Zhou Dunyi's evaluation of Ailian.

The flowers of land and water plants are very fragrant. Tao Jin Yuanming loves chrysanthemums alone; Since Li Tang came, people all over the world love peony. Love lotus alone, dirt-free, clear but not demon. Straight outside, not crawling, fragrant and clear. It is slim and elegant, so you can look at it from a distance without looking ridiculous.

Want to call chrysanthemum, the hermit of flowers; Peony, blooming with wealth; Lotus, the gentleman of flowers. Hey! The love between chrysanthemums and flowers is rarely heard after Tao. Who gave the lotus love? Peony love is suitable for many people.

Precautions:

(1) Ailian said: Gong Ji from Zhu Yuanzhang. "Yuan Gong" is posthumous title of Zhou Dunyi. The authors of Shuo, such as Illustration of Taiji and Shu Tong, are a school of ancient expository writing, and can tell things and reason.

(2) Fan: More.

(3) Tao Yuanming loves chrysanthemums alone: Tao Yuanming (365~427), Ziliang, posthumous title Jingjie, alias 56. In his later years, he was renamed Qian Ziliang, a famous poet from Xunyang Chaisang (now Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province) in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. He loves chrysanthemums very much, and often paints with poems. For example, in the poem Drinking, "Picking chrysanthemums under the east fence and seeing Nanshan leisurely" has always been called a famous sentence.

(4) People have loved peonies since Li Tanglai: Since the Tang Dynasty, people have loved peonies very much. Li Tang refers to the Tang Dynasty. The emperor of the Tang Dynasty was surnamed Li, so he was called "Li Tang". The world, the average person in society. People in the Tang Dynasty loved to eat peony, and there are many records in ancient books. For example, Li Zhao's "Tang Shi Supplement" said: "The capital is expensive to travel, and the peony is respected ... Every Spring Festival Evening, horses and chariots are crazy ... for profit, a book (a plant) has tens of thousands of people (referring to money)."

(5) I love the lotus without touching the mud: I just like the lotus, and I like it without touching the mud. Yu: My sludge: sludge accumulated in ponds or ditches.

(6) Zhuo (zhuó) is clear but not enchanting: clean water is not enchanting. Zhuo, clean the ripple, clear water microwave appearance, here refers to clear water. Demon, beautiful but not dignified.

(7) No branches: nouns are verbs, without twining vines and no branches.

(8) The fragrance is far and clear: the farther the fragrance is, the clearer it is. Benefits, more, more.

(9) Pavilions and pavilions: majestic appearance. Graceful, standing straight and clean.

(10) Plant: ancient meaning: standing; Today's meaning: plants.

(1 1) Play: Play casually. Wretched, closed, not solemn.

(12) Hermit: Hermit. In feudal society, some people didn't want to go along with the rulers, so they lived in seclusion.

(13) Peony is a rich flower. Peony is a "rich man" among flowers. Peony is a rich flower among flowers, because peony looks gorgeous, so it is said.

Note: The peony in the flower is rich.

Gentleman: A person of noble character.

(15) Yan (à): an interjection, equivalent to "alas".

(16) love of chrysanthemum: love of chrysanthemum.

(17) Xi m ? n (xifen) Heard of it: seldom heard of it. Fresh: less.

(18) Suitable for many people: there should be many people. Appropriate, appropriate, used with "Hu" here, it means "of course".

(19) Who is the giver: Who else is like me?

(20) suitable for the public: of course, there are many people.

Translation:

There are many kinds of plants and flowers on the water and the ground, which are worth cherishing. Tao Yuanming only loves chrysanthemums in Jin Dynasty. Since the Tang Dynasty, people all over the world have loved peony very much. I only like lotus flowers. It grows from the sludge, but it is not polluted. It was washed with clear water, but it didn't look attractive. Its stem runs through the middle, its shape is straight, it doesn't entangle vines, it doesn't produce redundant branches, its fragrance is far away, it is more fragrant and it stands upright and clean. You can watch from a distance, but you can't play lightly.

In my opinion, chrysanthemum is a hermit in flowers; Peony is a rich person in flowers; Lotus is a gentleman among flowers. Alas! Since Tao Yuanming, I have rarely heard of people who love chrysanthemums. How many people love lotus flowers as much as I do? But there must be many people who love peony.

"Shuo" is an ancient style, which often expresses its will by describing things, combining discussion and narration, while emphasizing some styles. Zhou Dunyi's "Love Lotus" is a rare masterpiece in this style. Express one's sentiment, ambition or thoughts and feelings with the help of a specific thing.

[Appreciation]: Zhou Dunyi, a native of the Northern Song Dynasty, lived a lifetime of fame and fortune, and did not seek Wen Da. His character is noble, just as Huang Tingjian, a great writer in the Northern Song Dynasty, said, "His character is very high, and his mind is as bright as the moon ..." And his masterpiece On Ailian is the spiritual refraction reflected by his mind. Lotus is the object of admiration in literati's works throughout the ages, but most literati are amazed at its beautiful posture and simple appearance and shape it into a pen; However, this excellent essay has a unique way. Through the description of the image and quality of the lotus flower, it praises the faithful character of the lotus flower, and also shows the author's noble personality and generous mind.

From the content point of view, this paper can be clearly divided into two parts: the first part tries to describe the image of hibiscus noble; The second part reveals the metaphorical meaning of the lotus, comments on three flowers and expresses the author's deep sigh for the lotus itself.

In the first part of the article, I wrote that the beauty of lotus lies in its "net" character. First of all, "Out of the mud but not stained, clear but not demon" wrote the valuable spirit of lotus in the mud, but spotless, not following the secular, self-love naive and natural; Secondly, it is "straight outside and straight inside, not loose", which shows its noble quality of being connected inside and outside, straight outside and inward, consistent outside and inward, and not involved in clinging; Once again, Xiang Qing wrote the beautiful name of the lotus; Then "Graceful and graceful pure planting" is written in a straight and upright way; Finally, "you can look at it from a distance, but don't play with it" shows that the self-esteem and self-love of Lotus is respectable, and Lotus, like a proud gentleman, will never be lightly played by ordinary people.

Everything mentioned above is actually a portrayal of the author's personality and a self-evident mind, which can be proved from the second part of the article. As the author said, "Who gave the lotus love?" The subtext is that there are too few people like him.

In terms of writing, the two novels have a common feature, that is, they express their will by supporting things. Starting from "emerging from the mud without being stained, rippling instead of being a demon", this paper describes the bearing and style of the lotus with strong colors, entrusts the author's affirmation and pursuit of ideal personality, and also reflects the author's secular psychology of despising wealth, pursuing fame and fortune and pursuing a clean and honest life. At the same time, the article also uses the method of comparison and contrast, and compares the beauty of lotus with chrysanthemum and peony several times in the article; It also compares the seclusion of chrysanthemum, the wealth of peony and the nobleness of lotus, so that one of the themes of "Love Lotus" can be deepened, without empty preaching, but through the comparison of three images, it plays a role in highlighting the center and deepening the artistic conception, and the technique can be described as extremely ingenious. Moreover, the word "love" runs through the whole article, which makes the article structure rigorous. At the end of the article, the author laments that there are few real hermits, few noble gentlemen and many vulgar people who are greedy for money, which is intriguing and thought-provoking.

This essay is also very distinctive in language, that is, it is beautiful and concise, and it is really as beautiful as a lotus flower-"Don't ramble."

[Interpretation]

This is an essay expressing one's ambition with simple writing style, concise and natural language, appropriate metaphor and profound implication. Especially as the originator of Neo-Confucianism, Zhou Dunyi's works do not have the stale spirit of Neo-Confucianism, but retain the advantages of Neo-Confucianism parents in reasoning and discussion.

The article first wrote Tao Yuanming's love for chrysanthemums and the world's love for peonies as a foil, and then calmly stated the reasons why he loved lotus flowers. The phrase "get out of the mud and don't get stained" is a familiar fragment. Every sentence is about lotus flowers, and at the same time, every sentence is about a gentleman's moral conduct. Next, the author calls chrysanthemum, peony and lotus respectively "hermit", "rich man" and "gentleman", skillfully lends flowers to describe people's intentions, praises the noble ambition of gentlemen to like lotus, and satirizes the secular thought of pursuing wealth.