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陶淵明不是王維那種隱士，他親自種田過活。 如果我們有機會講陶淵明另外一組「歸園田居」的詩，我們就會看到他是「晨興理荒穢，戴月荷鋤歸 」，天還沒亮就到田裏去工作，直到月亮都升上來 ，才披著滿身的露水回家。一個出身於讀書仕宦家庭的人，回到農村當了農民，這是脫離了他原來所歸屬的那個階層。所以他也是一隻失群的鳥。
你要知道，我們人其實常常是很軟弱的。如果想要作出一個跟周圍的人不同的選擇和决定，往往需要很大的勇氣。「栖栖失群鳥」，就是脫離了它原來所屬群體，作出了另外選擇的鳥。你不要看這句話這麼短，只有五個字，但它包含很多的意思，從用字到口吻都是非常好的。
陶淵明為什麼不去做官？那是因為他看到了官僚社會中的黑暗腐敗和貪贓枉法。他不願意跟那些人在一起同流和污，所以就不做官了。可是你不做官到哪裡去呢？陶淵明有另外一首詩寫得好：「人生歸有道，衣食固其端。孰是都不營，而以求自安。」（庚戌歲九月中於西田獲早稻）。當然了，人活著應該找到理想的價值和人生的目標。可是，你在世上最低限度先要穿衣吃飯哪！你如果只願追求理想，什麼都不幹，那你餓也餓死了，還有什麼理想可言？
所以，雖然我說失群需要很大的勇氣，可是比較而言，失群還算是容易的。失群之後，你找一條什麼樣的路走下去呢？天下有很多事情都可以自欺欺人，只有一種工作是不可以欺人，也不可以自欺的，那就是種田。教書可以騙人，做實驗可以騙人，可是種田你能夠欺騙土地嗎？土地不受你的欺騙 。一分耕耘，一分收穫，你欺騙它，它不給你生長糧食。陶淵明就選擇了這種不欺人，也不自欺的躬耕生活。
不過，這種選擇是要付出代價的。第一，你要付出艱苦勞動的代價。第二，農田收穫沒有保障， 遇到災荒時，你要付出饑寒的代價。所以陶淵明雖然不喜歡貪贓枉法的官僚社會，但他在決定自己的生活道路時，也是經過了一段很艱難的選擇。
他說：「栖栖失群島，日暮猶獨飛」。為什麼說「日暮」？因為日暮是應該休息的時候了。一個人，在暮年時，應該已經找到自己人生的歸宿。可是陶淵明說，我現在還沒有找到我的歸宿，就像那隻栖栖失群之鳥，在日暮的時候還獨自飛來飛去， 找不到一個可以落下來的地方。
「徘徊無定止」，是說他一開始也曾經徬徨過：到底要不要選擇耕田的生活呢？到底值不值得付上勞苦饑寒的代價呢？「徘徊」，是來去不定的樣子，它和「徬徨」都是疊韻的詞，意思也相近。這隻鳥，因為找不到一個安身立命的所在，所以「夜夜聲轉悲」。「轉悲」者，是說每一夜鳥的叫聲都比前一夜更悲哀。
那是一種什麼樣的聲音呢？是「厲響思清遠」。「厲」是強烈的，有力量的，用來形容聲音就是一種很高亢很強烈的聲音。中國人常說：「言為心聲」。你是什麼樣的人，就喜歡說什麼樣的話；你有哪一類的興趣，就喜歡談論哪一類的題目。不但人是這樣，動物也是這樣。有時候你聽它的叫聲，就能知道它心裏的感情。
我家院子裏有一棵樹，上邊有個鳥巢。一晚，我聽到鳥叫聲不對，不像平常那樣和樂自在，而是帶有恐怖的聲音。我馬上開門出去一看，原來是一隻貓正要爬上樹去。可見動物的聲音也是能夠表現它們內心的感情的。
陶淵明說，我聽到這隻鳥那種強烈高亢的叫聲，我就知道它內心想的是什麼。它正在想找尋一個清淨高遠的地方落下來，可是由於沒有找到，所以它「去來何依依」。「去來」，是飛過去又飛回來；「依依」，是依戀的樣子。一般人應用「依戀」這個詞的時候，都是指對過去某件事情的依戀。
但陶淵明在這裏指的不是過去而是未來。是對什麼的依戀呢？就是對「厲響思清遠」的那個「清遠」。他從內心對那個地方有非常依戀的感情。那麼他找到那個地方沒有？後邊他說：「因值孤生松 ，斂翮遙來歸。」他最終是找到了。
待續 |
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Unlike Wang Wei, Tao labored in the fields to make his living. If we have an opportunity to discuss another series of Tao's poems entitled "The Return," we will see that he was "working on the desolate land in early mornings, shouldering a hoe back home in the moonlight” (working on the uncultivated field from pre-dawn till moonrise, going home covered with dew). Originally from a family of scholars and officials, Tao left his social circle and returned to a farming village to be a farmer. Therefore, he was like a bird that had left its flock.
You know, we human beings often are very weak. It takes tremendous courage for us to choose or decide differently than our peers would. A distressed bird strayed from the flock is a bird that leaves its original group and makes a different kind of choice. Although this line is a brief five words, it conveys many meanings and is excellently crafted in all aspects—from word usage to tones.
Why didn't Tao Yuanming remain an official? It was because he had seen the darkness, corruption, bribery, and twisting of the laws that went on among government officials. He did not want to be swept along in such corruption, so he quit. However, where could he go without a government job? Tao wrote in another great poem: Clothing and food are basic to human life. Without attending to either, how can one obtain peace of mind? (From the poem "Harvesting Early Rice at the West Field in the Middle of Ninth Month of the Year Gengcu.") Of course, we should pursue our ideals and figure out the purpose of life. However, clothing and food are basic to survival. If we pursue ideals to the exclusion of everything else, we will starve. What ideals will there be to discuss then?
That's why I said that it needs tremendous courage to leave one's group. However, leaving the group is still comparatively easy. What path will you take after you have left? There are many jobs in the world in which you can cheat both others and yourself. The only one in which you cannot do that is farming. You can cheat people by teaching, or by doing research experiments, but how can you cheat the land when you farm it? The land cannot be cheated. The harvest you reap corresponds to the amount of work you put in. If you try to cheat it, it won't yield any crops. Tao Yuanming chose the farming life, in which he can neither cheat others nor himself.
However, such a decision comes with a price. First, there is the hard physical work. Second, there is no guarantee of a harvest. You pay the price of going hungry in times of drought. Although Tao Yuanming loathed the bribery and corruption of government officials, he really struggled with himself before choosing his life path.
He said: A distressed bird, strayed from the flock, still flies alone at dusk. Why did he say "dusk"? Dusk indicates a time of rest. A man who is past middle age should have already found a place to settle down. But Tao was saying: I have not found a place settle down yet, just like that solitary, distressed bird still flying to and fro at dusk, finding no place to land.
Fluttering here and there without a roost describes how Tao speculated in the beginning: Should I choose the farming life? Will it be worth paying the prices of hard labor and hunger? “Fluttering here and there" indicates indecisiveness. The Chinese, "pai hui," has a rhyme to it. Since the bird cannot find a roost, her cries grow sadder each night. Each night, the bird whimpers more sadly than the night before.
What is her voice like? Her sharp cries express a pure and lofty ideal. "Sharp” means strong; it describes a high-pitched, powerful sound. A Chinese proverb says: "Words are the voice of the heart.” The words you speak reflect the type of person you are. The subjects of your speech reflect your interests. This applies not only to humans, but also to animals. Sometimes you can tell an animal's emotions from the sounds it makes.
There is a birdnest in a tree in my yard. One night, I sensed something wrong in the birds' calls. The usual peaceful calls now carried a note of fear. I quickly opened the door and saw a cat about to climb the tree. Thus, we know that animals also express emotions in their voice.
Tao Yuanming said: I heard that bird's loud, sharp call and knew what was on her mind. She was looking for a pure and lofty place to land. However, she had not found the place yet, and so flying back and forth, she feels such yearning. Usually the word "yearning" denotes a nostagic longing for something in the past.
But Tao Yuanming used the word to refer to something in the future. What does she yearn for? She yearns to find a place that is "pure and lofty." Deep in her heart, she has a strong yearning for such a place. Had she found that place yet? The next line says: Encountering a tall and solitary pine, she gathers her wings and comes to land. She finally found a roost.
To be continued |
