The US -poet Robert Frost “S 1914 Poem The Wall -Wall contains the famous” Frosty “line -” Good fences make good neighbors “. It may be an encapsulation of the rough New England -individualism and the violent independent spirit of the British settlers who arrived there on Boxing Day on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas), 1620.
Thinking was that after a hard day that had worked in the fields and cranberry bog, it was reassuring to know that after sunset a Yankee Yeoman could lean back and enjoy their view on the veranda without the neighbors being disturbed, and that the cattle would remain within the limits of their owners – all thanks to the breeding.
The publication date of the 1914 publication is also meaningful, since this year the moment when the First World War broke out in large parts of the world, and the United States were drawn into the global conflict about three years later. At the beginning of hostility, there was a strong isolationist atmosphere in the United States, in which people like to stay behind the security, safety and stability of “fences” and tend to their own gardens, so to speak.
However, this go-it-all-time spirit is far less observable in traditional Chinese society and therefore in poetry itself, when it is well done, a promptly presentation of a civilization at this look.
When China, when China became a majority of the urban population, social observers probably sentenced interaction and social grace from functional people for the first time in 2011.
Another Bellwether year could be than in 2005 when the first smartphones became almost omnipresent overnight and young and old from “See Starbucks” “they online” everywhere.
It was no longer socially uncomfortable to deliberately avoid eye contact when strangers drive past a busy street or sit opposite each other in the U -Bahn. In fact, it became increasingly offensive for commuters to even initiate eye contact through a car. Thinking was: “What do you look at, strangers? Do you have no mini screen with the Ogle? My goodness, what kind of crawl.”
In a sense, our digital devices of Robert Frosts became antisocial “fences”, which gave us the quasi-private and personal space that suddenly pushed us away through the digital age.
But it wasn't always like that. Chinese poets and wise men have appreciated the “delicate mercy” of both strangers and acquaintances in a living environment.
One of the most illustrative is the famous Chinese proverb (author unknown): “One million for a house, 10 million for a neighbor (Bai Wan Mai Zhai, Qian Wan Mai Lin).”
The cheeky proverb indicates the greater perceived value of friendly, reliable neighbors, about your own home at home in the days before the smartphone with a social emphasis on the key role of the community and relationships in a good life.
In addition, the “million” reference could be dated a bit, given the roller coaster ride that has undergone real estate prices in the recent past.
With regard to the past, especially the distant past, the Chinese poet wrote the Qiang village in 757, at a time when a new emperor had taken the throne, and that, after being locked up in the city walls of the then capital-Chang'an, was finally back in freedom to be in his hometown, with love for his family, friends and neighboring On the way on the way on the way on the way on the way on the way on the way on the way on the way on the street house, on the street house, on the street house.
Red western clouds highly towering and steep
Below the sun, footprints on the level fields.
Schrott doors and gates, sparrows chirping
For a returning visitor from hundreds of miles.
Woman and children surprise about my appearance
When she realized that I was real, wipe off your tears.
A chaotic society meets the risk and disorder
If you return now, life is satisfactory and random.
Neighbors on the wall fully satisfied
With grateful sigh and joy.
In the late evening relief, at midnight my wife and I stop a candle
Face each other until we sleep and dream.
Fortunately, you did not have a Wi-Fi this year, so that he could appreciate the ties that tied up the neighbors, which were fully and fully restored to digital disorders.
Contact the writer at Andrew@chinadaily.com.cn
A. Thomas Pasek