Maybe we have been to Tianshan Mountain, Yumen Pass and the ancient battlefield outside the Great Wall. Maybe we have touched the stone where ancient soldiers once rested. However, if you want to cross the historical just visiting, stand under the bright moon in Qin Dynasty and raise your hand in the north wind of Han and Tang Dynasties, you have to open the historical pages that record frontier poems.
The first thing that caught my eye was the magnificent scenery of the frontier fortress.
Liangzhou song
[Tang] Wang Zhihuan
The Yellow River is getting farther and farther away, because it flows in the middle of the Yellow River, and Yumenguan is located on a lonely mountain.
Why use the elegy of willow to complain about the delay of spring, old Yumenguan, a spring breeze is not blowing!
Gu cheng is where the defenders are, and the following naturally leads to the remoteness of Guansai. With the feeling of hard work, even the spring breeze refused to come here through Yumen Pass. Writing grief and anger without knowing what to say only makes the voice of a strong enemy reverberate between the magnificent world created by the first two poems. Although the frontier fortress scenery is written, it also shows the heroic feelings of frontier fortress poems.
There is also a poem about Yumen Pass:
Guan Shanyue
li po
A bright moon rises from Qilian Mountain and crosses the vast sea of clouds.
The mighty wind blew Wan Li and crossed Yumen Pass.
At that time, Han soldiers pointed at the mountain road, and Tubo coveted the vast territory of Qinghai.
This is a land of wars in past dynasties, and few soldiers can survive.
The garrison soldier looked at the remote border town, and his hometown could not help but look sad.
The soldier's wife looked at the tower and lamented when she would see her relatives far away.
Similar to "Liangzhou Ci", the first two couplets of the poem wrote magnificent weather such as bright moon, Tianshan Mountain and sea of clouds. "The moon is high in the sky and the smoke is vast" is similar to "The Yellow River is far above the white clouds". These two sentences also highlight another image under the background of "cloud". The word "Chu" here is similar to the word "Shang" in "The Yellow River is far above the white clouds", which makes the poem full of movement and strength. The overall structure of the poem is similar to that of Liangzhou Ci, and both of them feel the cruelty of war and the homesickness of the soldiers guarding the border in the second half. The difference is that the mountains, the moon, the clouds and the sea are integrated here, adding a surging momentum to the opening ceremony. The meaning of "the wind from thousands of miles is beating on the battlements of Yumenguan" is obviously different from the meaning of "the spring breeze is not enough" below, but both highlight the mighty spirit.
If Wang Zhihuan's "Liangzhou Ci" highlights the magnificence, then Wang Changling's "Joining the Army" highlights the preciseness in the magnificence, and at the same time entrusts with a sense of desolation.
Join the army (seven first choices)
[Tang] Wang Changling
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.
Similar to the previous poems, the first couplet of this poem also uses images such as clouds, mountains, lonely city and Yumenguan, which means "darkness" and "looking from afar", so the whole poem is shrouded in a gloomy and desolate atmosphere. Under the cover of clouds, the snow-capped mountains are no longer clear, and an isolated city can only be seen from afar in Yumenguan, but even Yumenguan is a remote place with uneven spring breeze. There seems to be expectation in the distance, and expectation is naturally victory, but victory seems to be in the foreseeable future, so all that remains is the belief and hard struggle to win: "Yellow sand is covered with golden armor and won't be returned."
From the analysis of the above poems, it is not difficult to see that frontier poems often "blend scenes" and render a magnificent or desolate atmosphere. The unique scenery of frontier fortress is often highlighted by a series of unique images, including: frontier wind, frontier moon, frontier dust, corner, frontier flute, frontier goose, frontier horse, frontier willow, frontier grass, frontier river and frontier pass ... You can see this feature more clearly in the following poems.
(2) Military travel career
In addition to frontier fortress scenery, frontier fortress poems naturally describe military life, and the core of military life is war.
Saixiaqu
On land
That night, the black geese flew very high, and Khan quietly escaped during the night.
I was about to lead the light cavalry to catch up when the snow fell full of bows and knives.
Dark clouds covered the moon. On such a night, the battle began, and all the geese living there flew away in fear. Xiongnu Khan fled after the defeat of the leader, and our soldiers chased after him on horseback, and the snow covered their bows and arrows and combat knives. The whole poem is concise in language and short in rhythm. Although only one aspect of defeating and pursuing the enemy is written, the fierceness of the war and the joy of victory have been revealed between the lines.
Of course, the pride of victory must have the bitterness of failure. Look at the poem below.
Longxihang
Tao Chen
Tang Jun men and women fought the Huns to the death, and 5,000 troops in robes were killed in Chen Hu.
Poor bones by the river, I am still a dream girl.
Soldiers fought against Xiongnu soldiers, and 5,000 soldiers fell in the dust of Alakazam. Bones are everywhere along the Wuding River in northern Shaanxi, but their distant wives are still with them in their dreams! The desolation of the last two sentences is hard to win. The above two poems describe the war from a special angle, and then look at the following poem:
Batavia on Yanmenguan Line
[Tang] Li He
Enemy soldiers rolled in like dark clouds in an attempt to tear down the city wall; Our army was ready, and the sun shone on the armor, glittering with gold.
In autumn, the horn sounded all over the sky, and the rouge stopped the night purple.
The red flag rolled half, and the reinforcements rushed to Xiao; The night frost is heavy and the drums are gloomy.
I want to report to you on the golden platform, and I want to take Yulong to your death.
Li He is known as "Shi Gui", and his poems often use strange images to create a magnificent atmosphere. This poem plays up the tense atmosphere on the eve of the battle and describes the marching scene. The first sentence is the poet's unique exaggerated imagination. Dark clouds seemed to crush the city, thus successfully rendering the tense atmosphere and critical situation in Enemy at the Gates. The defenders in the city are changing, and a ray of sunshine shines through the clouds on the golden armor of the soldiers guarding the city. The third sentence and the fourth sentence render the gloomy and miserable battlefield atmosphere from the auditory and visual aspects respectively. A clarion call makes the autumn colors tremble all over the sky, while "rouge and purple at night" is purely a painting color, trying to describe the tragic war. Sunset reflected on the battlefield, rouge-like blood condensed on the earth through the night fog, showing a shocking purple.
The last four sentences are about the activities of the rescue forces. The red flag was half-rolled, probably because it was marching in the middle of the night and deliberately half-rolled, in order to take it by surprise. It may also be because it is too cold and frozen, such as Cen Can's "And our frozen red flag can't fly in the wind". The word "near Yishui" brings out the desolation and tragedy of "the wind is rustling and the water is cold, and the strong man is gone forever" before Jing Ke stabbed the king of Qin. The last two sentences express the courage and determination of the soldiers to defend their motherland to the death.
Although the war is fierce, when the traffic lights stop, the frontier fortress is not without leisure and happiness.
Listen to the flute on the plug
Gaoshi
Snow-clean horses graze in the daytime, and Qiangdi guards the building in the moonlight.
Excuse me, where did the plum blossom fall? The wind blew all over the mountain overnight.
After the war, the horse returned, the Qiang flute sounded upstairs, and the moonlight filled the sky: "Plum Blossom Falling" was originally the name of an ancient flute, but the author took it apart and used it, which made people mistakenly think that plum blossoms (flutes) floated with the wind and fell all over the mountain. The whole poem creates a cool and beautiful atmosphere. The atmosphere of the following poem is much more cheerful.
Jiuquan satrap got drunk and later worked.
Cen Can
Pipa and flute are in harmony, while Qiang and Hu Chu sing together.
Stir-fry cattle and cook wild camels, and hand over river wine and gold.
Drunk in the middle of the night, the army went to bed, and Qinshan had no choice but to dream.
In the poem, I wrote the music of pipa and flute, songs and dances of children of Qiang nationality and children of Hu nationality, wine, food and drunkenness. I just pointed out at the end that it will be difficult to return to China for a long time. It can be seen that there is no joy in the army, but the joy and leisure in the army are always shrouded in the cloud of war and death. Therefore, the feelings expressed in frontier fortress poems are often intertwined with the ambition of making contributions, homesickness and the declaration of eating, drinking and having fun.
(3) Border feelings
In fact, the poems quoted above have revealed many emotional experiences in frontier fortress poems. It can be said that every sentence of frontier poems focuses on the feelings for the frontier and the land, and these feelings are highlighted in the following poems.
The first is heroism and emotion.
Liangzhou Song
[Tang] William Wang
Wine luminous glass, want to drink pipa right away.
Drunk lying on the battlefield, you don't laugh, there have been several wars in ancient times.
This little poem, which delights in drinking, contains tragedy in heroism. The glass made of white jade was filled with deep red wine, and when it was about to drink, there was a rapid pipa sound at once. It is better to be drunk in the battlefield. How many people can survive the frontier battles through the ages? This poem slightly hints at the other side of the soldier's psychology-either become a hero or the dust settles. The battlefield environment beyond the Great Wall aroused people's complex emotions. The heroic pride and the pain of death are intertwined, so this poem is tragic but not sad, heroic but not ambitious.
Disengage plug
[Tang] Wang Changling
It is still the moon and border pass in Qin and Han dynasties, and the enemy has fought a protracted war.
If Wei Qing, who attacked Longcheng, and Li Guang, the flying general, were alive today, the Huns would not be allowed to go south to spend their horses in Yinshan.
Wang Changling once had the reputation of "Poet Wang Jiangning" (because he was from Jiangning), and his first poem "Out of the Wall" was even more praised as a masterpiece in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. The ordinary bright moon shines on the border, but in his works, he has crossed time and space and gained the depth and breadth of history; Then, the phrase "people didn't return on the Long March" makes the frontier war in history a portrayal of countless tragedies. At the end of the sentence, if Li Guang, the flying general, were still here, he would certainly be able to keep the conference semifinals out of Yinshan Mountain. The implication is that Li Guang is gone, and it is difficult for people to achieve such a career as Li Guang. All they can do is to keep the bright moon boundary after Qin and Han dynasties and continue their expedition.
It is not difficult to see that although frontier poems purely praising war heroes exist, their lofty sentiments are still filled with sadness, and their generosity is full of emotions. After all, this is a poem written with life!
Naturally, there is also a tender feeling in the hearts of soldiers guarding the frontier, which is reflected in frontier poems, that is, homesickness and sadness.
Listen to the night flute from the wall of Shouxiang
Li yi
Before returning to Lefeng, the sand was like snow, and the moon outside the city was like frost.
I don't know where the bleak reed flute blows and I look at my hometown all night.
The sand is like snow and the moon is like frost-we naturally remember Li Bai's sentence "Looking up, I found it was moonlight, and then sinking, I suddenly remembered home". I don't know where the reed flute blows in sadness, but it must be a local accent, so "I want to see my hometown one night", and the ending sentence is full of endless homesickness.
When welcoming a messenger to the capital.
[Tang] Cen Can
The distance from the east home is very long, and the tears are wet and the sleeves are still flowing.
I'll meet you immediately, without paper and pen. Please tell my family that I'm safe.
My hometown is far away in the East, and the road is long, and my sleeves are wet with tears. All this is because I met a friend from my hometown on the March and wanted to write a letter without pen and paper. In desperation, I had to simply greet him immediately and ask him to send a message of peace to my family. The frontier fortress made the poet's heroic dream, but it also separated many relatives. This little poem is a true portrayal of this situation.
The three aspects of frontier fortress poems mentioned above are often intertwined in the same poem or even the same poem, and it is difficult to completely separate them. At the same time, there are a lot of frontier poems, and many excellent works are in the form of songs, which are very long. This article will not give a detailed introduction, such as Luntai Song presented to Journey to the West, Warsong for the Elderly, Ge Yanxing by Gao Shi and so on.
History is not far away, but it is always activated by turning pages with our fingers. The high autumn moon still shines on the Great Wall of Wan Li, and frontier poems still inspire future generations of heroes.