Shallow claw marks left by a bird in the
snow(雪泥鴻爪)
Su Shi was a famous politician and gourmet
in China's Song Dynasty. He was also an excellent writer and calligrapher. He
is also one of the most popular poets in Chinese history.
He has a younger brother who is two years
younger than him and they have a very good relationship.
In 1056 AD, 21-year-old Su Shi, his younger
brother and his father went to the capital to take the imperial examination. On
their way to the capital, they passed a town called (Mianchi).
They spent the night in a temple in the
city.
The examination went very smoothly. Su Shi
and his brother both passed the imperial examination and both entered the
central government of the Song Dynasty to work.
In 1061 AD, Su Shi passed through the city
of Mianchi again on a job transfer. Su Shi returned to the temple where he, his
brother and his father had lived five years earlier. That night he wrote a poem
to his brother.
The general meaning of this poem is as
follows.
We live in this world and we will go to
many places in our life. We will leave some traces in every place we go. What
adjectives would you use to describe the traces we leave behind?
I feel that the traces we leave behind are
like the shallow claw marks left by a bird flying free in the sky and suddenly
stopping on the snow.
Today I passed through the town of Mianchi
and returned to the temple where we lived five years ago.
You must remember the old monk who looks
after this temple, right?
We had a lot of fun talking to that old
monk when we lived here five years ago. Today, when I arrived at the temple, I
didn't see him. After asking other monks in the temple, I found out that the
old monk had died two years ago.
I returned to the room in the temple where
we lived. That night five years ago, you and I each wrote a poem on the wall of
that room.
But that room was no longer habitable
because the walls had collapsed.
I am now in this temple and I am alone in
my room. The changes in the people and environment around me make me feel very
sad. I thought of you, so I wrote this poem for you.
Do you remember how anxious we felt as we
passed through the town of Mianchi on our way to the capital to take the exam
that year?
Do you remember the feeling of relief when
we finally found a place to rest after dark, having walked for so long that
day, and both we and our donkeys were very tired?
The literal translation of this idiom is
the shallow claw marks left by a bird in the snow.
It is used to describe the random and
ephemeral nature of all processes in life.
Dear friends, what are your feelings or
thoughts after listening to this story?
What moments in your life do you miss the
most, when you felt happy? Has your life journey been smooth or bumpy so far?
I hope this story can give you some new
insights.
雪泥鴻爪(Shallow claw marks left by a bird in
the snow)
蘇軾是中國的宋王朝的一個著名的政治家與美食家，他還是一名傑出的文學家與書法家。他更是中國歷史上最受人喜愛的詩人之一。
他有一個弟弟，他的弟弟比他小兩歲，他們兄弟的感情非常好。
西元1056年，21歲的蘇軾與他的弟弟還有他的父親一起到首都參加科舉考試，在前往首都的途中他們經過了一座名字叫做(澠池)的城市。
在這座城市裡他們在一間寺廟中住了一個晚上。
這次的考試非常的順利，蘇軾與他的弟弟都通過了科舉考試，他們兩個人都進入了宋王朝的中央政府工作。
西元1061年，蘇軾因為職務調動，所以他再次經過澠池這座城市。蘇軾回到五年前他與他的弟弟還有父親一起住過的那間寺廟中，那個晚上，他寫了一首詩給他的弟弟。
這首詩的大概的意思如下。
我們活在這個世上，我們的一生中會去到很多地方，我們在每個所到過的地方都會留下一些痕跡，你會用什麼形容詞來形容我們留下的這些痕跡呢?
我覺得我們所留下的這些痕跡就像是一隻在天空中自由飛翔的鳥，突然停留在一片雪地上所留下的淺淺地爪痕一樣。
我今天經過了澠池這座城市，我又回到我們五年前住的那間寺廟。
你應該還記得那個看管這座寺廟的老和尚吧?
我們五年前住在這裡的時候跟這個老和尚聊天聊得很開心，我今天到了這座寺廟中沒有看到他，詢問這座寺廟的中的其他和尚後我才知道，那個老和尚已經在前兩年過世了。
我回到了寺廟中我們住過的那間房間，在五年前的那一個夜裡，我跟你各自寫了一首詩在那間房屋的牆壁上。
但是那間房間已經沒有辦法住人了，那間房間的牆壁已經崩塌了。
我現在在這座寺廟內，我的房間中只有我一個人，周圍的人物與環境的變化讓我的心中感到非常的感傷，我想到了你，所以我寫了這首詩給你。
你還記的我們那一年經過澠池這座城市要去首都參加考試時的不安的心情嗎?
你還記得我們那一天走了好久，我們與我們的驢子都感覺到非常的疲倦，我們在天黑之後終於找到一個可以休息的地方時那種終於可以鬆一口氣的感受嗎?
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是雪地上留下的一隻鳥的淺淺的爪痕。
這句成語被用來形容人生中所有的過程的偶然與短暫
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的感受或有怎樣的想法呢。
你最懷念你的人生中感覺到幸福的那些時刻呢?到目前為止，你的人生旅程是順利還是充滿波折呢?
我希望這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為宋-蘇軾-和子由澠池懷舊
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E5%92%8C%E5%AD%90%E7%94%B1%E6%BE%A0%E6%B1%A0%E6%87%B7%E8%88%8A