Caiwei (excerpt):
I am gone in the past, and the willows are still there.
As I come to think about it, it is raining and snowing.
The journey is slow, full of thirst and hunger.
My heart is sad, but I don’t know how sad I am!
Translation:
Looking back at the time when I left, even Yang Liu reluctantly said goodbye to me.
Now on the way back, it is snowing heavily.
The road was long and winding and difficult to walk. I was thirsty and hungry and exhausted.
I feel sad in my heart. No one will understand my pain!
1. Notes
In the past: In the past, the article pointed out the time of war.
Back in the day: I joined the army.
Yiyi: describes the way the willow silk is soft and swaying in the wind.
Thinking: Used at the end of a sentence, it has no real meaning.
Yu: Sounds the same as "yu" and means "falling".
Rain (yù) snow: snowing. Rain is used as a verb here.
Fei (fēi) Fei: the appearance of falling snowflakes.
Chichi: Slow appearance.
Contained: Also.
Mo: No one.
2. Appreciation
"Plucking Wei" is an article in "The Book of Songs·Xiaoya". Annotators in the past have different opinions about the year of its writing. However, according to its content and the verification of other historical records, it is more likely that it is a work from the era of King Xuan of Zhou Dynasty. In the Zhou Dynasty, the yangnu (later known as the Xiongnu) in the north were very powerful and often invaded the Central Plains, bringing many disasters to the lives of the people in the north at that time. There are many records in history of the Emperor Zhou sending troops to guard the borders and ordering soldiers to send troops to defeat the wolves. Judging from the content of "Caiwei", it was probably written when soldiers were returning from hard work. The poem sings about the hard life and longing for home of the soldiers in the army. "In the past, I left, and the willows clung to me. Now I come to think about it, and the rain and snow are falling." Let that lingering, deep, and erratic emotion naturally flow out of the landscape painting, with profound implications and endless taste.
These four lines of poetry are praised by later generations as the best lines in the Book of Songs. When writing about scenery, it is even more emotional and sad. There is a story of joy and sorrow in these lines, and it seems to be a fable of personal life. Who once said goodbye to me among the willows in that glorious spring? And when I returned from a narrow escape in the heavy snow, who else was waiting for me? Is it the grand scene of welcoming relatives in "Mulan Ci", or the scene of luxuriant grass in "Fifteenth Military Expedition"? The spring when we leave, the heavy snow when we return, the seasons are changing, time is passing, we leave, we return, and in the coming and going, what has been lost and what has been gained? There was no answer, only a lonely figure of Zheng Ren, who was hungry and thirsty and burned by heavy lovesickness and anxiety, staggering and trembling toward a future he didn't know in the snow.
Information on "The Book of Songs" and "Caiwei"
The "Book of Songs" is the earliest comprehensive collection of poetry in my country, with a total of 311 chapters. It is said that it was compiled by Confucius. The Book of Songs is divided into three parts: "Wind", "Ya", and "Song". It reflects labor and love, war and labor, oppression and resistance, customary marriage, ancestor worship and banquets, etc. It is a masterpiece of Zhou Dynasty. A mirror of social life.
"Plucking Wei" comes from "The Book of Songs·Xiaoya". The poem has six chapters, each chapter has eight lines. It sings about the hard life and complex emotions of soldiers in the army in the tone of a returning soldier.