Is there any place in the world without fragrant herbs? (天涯何處無芳草)
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.
There is a story about him recorded in
history books.
He wrote a poem that Su Shi's third wife
particularly liked. She cried every time she read it. The general meaning of
the poem is as follows.
The red flowers on the apricot tree were
all withered, and I saw small green fruits growing on the branches.
I said softly to myself. After the flowers
fade, the fruits appear.
It turns out that life does not disappear,
it just exists in a different form.
I looked around and saw swallows flying in
the sky, the river surrounding the village and the willow trees on the banks,
and many cotton-like catkins floating in the air. Some of the catkins stuck to
my clothes, but more of them floated away.
I stood in this strange place and suddenly
felt sad.
My sadness did not last long. I picked
myself up and examined the strange environment I was in. Over the past few
decades, I have seen many different kinds of fragrant herbs in every place in
this world, just as there are beautiful things everywhere in this world.
I heard the sound of a swing coming from a
house, and through the wall I heard the sound of several women laughing in the
courtyard of the house.
As I walked on, the women's laughter slowly
faded away and my surroundings became quieter and quieter.
After hearing the voices of those women, I
suddenly remembered the person I missed so much.
I smiled and said to myself that these
unintentional actions of strangers had actually triggered the emotions hidden
deep in my heart.
The literal translation of this idiom is,
"Is there any place in the world without fragrant herbs? This idiom means
that there are different kinds of fragrant herbs in every place in the world.
This idiom is usually used to comfort a
person who is heartbroken. The friend of that person will say this saying to
that person.
Dear friends, what inspiration or thoughts
do you have after listening to this story?
Which poem is your favourite? If you have a
friend who is sad because of a broken heart, how would you comfort your friend?
I hope this story can give you some new
insights.
天涯何處無芳草(Is there any place in the world
without fragrant herbs?)
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。
歷史書上記載了一個他的故事。
他寫過一首詞，蘇軾的第三任妻子特別喜歡這首詩，她每次讀到這首詩都會流淚。這首詞的大概的意思如下。
那棵杏樹上的那些紅色的花已經全部凋謝，我看到枝頭上長出了綠色的小小的果使。
我輕輕地對自己說。花謝後長出果實了。
原來生命不會消失，只是換了一種樣子存在。
我環顧四週，我看到燕子飛翔在天空，圍繞在村莊中的的河流與河岸的柳樹，工空中飄浮的許多如同棉花一樣的柳絮，有一些柳絮沾在我的衣服上，但有更多飄向遠方。
我站在這個陌生的地方，我突然覺得感傷。
我的悲傷沒有持續多久，我重新打起精神，我重新審視我所在的這個陌生的環境，我這幾十年來，在這個世界上的每個地方都看到過許多不同種類的芬芳的香草，就如同這個世界上到處都有美好的事物一樣。
我聽到一戶人家中傳出鞦韆的聲音，我隔著圍牆聽到這戶人家中的院子裡傳出幾個女子在笑鬧的聲音。
我繼續向前走，那些女子的笑聲慢慢地消失，我的四周圍也慢慢地變得愈來愈安靜。
聽到剛才那些女子們的聲音後，我突然想起我很掛念的那個人。
我笑著對自己說，那些陌生人的無心的舉動竟然觸發了那些在我的內心中深藏著的情感。
這一句成語直接翻譯的意思是這個世界上有那個地方沒有香味芬芳的香草呢?。這一句成語的意思就是這個世界上的每個地方都會有著各種不同種類的香味芬芳的香草。
這一句成語通常被用來安慰一個失戀的人，這個失戀的人的朋友會對這個失戀的人說這句成語。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的啟發或有怎樣的想法呢。
你最喜歡的詩是那一首嗎?你如果有朋友因為失戀而覺得悲傷，你會怎樣安慰你的朋友呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為歷代詞話-卷5-宋2-95條