,078 works under Anonymous, spanning medicine, classics, historical readings, ancient poetry, classical literature, and philosophy. Representative works include The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: Lingshu, Mencius, The Book of Documents, Nineteen Old Poems, Complete Song Ci, and The Peacock Flies Southeast. Most of these works took shape through long transmission and editing, emerging either from collective folk creation or from authors whose names were lost over time. In ancient China, the Book of Songs, the Great Learning, and many popular storybooks and plays were signed Anonymous because their authors could not be traced. Anonymous works cross the classics, histories, philosophical writings, medical texts, and poetry; their subjects are broad, and their styles vary from archaic simplicity to clear naturalness, making them important and influential sources for understanding ancient Chinese thought, medicine, and literature.