“落花时节”是何时——读毛泽东主席《七律·和柳亚子先生》

What does "The Fallen Petal Season" Really Mean: Understanding Chairman Mao Zedong's "Qilv. A Reply of Mr. Liu Yazi's Poem"

我们知道毛泽东的《七律·和柳亚子先生》成于1949年3月29日,这个时节正好是农历的"早春二月",应该是万木萌绿、百花初发的时间,而毛泽东何以把它说成是"落花时节"呢?毛泽东在给柳亚子写和诗的时候,中国人民解放军虽然还没有过江,但国民党败局已定,乞和的谈判正在进行,早已露出一副"无可奈何花落去"的败相。因此,我以为毛泽东和诗中的"花"不是简单的植物意义上的花,它喻指的是以蒋介石为代表的国民党政府。而"时节"也不是一般意义上的节令,它是一种政治气候,一种历史节律。在毛泽东的所有诗词里,"花"字出现的频率并不低。但在毛泽东的诗境中,他的"花"字却很少是单指植物意义的花卉,"花"字背后总是蕴藏着深刻的含义。

March 29th is spring, and flowers flourish, but why did Mao Zedong wrote that it was a fallen petal season when he replied Mr. Liu Yazi in a poem？ Here we should know about the background at that time. Although people＇s liberation army had not yet gone across the river, the Kuomintang would fail definitely since the negotiation was advan-cing. So, here, petal does not refer to real petal, but refers to nationalist party government represented by Jiang Jieshi. And season refers to a political climate and historical rule.