What is the meaning of the poem New Year's Day?

New Year's Day

Song Dynasty: Wang Anshi

The firecrackers sounded the first year, and the spring breeze brought warmth into the tassel.

A thousand doors and tens of thousands of tels, always changing the new peach for the old one.

Translation

At the sound of the roaring firecrackers, the old year was over; the warm spring breeze blew in the New Year, and people joyfully drank freshly-brewed Tusu

wine.

The rising sun shone down on thousands of families, who were busy removing the old peach charms and replacing them with new ones.

"New Year's Day" is a seven-character stanza composed by Wang Anshi, a politician of the Northern Song Dynasty. The poem describes the lively and joyful scene of the New Year's Day and the renewal of everything, expresses the author's ideological feelings of political innovation, and is full of joy and positive spirit.

Expanded Information

"The sound of firecrackers is the first year of the year, and the spring breeze sends warmth into the Tuusu." Firecrackers on New Year's Day, this custom has been ancient, has continued to this day. Ancient custom, the first day of the first month of every year, the whole family drink tusu wine, and then use the red cloth to wrap up the dregs, hanging on the door frame, used to "drive away evil spirits" and avoid the plague.

The third line of the poem, "TEEEL," follows on from the previous line, which says that every household is bathed in the light of the early spring sunrise. The closing line describes the forwarding of the argument. Hanging peach charms, which is also an ancient folk custom. "The phrase "always replacing the old talisman with a new peach" is a compressed and elliptical syntax. The word "new peach" omits the word "talisman" and the word "old talisman" omits the word "peach", which are used alternately because of the limitation of the number of words in each sentence of the seven poems.

Wang Anshi's poem is full of cheerfulness and positive spirit because he was serving as the prime minister at that time and implementing new laws.

Wang Anshi was full of confidence in the new government, so it was reflected in his poem.

This poem praises the birth of a new thing as full of vitality as "the spring breeze sends warmth"; "TEEEL" shines on "thousands of doors", which is not the usual sun, but the beginning of a new life. It is not the usual sun, but the beginning of a new life, and the change of law brings a bright future to the people.

The concluding line, "always changing the old symbol for the new", expresses the poet's relief and joy at the victory of the Reform and the improvement of the people's lives. It contains a profound philosophy, pointing out that the new things always replace the fallen things of this law.

Reference:

Baidu Encyclopedia - New Year's Day