1. Background introduction.
This poem was written in the spring of the thirteenth year of Chunxi reign of Emperor Xiaozong (1186). At this time, Lu You retired to his home in Shanyin and was already sixty-two years old. Since the seventh year of Chunxi, he has been out of office for six years and has been living in seclusion in his hometown with an empty street. It was not until the time when this poem was written that he was appointed as a court official and had the authority to know Yanzhou's military and state affairs. Therefore, the content of the poem combines the dual emotions of recalling the past and renewing the oath to serve the country.
2. Appreciation of poems.
The first four lines of the poem are looking back on the past. At that time, he was personally on the front line of the Anti-Jin War, looking north to the Central Plains, and his lofty ambition to regain his homeland was as firm as a mountain. The following two sentences describe two memorable experiences: In the first year of Longxing, Zhang Jun, who advocated resistance to the Jin Dynasty, took the right Prime Minister to supervise the army and horses on the Jianghuai roads. Buildings and boats crossed the river, traveling between Jiankang and Zhenjiang. The army was very strong. The poet was full of the hope of victory in regaining his homeland, and the words "qi like a mountain" describe his excitement at that time. But soon, Zhang Jun's army was defeated in Fuli, and he retreated southward in embarrassment. He was deposed the following year. The poet's wish came to nothing. How can it not be regrettable to recall the past?
The years are endless, the prime of life is gone, and the ambition is unfulfilled and the hair is stained. This is what the poet who is devoted to the country feels sad day and night. Lu You was not only a poet, he also prided himself on being a strategist. It's a pity that I haven't been able to show my talents in my life. "Don't take a scholar lightly. Mounting a horse can defeat thieves"; "With the goal of thousands of miles in life, I will be the vanguard of the king with the sword" is his unforgettable wish. It is his lifelong ambition to call himself "forging the Great Wall". "Stop the Great Wall" is cited in "Southern History". Emperor Wen of the Southern Song Dynasty killed general Tan Daoji. Before his death, Tan angrily shouted: "This is destroying your Great Wall!" Although Lu You was not unjustly killed like Tan Daoji, he advocated resistance to the Jin Dynasty. , been demoted for many years, the "Great Wall" can only be empty expectations. This kind of melancholy is very different from the general scribes' feeling of not being able to appreciate their talents.