The Metaphor of Sparrow in Chinese Traditional Culture

Wen / Zhu Zhidong

Afternoon, wind and rain, I lie in bed to take a nap, the window came from a burst of rapid chirping sound, chattering raucous, disturbing my quiet. Open your eyes to see the window sill fell two sparrows, through the glass I observed them at close range, sparrows from the forehead to the back of the neck Zhang liver brown; upper body sandy brown, back with black longitudinal stripes, and embellished with brown; tail dark brown, chin, throat black, the rest of the lower body stained grayish-white slightly tinged with brown; sparrows are common and ordinary, appearance is not shocking, the voice does not move, it is really difficult to find the words to praise it, and decided to drive away from them, and return me to a I decided to get rid of them and give me back a piece of clean land. Sparrows are bold, not very afraid of people, but very vigilant, I pushed the door of the room immediately startled them to fly downstairs in the hedge. At this time, it so happens that a withered grass from the eaves of the upper floated down to my feet, along with the direction of the descent of the withered grass looked up, I was surprised to find that the sparrows have been under the eaves of the installation of the meter in the tin box to build a home, silently and I do neighbors.

Because of their own behavior is not very ecological and civilized, the heart of this neighbor with guilt, but also more than a touch of goodwill, so I want to know more about them. I stood on the third floor corridor to continue to observe them, sparrows like to flock, at this time in the hedge more than some of his companions. They cheer together in the hedge, jumping, a moment to fly to the trees, the roof, chasing and playing in the wind and rain; a moment and flew down on the wire, in a row, the wire swaying in the wind and rain, the sparrow also swings, as if a group of mischievous children in the swing. Well, in the hedgerow there is a practice flying fledgling, he jumped back and forth on the ground, but also from time to time to try to open the wings of the feathered attempt to fly, mouth humming a chirping tune, it is very noisy, perhaps the excitement of the upcoming flight. Two of his companions in the hedge (should be his own bird), also chirping, as if to say: "Children, continue to work hard, one day you will eventually spread your wings and fly." The front of the house became a playground for sparrows, a beautiful picture of birds playing in the rain.

The sparrow has experienced a painful history, mankind will be listed as the "Four Pests" and driven to extinction, under the eaves of the house, under the tree, the people day and night drumming and yelling and shouting, in order to make the sparrow shall not rest and die of exhaustion. But the sparrows are wronged, that they are bad for food, in the fall during the grain harvest, flocks fly to the farmland to peck at the grain, to the agricultural harvest brought about by the impact, but in urban areas and at other times, they are more grass, seeds, fruits and other food for food, breeding food a large number of insects, which is beneficial to agriculture. What a hatred people had for sparrows back then! Have to say that is a pity for ecological civilization.

Sparrow, you are just a sparrow! Birds of the humble bird, no beautiful appearance, no melodious singing voice, common and ordinary. Painted eyebrow, parrots and other birds of the same kind in other species, as if born with noble blood, favored by the world. But it is your humility, your cold shoulder, that has freed you from the guns and cages of mankind, and allowed you to gain true freedom and dignity.

You, like so many other ordinary people in this city, survived in obscurity, reproduced and lived on.

But no one is looking at you, "the bird knows the will of the swan" is a merciless mockery of you.

The "moonlight" and "skyrocketing" of the "goose" have nothing to do with you, and you can only fly around in the city where you live. You've seen the city's lights, you've seen the city's sinister hearts, you don't get restless, you don't get tired of it, you've never been left out, but you've never left.

Turgenev had recorded in his essay a sparrow pro bird to protect the young bird accidentally fell to the ground with its weak body in the face of a big dog and do not retreat touching scene, yes, the sparrow has a lot of neglected good quality. As the saying goes, "A sparrow is small, but it has all its organs." The body is weak, but the heart is strong; the origin is humble, but the head is high. Sparrow, you are never synonymous with the weak! At this moment, looking at the sparrow in the wind and rain, I stood in awe, so I silently returned to my room.

Soon, the sparrow again flew down on the windowsill, or non-stop chirping, but the sound feels incomparable.