"A general will die in a hundred battles, and a strong man will return in ten years" means that some soldiers have gone through hundreds of battles, some have sacrificed their lives for the country, and some have fought for many years and returned victorious. This poem comes from "Mulan Poetry", a collection of Yuefu poems from the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
Mulan Poems from the Yuefu Poetry Collection
The chirping repeats, and Mulan is weaved in every household. I didn't hear the sound of the crowbar, I could only hear the woman sighing. (The only author: Wei)
Ask her what she is thinking about, and ask her what she is remembering. The woman has nothing to think about, and the woman has nothing to remember. I saw the military post last night, and the Khan ordered his troops. There were twelve volumes of military books, each with his name on it. My grandfather has no eldest son, and Mulan has no elder brother. I am willing to saddle the horse for the city, and from now on I will fight for my grandfather.
Buy horses in the east market, saddles and bridles in the west market, bridles in the south market, and long whips in the north market. I bid farewell to my parents in the morning and stayed by the Yellow River in the evening. I didn't hear my parents calling for girls, but I heard the sound of the Yellow River water splashing. I left the Yellow River in the morning and arrived at the top of the Black Mountain in the evening. I didn't hear the mother-in-law's voice calling for the girl, but I heard the chirping of the horseman on Yanshan Mountain.
Thousands of miles to go to war, and it is like flying through the mountains. The new energy spreads to the golden watch, and the cold light shines on the iron clothes. A general will die in a hundred battles, and a strong man will return after ten years.
When I return, I see the emperor, who is sitting in the bright hall. Zhixun twelve turn, reward hundred thousand strong. The Khan asked what he wanted, and Mulan didn't need a minister. She was willing to travel thousands of miles to send her son back to her hometown.
When the mother-in-law hears that her daughter is coming, she goes out to help the general; when the elder sister hears that the younger sister is coming, she is responsible for doing the makeup; when the younger brother hears that the younger sister is coming, he sharpens his knife to the pigs and sheep. Open the door of my east pavilion and sit on my bed in the west pavilion. Take off my war robe and put on my old clothes. When the window is tidying up one's hair, the mirror is covered with yellow flowers. When I went out to see my friends, they were all frightened: they had been together for twelve years, and they didn't know Mulan was a girl.
The male rabbit’s feet are twitching, and the female rabbit’s eyes are blurry; two rabbits are walking next to each other, how can they tell whether I am male or female?
『Translation』
Sighing one after another, Mulan was weaving toward the door. The sound of the shuttle of the loom could not be heard, only Mulan's sigh could be heard.
Ask Mulan what she is thinking about? What are you thinking about? Mulan replied: I'm not thinking about anything or worrying about anything. I saw the conscription documents last night. The monarch is recruiting troops on a large scale. There are many volumes of conscription rolls, and my father's name is on each volume. My father had no eldest son, and I had no brother. Mulan was willing to go to the market to buy saddles and horses, and from then on she began to fight in her father's place.
Purchase horses, saddles, saddle pads, bits, reins and whips throughout the market. I said goodbye to my parents in the morning and set off on the road, and camped by the Yellow River at night. I couldn't hear the voices of my parents calling for their daughter, but only the sound of the rushing water of the Yellow River. I left the Yellow River in the morning and went on the road, and arrived at the top of Black Mountain in the evening. I could not hear the voices of parents calling for their daughters, but only the chirping of Hu people's horses.
He rushed to the battlefield thousands of miles away, crossing the passes and climbing the mountains like flying. At night, the cold air from the north carries the sound of the watch, and the cold moonlight shines on the soldiers' armor. Some soldiers went through hundreds of battles, some died serving their country, and some returned victorious from fighting for many years.
After returning from victory, he met the emperor. The emperor sat in the palace and discussed merits and rewards. He recorded Mulan's great achievements and rewarded her with a lot of property. The emperor asked Mulan what she wanted. Mulan said she didn't want to be a minister, but wanted to be able to ride a thousand-mile horse and send me back to my hometown as fast as possible.
When the parents heard that their daughter was back, they supported each other and went to greet her outside the city; when the elder sister heard that her sister was back, she started dressing up in front of the door; when the younger brother heard that his sister was back, he was busy sharpening his knife. Kill pigs and sheep. Open the doors of my east and west pavilions and sit on my bed. She took off the war robe she wore during the war, put on her old girl's clothes, combed her cloud-like hair in front of the window and the mirror, and put a yellow flower on her forehead. When I went out to meet my comrades who were fighting together, they were all surprised. They had been fighting together for so many years and they didn't even know Mulan was a woman.
When you hold the rabbit's ears and hang it in the air, the male rabbit's front legs often move, and the female rabbit's eyes often squint, so it is easy to identify. Two rabbits, a male and a female, are running close to the ground. How can you tell which rabbit is the male rabbit and which is the female rabbit?
『Notes』
Chirp (jī jī): Sighing sound, which means Mulan was unintentionally weaving and stopped to sigh. One said it was the sound of textile machines.
Danghu (dāng hù): facing the door.
Zhù: the sound made by the loom. Machine: refers to the loom. 杼: Weaving shuttle (suō).
Wei: only.
He: What.
Memory: longing, thinking
Military post (tiě): a document for recruiting troops.
Khan (kè hán): the name given to the monarch by the people of the ancient northwest region
Twelve volumes of military books: there are many volumes of recruitment rosters. Twelve means many things, not a specific one. The following "twelve revolutions" and "twelve years" are used in the same way.
Ye: Like "Ah Ye" below, they both refer to father.
Wish to be the market saddle (ān) horse: for, for this reason. Market, buy. Saddle horse generally refers to horses and harness.
鞯 (jiān): the cushion under the saddle.
bridle (pèi) head: the bit, halter and reins used to control animals.
Ci: leave, say goodbye.
Splash (jiān jiān): the sound of water surging.
Dan: morning.
Danwen: only heard
Huqi (jì): the war horse of the Hu people. Hu, the ancient name for the northern ethnic minorities.
Chirp (jiū jiū): the sound of a horse braying.
Traveling thousands of miles to the battlefield: Traveling thousands of miles to the battlefield. Rongji: refers to war.
Guan Shandu Ruofei: Cross the passes and climb the mountains like flying. Degree, beyond.
朔(shuò) qi transmits the golden watch: The cold air from the north carries the sound of the watch. Shuo, north. Jin Tuo (tuò) means Diao Dou. An iron pot used in the ancient army. It was used for cooking during the day and for reporting the watch at night.
The cold moonlight shines on the armor of the soldiers.
Mingtang: a bright hall, here refers to the palace
The twelve rounds of Ce Xun: a great merit. Ce Xun, record merit. Each time the rank is upgraded, it is called a rotation, and the twelfth rank is the highest rank. Twelve turns: not an exact number, but describes extremely high merit.
Reward Baiqianqiang (qiáng): reward a lot of property. Hundreds and thousands: describes a large quantity. Strong, more than enough.
Ask what you want: Ask (Mulan) what she wants.
No need: unwilling to do it.
Shang Shulang: An official of Shangshu Province. The Shangshu Province was the organ that managed state affairs in the ancient imperial court.
Wish to ride a thousand-mile horse: I hope to ride a thousand-mile horse.
Guo: Outer city.
Fu: support. Jiang: auxiliary word, not translated.
Sister (zǐ): elder sister.
Organization: combing.
Red makeup (zhuāng): refers to a woman’s gorgeous attire.
Huo Huo (huò huò): onomatopoeia, the sound of sharpening a knife.
Zhuó: Tongjia means to wear.
Cloud hair (bìn): cloud-like hair on the temples, describing beautiful hair.
tie (tiē) 花黄: tie "tie" means "tie". Flower yellow is a kind of facial decoration for ancient women.
The male rabbit's feet are fluttering, and the female rabbit's feet are fluttering. Blurred eyes: It is said that when the rabbit is suspended in the air, the two front legs of the male rabbit are always moving, and the eyes of the female rabbit are often squinted, so it is easy to identify them.
Two rabbits are walking next to each other, and they can tell whether I am male or female: Two rabbits are running close to the ground, how can I tell which one is the male rabbit and which one is the female rabbit?
"Fire": Tong means "companion". In ancient times, people who fought together used to eat from the same pot.
行: pronounced as háng
Bang (bàng). Running side by side close to the ground.
"Creative Background"
There are different opinions on the era when it was produced, but from the historical and geographical conditions, it can be determined that Shihe Poetry may have originated in the Later Wei Dynasty, and this poem was produced in During the long-term spread among the people, there are traces of embellishment by later generations of literati, but it still basically retains the characteristics of folk songs that are easy to remember and recite. Most scholars believe that "Mulan Poetry" was produced in the late Northern Dynasty.
『Appreciation of the whole poem』
"Mulan Poetry" is a long narrative poem, which tells the story of a girl named Mulan, who disguised herself as a man and joined the army for her father. The story of an official who just wanted to go home and be reunited warmly praised the woman's brave and kind-hearted character, her enthusiasm for defending her family and her country, and her heroic and fearless spirit. The whole poem uses "Mulan is a girl" to conceive the legendary story of Mulan, which is rich. Romantic color; the detailed arrangement is very ingenious. Although it is written about war themes, it focuses more on life scenes and the moods of children, which is full of life flavor; it uses character questions and answers as well as presentation, parallelism, parallelism, intertextuality and other techniques to describe the characters. The mood, the depiction of the character's psychology, is vivid and detailed, giving the work a strong artistic appeal.
In the first paragraph, the poem is about Mulan's decision to join the army on behalf of her father. The opening chapter shows the scene of "Mulan weaving at home". Then it is written that Mulan stopped her work and sighed, unintentionally weaving, which makes people wonder. It leads to questions and answers and reveals Mulan's "sigh", not because of her children. The story is about the emperor's conscription, and his father was among those who were recruited. Since his father was old and there was no eldest son in the family, he decided to join the army on his father's behalf.
The second paragraph writes about Mulan's preparation for the expedition and her rush to the battlefield. "Buying horses in the East Market..." Paralleling the four sentences, it describes Mulan's nervous purchase of war horses and riding equipment, showing that she attaches great importance to this matter. The journey was completed in only two days, exaggerating the speed and speed of Mulan's march. The urgency of the military situation and the urgency of the mood make people feel the tense atmosphere of war. The sounds of "the water of the Yellow River is splashing" and "the horses of Yanshan are chirping" also set off Mulan's homesickness.
< p>The third paragraph summarizes Mulan's ten years of war life. "Fighting thousands of miles to fight, flying through mountains and rivers" summarizes the content of the eight sentences in "Dan Ci..." above, and exaggerates the description of Mulan astride a war horse. He traveled thousands of miles toward the battlefield, flying over pass after pass and over high mountains. The cold light reflected the cold armor on his body. "Generals die in a hundred battles, and heroes return in ten years." It summarizes that the war is protracted and the battles are fierce and tragic. The soldiers fought for ten years and experienced brutal battles. Some died in battle and some returned. Mulan, who is brave and good at fighting, is one of the soldiers who was lucky enough to survive and return victoriously.The fourth paragraph writes about Mulan's resignation after returning to court. First, it writes about Mulan's meeting with the emperor, then about Mulan's great contribution and the emperor's rewards, and then about Mulan's unwillingness to resign and her willingness to return to her hometown.
"Mulan doesn't want Shangshulang" and wants to "return to her hometown". Although she is nostalgic for her home life, it also has its own secret, that is, she is a daughter. The emperor doesn't know what's going on, and Mulan can't tell her clearly, which is quite dramatic.
The fifth paragraph is about Mulan returning home to reunite with her relatives. First, the parents, siblings, and siblings behave according to their respective identities, genders, and ages to describe the joyful atmosphere at home and show strong family affection; then, Mulan's series of actions are used to describe her affectionate feelings towards her former home and her love for her daughter's makeup, showing a natural look. The daughter's mood shows her uncontrollable joy after returning; finally, as the ending of the story and the climax of the whole poem, it is the comic scene where Mulan, who has restored her daughter's clothes, meets her companions.
The sixth paragraph ends with a metaphor. Using the metaphor of two rabbits running together, making it difficult to tell the male and female, it cleverly explains the mystery of Mulan disguised as a man and serving in the army on her father's behalf for many years, which is both interesting and evocative.
The description of several events in his poem is appropriate and detailed. Paragraphs one, two, three, six and seven describe Mulan's daughter's feelings in detail, while paragraphs four and five briefly describe the heroism on the battlefield. The content highlights the feelings of children and enriches the character of heroes, making the characters more real and touching. Structurally, the whole poem is concise and compact.
This poem creates the immortal character of Mulan, which is both legendary and real and moving. Mulan is both a strange woman and an ordinary person, a heroine and a common girl, a vigorous warrior and a beautiful daughter. She is hard-working, kind-hearted, resolute and brave, honest and simple yet smart and lively. She loves her family and serves the country. She does not admire high-ranking officials and generous salaries but loves a peaceful life.