What is the meaning of "cold food" in ancient poems and the thoughts and feelings expressed?

In Chang 'an in late spring, catkins are flying all over the sky, and the east wind blows the willow branches in the imperial garden at the Cold Food Festival. As night fell, the palace was busy handing out candles, and smoke curled into the homes of princes and nobles.

Thoughts and feelings:

This poem is good at selecting typical themes and quoting appropriate allusions to satirize the corruption of the exclusive rights of consorts. Although the style of writing is exquisite, readers can still understand the theme of the poem under the hint of historical allusions and the confirmation of the social situation in the middle Tang Dynasty.

Appreciate:

"The spring city is full of flowers, and the cold food is easterly and willows are oblique." The poet has a lofty foothold, a broad vision and a panoramic view of the whole city. The word "spring city" is highly concise and gorgeous. "Spring" is a natural season and climate, and cities are cities on earth. The combination of the two presents an infinitely beautiful scenery. "Flowers flying everywhere" is a typical picture captured by the poet. Spring is full of flavor, covering the whole city. The poet didn't say "flowers are flying everywhere", because this is just a general generalization, but "flowers are flying everywhere". This kind of double negation greatly strengthens the tone of affirmative sentences, effectively setting off the grand occasion that the whole city has been immersed in Fuchun. The poet didn't say "flowers are everywhere", but "flowers are flying everywhere", which not only helps to express the vitality of spring with the strong dynamic character of "flying", but also shows how accurate the poet is in describing time series. "Flying flowers" refers to falling flowers dancing with the wind. This is a typical late spring scenery. To say "flying flowers" instead of "falling flowers" is to write flowers clearly and write the wind secretly. A word "fly" has far-reaching implications. It is no exaggeration to say that the reason why this poem can be spread through the ages is mainly because of the epigram of "Spring City is full of flowers", and the most striking word in this poem is "fly".

"Cold food, east wind and willow slanting", spring breeze blows all over the city, and naturally it also blows into the imperial garden. The weeping willows in the garden are also fluttering in the wind. The wind is invisible, and its existence can only be indirectly perceived through the flight of flowers and the inclination of willows. Accordingly, a word "oblique" also indirectly wrote the wind.

The first two sentences of the poem are written during the day, and the last two sentences are written at night: "When the sun sets, candles are passed in the Han Palace, and light smoke is scattered into the Wuhou House." Sunset is evening. "Han Palace" refers to the imperial palace in the Tang Dynasty. "Five Hou" generally refers to five consorts who were sealed on the same day in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Here, the Han Dynasty is used to describe the Tang Dynasty, alluding to the consorts who have been favored by the emperor since the middle Tang Dynasty. Every family can't make a fire on the Cold Food Festival, but the palace is an exception. Before dark, the palace was busy distributing candles. In addition to the palace, your near minister can also get this favor. The poem vividly depicts a picture of candles passing by at night with "passing" and "scattering", which makes people see the light of candles and smell the faint smoke. It is a long-standing custom in China to ban fire from cold food, but powerful ministers can make an exception and place candles. The poet made a euphemistic satire on this corrupt political phenomenon.