The Significance of Ancient Poems about Joining the Army (IV)

Join the Army (Part IV) is translated as follows:

The sky above Qinghai Lake is covered with dark clouds, and the continuous snow-capped mountains are now bleak. I saw Yumen Pass from the ancient frontier fortress thousands of miles away. The soldiers guarding the border there are all battle-hardened Although their armor is worn out, their ambition is immortal. They vowed not to defeat these invading enemies, and they would not return to their hometown.

original text

There is a dark snow-capped mountain in Qinghai, with long white clouds and a lonely city looking at Yumenguan. Yellow sand wears golden armor in hundreds of battles, but the loulan is not returned.

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One or two sentences can be imagined as a picture of a vast area: over Qinghai Lake, the clouds are long and warm; To the north of the lake, there are snow-capped mountains thousands of miles across the cotton pavilion; Crossing the snow-capped mountains, it is an isolated city, standing in the desert of Hexi Corridor. Further west, it is the Yumen Pass, a military fortress far away from the lonely city. This long scroll, which condensed things thousands of miles away, was a typical environment for soldiers living and fighting in the northwest frontier at that time. It is a bird's eye view and a summary of the entire northwest border. The reason why Qinghai and Guan Yu were specifically mentioned was related to the national war situation at that time. The strong enemies of the west and the north in the Tang Dynasty were Tubo and Turkic. Our special envoy's task in Hexi is to cut off the traffic between Tubo and Turkic, and take care of the two powerful enemies in the west and north within one town, mainly to defend Tubo and protect the Hexi Corridor. "Qinghai" area is the place where Tubo and Tang Jun fought many times; Outside Yumenguan, it is the sphere of influence of Turks. So these two sentences not only describe the scene of the whole northwest border, but also point out the extremely important geographical situation that the "isolated city" refuses Tubo in the west and defends Turks in the north. The strong enemies in these two directions are the heart of the soldiers guarding the "lonely city", so Qinghai and Guan Yu should appear on the screen. This is not so much what the soldiers see, but rather what emerges in their minds. These two sentences are permeated with rich and complex feelings while writing the scenery: the frontier soldiers' concern for the frontier situation, their pride and sense of responsibility for their tasks, and the loneliness and hardship of frontier life are all integrated in the tragic, open and misty scenery.

Three or four sentences changed from environmental description with scenes to direct lyricism. "Yellow sand wears golden armor in hundreds of battles" is a poem with strong generalization. The length of the border defense, the frequency of wars, the hardship of fighting, the toughness of the enemy and the desolation of the border are all summed up in these seven words. Hundreds of battles is more abstract, and the word "yellow sand" highlights the characteristics of the northwest battlefield, making people see the scene of "the ancient battlefield with sunset and sand like clouds"; From "winning every battle" to "wearing golden armor", we can imagine the arduousness and fierceness of the battle, and we can also imagine a series of heroic sacrifices in this long time. However, although the shining golden armor has worn out, the soldiers' ambition to serve the country has not been tempered, but has become more determined in the tempering of desert sand. "Never break the Loulan, never return it" is the heroic oath of the battle-hardened soldiers. The more the last sentence highlights the difficulty of the battle and the frequency of the war, the more forceful it becomes, hitting the floor. In a word or two, the realm is broad and the feelings are tragic and rich; There is an obvious turning point between three or four sentences, and the two sentences are in sharp contrast. Although the phrase "yellow sand" describes the hardships of war, the actual feeling of the whole image is majestic and powerful, not deep and sad. Therefore, the last sentence is not a lament for returning home without a day, but a firmer and deeper oath based on a deep understanding of the hardships and length of the war. An important ideological feature of the excellent frontier poems in the prosperous Tang Dynasty is that while expressing the lofty sentiments and ambitions of the frontier guards, they do not shy away from the hardships of war. This article is an obvious example. It can be said that three or four sentences are not empty and superficial lyricism, but only one or two sentences of rich environmental description are needed. The high unity of typical environment and characters' feelings is a prominent advantage of Wang Changling's quatrains, which is also clearly reflected in this paper.

author

Wang Changling (698-756) was born in Jinyang, Hedong (now Taiyuan, Shanxi). A famous frontier poet in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, later generations praised him as the "Seven Wonders". Early poverty, trapped in farming, near but not confused. The first secretary of the provincial school, Lang, also learned from the macro words, and awarded Si Shuiwei, who was relegated to Lingnan because of things. There are Li Bai, Gao Shi, Wang Wei, Wang Zhihuan and Cen Can. At the end of Kaiyuan, he returned to Chang 'an and awarded Jiangning Cheng. The slandered dragon captain. An Shi rebelled and was killed by Lu Qiu's secretariat. His poems are famous for their four wonders, especially those written in the northwest frontier before he won the first place, and have the reputation of "Poet Wang Jiangning" (also known as "Poet Wang Jiangning").

reference data

Ancient Poetry Network: http://so.gushiwen.org/view_71207.aspx.