Plucking Wei (excerpt) Anonymous [Pre-Qin]
In the past, I left, and the willows were 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, difficult to walk, and I was exhausted from being thirsty and hungry.
I feel sad in my heart. No one will understand my pain!
Introduction and appreciation of the work
"Plucking Wei" is an article in "The Book of Songs·Xiaoya".
Annotators in the past dynasties have different opinions on 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 "Plucking Wei", it was probably written when soldiers were returning from their hard work in the garrison. The poem sings about the hard life and longing for home of the soldiers in the army.