Do not complain of golden cage and wings cut short;
The southern land is far warmer than the northwest.
Don't clearly speak if you listen to my exhort;
You will offend if clearly your complaint's expressed.
Original Poem:
「鹦鹉」
罗隐
莫恨雕笼翠羽残，江南地暖陇西寒。
劝君不用分明语，语得分明出转难。
Interpretation:
This poem expresses the poet's depressed mood of being a parasite by persuading the parrot to give vent to his inner sorrow.
The first two lines: don't resent being locked in a gorgeous cage, don't hate the bright green fur being cut to pieces, the climate in Jiangnan is warm, while your hometown Longxi is very cold.
The poet in Jiangnan to see this parrot, has been clipped wings, into the carved cage, so with the above two sentences to comfort it: and do not lament their own fate of detention and imprisonment, after all, this place is much warmer than your hometown. In spite of these words, it is not difficult for a careful person to hear the meaning of the words: although it is not worried about food and clothing now, but can not fly high on the wings, the end is not inevitable to call people feel sorry. Luo Yin was born at the end of the Tang Dynasty when the chaos of the world, although the ambition to save the world, but repeatedly failed, wandering half of his life, no encounter, to the age of fifty-five years old that year to defect to the cut-off area of Jiangsu and Zhejiang Ch'ien-kung, only to have a place to live. His situation at this time is quite similar to this caged parrot.
The last two lines: I advise you not to make your words too clear; if your words are too clear, people will love them more and more, and it will be more difficult for them to fly out of the birdcage.
The poet says to the parrot in an admonishing tone: You'd better not speak too clearly, and it will be more difficult for you to go out if you understand! It is rumored that Luo Yin was well received by Ch'ien Ch'ien in Jiangdong. But You Heng was also favored in his time, and he was still killed for disobeying Huang Zu in the end. What's more, Luo Yin in the long-term life practice of cynical thinking and good for ridicule habit, it is difficult to change, in this case, the poet on the money fallacy to produce some kind of suspicion and fear of psychology, is completely understandable.
This aria, different from the general than the object, but borrowed to the parrot to speak to the form to reveal their own song, persuade the parrot is to persuade themselves, persuade themselves is to vent their own inner sadness, light to say, but meaningful.
Poem translator:
Xu Yuan-chong (许渊冲)
About the poet:
Luo Yin (罗隐), 833-909 AD, was a poet of the Tang Dynasty, a native of Hangzhou. His poems have the spirit of entering the world by facing the reality and life directly, bravely fighting against the darkness of the society with his poetic pen, attacking the bad government of the society, reflecting the hardship of the people in the society and expressing his personal hardships.
