Introduction to Zhu Ziqing's Spring Essay | Generated by AI
Question: Provide an introduction to Zhu Ziqing’s essay “Spring” (《春》)
Answer:
Zhu Ziqing’s 《春》 (Spring) is one of the most famous and widely taught modern Chinese prose essays (散文) of the 20th century.
Basic Information
- Author: 朱自清 Zhu Ziqing (1898–1948)
- Written: 1933
- First published: 1937 in the collection Youying (《You Ying》 You Shadow / Back Shadow and Other Essays)
- Length: Very short (~800 characters), usually 1–2 pages in textbooks
- Style: 抒情散文 (lyrical prose / prose poetry)
Main Content in One Sentence
The essay uses extremely delicate, colorful, and rhythmic language to portray the arrival of spring in the江南 (Jiangnan / south of the Yangtze River) region — from the very first signs of spring through to its full, vibrant blooming — while expressing the author’s gentle joy, hope, and love for life.
Famous Opening & Structure
The most quoted opening lines:
盼望着，盼望着，东风来了，春天的脚步近了。
Everything is waiting, waiting — the east wind has arrived, spring’s footsteps are drawing near.
The essay is usually divided into five natural sections:
- 盼春 (Awaiting spring) — people and nature excitedly waiting
- 春醒 (Spring awakening) — early subtle signs (grass, wind, rain, willow)
- 春色 (Spring colors) — flowers blooming everywhere (peach, apricot, pear, jasmine…)
- 春声 / 春忙 (Spring sounds & spring busyness) — birds, children flying kites, farmers working
- 春赞 (In praise of spring) — the famous ending that compares spring to a newly-wed bride, a vigorous young girl, and a child
Most Famous Ending Paragraph
春天像刚睡醒的孩子，……
春天像小姑娘，花枝招展的，笑着，走着。
春天像健壮的青年，有铁一般的胳膊和腰脚，领着我们向前走。
This lyrical triplet comparison (“spring is like…”) is one of the most memorized and frequently quoted passages in Chinese middle-school education.
Why It Is So Famous & Still Taught Today
- Extremely beautiful and musical modern vernacular Chinese (白话文)
- Perfect example of “painting with words” (以景抒情 — expressing emotion through scenery)
- Pure, clean, optimistic emotion — almost no politics or darkness (very rare for 1930s Chinese literature)
- Short, vivid imagery, easy to recite, suitable for language appreciation
- Represents the highest achievement of early modern Chinese lyrical prose
In short:
《春》 is to modern Chinese prose what “Ode to the West Wind” or Wordsworth’s spring poems are to English romantic poetry — a canonical celebration of renewal, beauty, and gentle hope written in near-perfect language.
References:
- None (classic text widely available in Chinese textbooks and public domain)