Already 11 years old
Author: Cao Song
When the country is at war, how can the people live in peace and harmony with Qiao Su?
Don’t talk about the matter of making a marquis. One general will make thousands of bones wither.
It is rumored that the war will bring sorrow to all the gods, and the strong troops on both sides of the Taiwan Strait will continue to fight.
Who knows that there is always nothing wrong with Cangjiang? There has been a lot of bloodshed in Changjiang recently.
Translation
Large areas of water, rivers and mountains have been drawn into the war map, and the people want to collect firewood and cut grass to survive but cannot.
Please don’t mention the matter of becoming a marquis anymore. How many lives of soldiers will be sacrificed to make a general successful?
Appreciation
This poem is titled "Jihai Sui", with a note in the title: "Xizong Guangming's first year." According to "Jihai", it means the year before Guangming. Fu six years of stems and branches, the poem was probably written in the first year of Guangming to recall the current events of the past year. The eye-catching title of the poem "Ji Hai Sui" points out that what is written in the poem is a living social and political reality.
After the Anshi Rebellion, the war first started in Hebei and later spread to the Central Plains. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, another large-scale peasant uprising occurred. The Tang Dynasty carried out a brutal suppression, and everything south of the river became a battlefield. This is the so-called "map of Zeguo Jiangshan entering the war". The poem does not directly say that the war has affected the Jianghan River Basin (Zeguo), but only says that these rivers and mountains have been drawn into the war map. The expression is euphemistic and tortuous, allowing readers to imagine the reality of war, iron and blood through a "war map". This is a successful example of the poet's use of image thinking.
With the war came the devastation of life. "Qiao" collects firewood, and "Su" cuts grass. Qiaosu's livelihood is originally difficult and joyless. However, "it's better to be a peace dog than a citizen in a troubled world." In the minds of the "shengmin" who are displaced and struggling on the line of life and death, they are happy if they can collect firewood and cut grass to survive in peace. It's a pity that this kind of joy of woodcutting and sussing can no longer be regained today. The use of the word "乐" to contrast the unbearable suffering of "shengmin" is thought-provoking.