What are some famous Japanese literary works related to chrysanthemums?

I The Appearance of Chrysanthemums in Early Chinese Poetry in Japan

The chrysanthemum is one of the major images in Chinese and Japanese poetry. In classical Japanese poetry, its formation as an independent and relatively stable artistic symbol is closely related to the spread and acceptance of Chinese literature in Japan.

As a kind of ornamental plant, chrysanthemum is said to have been introduced to Japan from China in the Nara period, and chrysanthemums are depicted in the first extant collection of Chinese poems in Japan, Huai Feng Zao (751 AD), which appeared at the end of the Chinese period:

In five lines, the banquet at the residence of the King of Changes in late autumn. A poem

The autumn clouds are twilight,

The floating leaves have cooled.

The western garden is open,

The eastern pavilion is filled with gui jang (珪璋).

The scales under the water are swimming, and the chrysanthemums in front of the rocks are fragrant.

The gentleman's guest loves the day,

and the color of the sun is the luan goblet.

This is a Chinese poem written by Tanaka Jyotsu, the head of Bizen Shou (Bizen Kingdom), during a banquet held at the residence of the King of Nagoya in late autumn. The couplet, "The scales swim under the water, and the chrysanthemums are fragrant in front of the rock," is a description of the garden of the host family (the King of Nagoya), where the fish swim around in the water, and chrysanthemums emanate their attractive scent in front of the stacked mountains. The chrysanthemums in front of the stacked mountains exude a tantalizing fragrance.

King Nagaya was the grandson of the famous Emperor Tenmu of Japan, and once held the position of Left Minister, who was "one man, ten thousand men", but in 729 A.D., he was given the gift to kill himself due to the slanderous rumor that he was plotting against the Emperor. In Japan, he is known as the "tragic prime minister. The garden of his residence is very famous, and the chrysanthemums in autumn are one of the main scenery of his garden, such as the following poem:

In five lines, he feasted with the guests from Silla at the Bao residence.

The high mines are open to distant light,

and the distant mountains are filled with mist and floating smoke.

There is a love for the golden orchid,

No fatigue for the moon and wind.

The remaining scenery of Guishan Mountain,

the sunset of Jupu is fresh.

It is not necessary to say that the waves are separated,

and it will be a long time before I can think of anything else.

The House of Treasure, also known as the House of Treasure, was the residence of King Nagaya in Saho, Kyoto, Japan, and was the site of Japan's famous Literary and Artistic Salon at the time. Here, while entertaining guests from Silla, King Nagaya recited a poem about the landscape of his own garden: the stacked mountains with osmanthus trees were fading in the setting sun, and the water's edge filled with chrysanthemums was brightly colored by the evening sun. [1]

Another example is Fujiwara Uchiai, who came to China as a deputy envoy to the Tang dynasty, who also sang about the garden at the residence of King Nagaya:

Seven lines, "In the fall, I feasted at the residence of King Nagaya, who was the left servant of the Tang dynasty.

The smoky clouds of the Imperial Palace ride the seasonal moon,

and the landscape of the King's house sends autumn light.

The orchid is not yet stinking with white dew,

and the chrysanthemum has its own fragrance in Danxia.

The stone wall is still short,

The mountain pine cover is long.

The dragon and the phoenix have already been able to climb the mountain,

and there is no need to search for an immortal field for the great hermit.

The garden of King Nagaya's house is highly praised, and the chrysanthemums in the garden are also mentioned.

The chrysanthemums had already appeared in people's lives as an ornamental feature of autumn.

II Chrysanthemum Imagery in Sugawara Michizane's Poetry

During his lifetime, Sugawara Michizane (845-903 A.D.) lived in the Heian period and wrote a large number of poems, of which 21 are titled "chrysanthemums". Among them, there are 21 poems with the title of "Chrysanthemum" [3], and 41 verses using the word "Chrysanthemum" [4].

Sugawara Michizane once recited this poem:

Sowing chrysanthemum seedlings in front of the government house

Youngsters love chrysanthemums more and more as they grow old,

Several acres of slanting in front of the public hall.

Last year, the yellow seeds were moved to the field,

this spring, I asked the white monk's family.

The dryness of the trees in the garden,

and the moistness of the sand,

will pile up the sand after the rain.

There are no flaws in the autumn wind,

how can the flowers on the bank of Li Shui.

When I was a teenager, I loved chrysanthemums, and when I was old, my passion for chrysanthemums didn't diminish but increased, so I planted a few acres of chrysanthemums in front of the Zanzhou government office. Last year, I transplanted many yellow chrysanthemums, which were almost wild species, and this spring, I asked monks for some white chrysanthemums. In order not to let them dry up, I planted large trees in the garden to provide shade for them, and in order not to let them get too wet, I raised the sand for them after the rain. Fortunately, the sluggish autumn winds did not destroy them, whether they can also be comparable to the chrysanthemums on the banks of the Li River?

Sugawara Michizane's love for chrysanthemums is clear. Because of his deep affection for chrysanthemums, his poems on chrysanthemums are particularly rich.

The following is an analysis of chrysanthemum imagery in Sugawara's poetry.

1. Chrysanthemum Wine

Chrysanthemums are not only ornamental plants, but also can be used to make wine, so-called chrysanthemum wine. In our country drinking chrysanthemum wine has a long history, such as rumors of Han people Liu Xin compiled, Jin people Ge Hong set of "Xijing Miscellany," said:

September 9, wear dogwood, eat pong bait, drink chrysanthemum wine, people long life. Chrysanthemum Huashu, and pick the stems and leaves, mixed with corn brewing, to the next year on September 9, began to mature, on the drink, so it is called Chrysanthemum Wine.

Chrysanthemum wine, chrysanthemum wine, for the September 9 Chongyang Festival drinks, Sui Du Gongzhan note the Southern Dynasty Liang Zong security hours of the Jing Chu chronicle of the "September 9, the four people and the wild drinking feast," said:

September 9 Banquet, not known from what generation, but since the Han to the Song has not been changed. Today, the North also emphasize this festival, wear dogwood, food bait, drink chrysanthemum wine, cloud longevity.

When the festival of Chongyang came to Japan is still not conclusive, but in the Nihon Shoki, there is a passage in the 14th year of Emperor Tenmu (685 A.D.), which reads:

September Kachen Shoronko (9th), the Emperor feasted in the old Palace Anden Ting. On this day, give cloth with the crown prince down to Shinobi Prince, each has a difference.

The Classical History of the State puts forward this record as the first of the September 9 of the Ministry of the Year and the time, which is considered to be the origin of the Chrysanthemum Festival introduced into Japan.

The imperial edict of the 10th day of the 3rd month of the 2nd year of the Tenpyo Boshi (758 A.D.), recorded in the Renewal of the Nihon Ki, has this to say about the Dragon Boat Festival:

From this day onward, the public and private sectors of the land will be allowed to celebrate the Chung Yeung Festival, and the festival will be stopped forever.

It is clear from this that the festival had already been discontinued before that time in order to avoid the Emperor's jubilee month. This month of taboo was the month in which the above-mentioned Emperor Tenmu died, and Emperor Tenmu died on the ninth day of the ninth month of the ninth lunar month of 686 A.D., the year after the above mentioned celebration of the Chung Yeung Festival.

Thus, although the Chrysanthemum Festival was introduced to Japan in the late seventh century, it continued until the beginning of the ninth century, specifically until 812 AD, because the Emperor's feast month was discontinued. For the poet Michizane Sugawara, who was born after this time, the feasts at the Chrysanthemum Festival were already a very common event. In the collected poems of Sugawara Michizane, there are twenty poems written by him on the day of the Chongyang Festival, which account for the majority of his poems on the feast. As mentioned earlier, since it was a custom to drink chrysanthemum wine on the Chrysanthemum Festival, it was inevitable that chrysanthemum wine would be mentioned in Sugawara Michizane's poems about the Chrysanthemum Festival, such as the poem, "On the Ninth Day of the Chrysanthemum Banquet, I Presented a Cornucopia Stick by a Mountain Man, in Response to the Preparation of the Banquet.

South Mountain is a bad place to wear lotus clothes,

North Que is a place to drink chrysanthemum wine.

Lingshou should be ashamed of the gift of Confucius,

Gebei wants to thank the dragon.

Plugs and arms are all weak,

I would like to help the immortal walk on the red pine.

The immortal should carry the cornelian staff into the palace, the smoke Xia do not laugh at the immortal contribution cornelian staff such a common people also do things, he came out from the Terminal South Mountain, wearing clothes made of lotus leaves, although already tattered, but came to the palace just in time to meet the feast of the Chongyang Festival. Although he was already a senior citizen, he felt ashamed of the gift from the emperor, and in order to thank him for offering the cornelian staff, he transformed into a dragon when he threw the staff into the lake. I would like to take this opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Akamatsuko and be able to live forever, since neither a head full of dogwoods nor a hand full of dogwoods has any effect, but only a dogwood staff is the most effective for the immortal's cultivation.

Another example is the poem "Serving the banquet on the ninth day, and giving the same wine to Blow China, responding to the system":

Enrgyong was drunk on the ninth day,

The wine was exquisite, and the chrysanthemums were sweetly plucked.

There is no need to pour ten points of wine,

Blowing the flowers is late to sing three songs.

The colorful gold on the lips is still a little bit,

the remaining fragrance on the mouth is half musk.

The twilight scene of the double line is more powerful,

Song Qiao is even more ashamed of the little minister.

Yangcheng Tianhuang Chongyang this day drinking has been drunk, wine must be drinking both clear wine, chrysanthemum must be picked sweet chrysanthemum. Pick up the wine cup, not tired of filling it, blowing away the chrysanthemum floating in the cup even shouted to the late guests, the lips of the drunkenness seems to be coated with a layer of gold, the mouth of the aroma of the wine and as containing half of the musk. Twilight in the middle of the pale along with the wine friends to go forward, can lend a share of strength, the immortal Chisongzi as well as Prince Qiao in the face of such a me also feel ashamed.

Chrysanthemum wine is also called chrysanthemum wine or yellow flower wine, Chinese wine, etc. It is a custom to drink chrysanthemum wine at the Chung Yeung Festival, and with the introduction of Chung Yeung Festival to Japan, drinking chrysanthemum wine has also come together as an important act of this festival, in addition to the imagery of inserting cornelianthus that appears in the previous poem, which is also one of the behaviors of this festival custom.

It is not unusual for chrysanthemum wine to be included in Sugawara Michizane's poems along with the festival.

Chrysanthemum Imagery in Japanese Poetry (2)

Chrysanthemum Imagery in Japanese Poetry (3)

Chrysanthemum Imagery in Japanese Poetry (4)

[1] There is another example of chrysanthemum and osmanthus being used together like this in the poem "Waifengzao" (怀風藻), which is in five lines, a poem on the eve of the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, which is: "The chrysanthemums are gone, but not to be left behind. The time of the year suddenly startles the fall. The chrysanthemum wind is draped in the sunset mist, and the osmanthus moon shines on Lanzhou. The fairy car crosses the magpie bridge and the divine driver crosses the clear stream. The court of heaven is filled with joy, and the pavilion of China releases the sorrow of separation. As the river crosses the sky and the sky is about to dawn, I sigh with sorrow for the future. [2] Sugawara Bunko - Sugawara Houjouji (Japanese Classical Literature Series 72), Iwanami Shoten, October 1966 The Sugawara Michizane mentioned in this article are all based on this text. [3] This does not include poems that are about chrysanthemums but do not use the word "chrysanthemum" in the title, such as "Playing with Autumn Flowers" and "On the Day after the Chung Yeung Festival, the Same Flower is Shallow and Deep, and Should be Made". The word "chrysanthemum" is used in some poems. [4] Some poems do not use the word "chrysanthemum", but they still talk about chrysanthemums, such as "Playing with Autumn Flowers", "Autumn Flowers in the Spring Palace", autumn flowers refer to chrysanthemums.