The messenger went to the fortress
(Tang Dynasty) Wang Wei
The bicycle wanted to ask about the side, but the country was too far away.
Zheng Peng left Hansai, returned to Yan and entered Hutian.
The solitary smoke in the desert is straight, and the sun is setting over the long river.
Whenever Xiao Guan is waiting to ride, he will always protect Yan Ran.
By writing about the poet's journey to the Great Wall and the scenery outside the Great Wall during the journey, this poem expresses the poet's loneliness, loneliness, sadness and drifting loneliness due to being excluded, as well as the majestic and majestic feelings of being in the desert. In the scenery, the generous and tragic feelings that arise after emotions are nurtured, purified and sublimated reveal an open-minded mood. The article not only reflects the frontier life, but also reveals the author's admiration for the Protector. It expresses the poet's depression, anger, loneliness, and hope for peace on the border.
①Envoy to the frontier fortress: I was ordered to send an envoy to the frontier fortress. This is a five-character poem, selected from "The Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty" (1960 edition by Zhonghua Book Company). It was written by Wang Wei on his way to Liangzhou in 737 (the twenty-fifth year of Kaiyuan) to supervise the censor and join the army.
②Envoy: Go on an envoy.
③Bicycle: A car, here describes the small number of followers on this mission.
④ Ask the border: Go to the border fortress to inspect, referring to condolences to the officers and soldiers guarding the border.
⑤ Subject country: the abbreviation of the typical subject country. In the Han Dynasty, officials in charge of foreign affairs were called Dian vassals, which the poet used here to refer to his own identity.
⑥Juyan: The place name was called Juyanze in the Han Dynasty and Juyanhai in the Tang Dynasty. It is located in the northern part of Ejina Banner in Inner Mongolia today. In the Western Han Dynasty, there was Juyan County in Zhangye County (see "Hanshu Geography"), and the old city is located in the southeast of today's Jina Banner. In addition, the Liangzhou Governor of the Eastern Han Dynasty had Zhangye in the Juyan state, and its jurisdiction was in the Juyanze area. The general annotations for this sentence say that Wang Wei passed by Juyan. However, Wang Wei's mission did not actually require passing through Juyan. Therefore, "Selected Poems of Chinese Dynasties" compiled by Lin Geng and Feng Yuanjun believed that this sentence was about the Tang Dynasty's "vast frontier fortress, and the subordinate countries extended beyond Juyan."
⑦ Zhengpeng: fluffy grass flying in the wind , here is the poet’s self-explanation.
⑧Guiyan: Because the season is spring and the geese fly north, it is called "Guiyan enters the Hutian", which is also the poet's self-explanation.
⑨大 desert: Big desert, here roughly refers to the desert north of Liangzhou. Gu Yan: There are two interpretations in Zhao Diancheng's note: One goes that when the ancient border guards burned wolf dung, "the smoke was straight and gathered, and it did not disperse even if the wind blew." There are many whirlwinds outside the Great Wall, "smoke and sand are rising straight up". According to later generations, field investigators in Gansu and Xinjiang confirmed that there were indeed cyclones like "lone smoke rising straight up". Also: Guyan may also be a safe fire used by border guards in the Tang Dynasty. Volume 218 of "Tongdian" says: "At dusk, peace and fire will not arrive." Hu Sansheng's note: ""Liu Dian": When the garrison in Tang Town arrives, the generals will go thirty miles away. A flash of smoke is called a safe fire.
⑩Long River: Yellow River.
⑾Xiaoguan: The name of the ancient pass, its original location is in the southeast of Guyuan, Ningxia.
⑿Waiting Cavalry: Cavalry responsible for reconnaissance and communications. Wang Wei's envoy to Hexi did not pass through Xiaoguan. This is probably the meaning of He Xun's poem "waiting to ride out of Xiaoguan and pursue the troops to Mayi", which is not a literal description.
⒀Duhu: official name. The Tang Dynasty established six major military governors' offices in the northwest, including Anxi and Anbei. Each government assigned one chief guardian and two deputy governors to be responsible for all affairs in the jurisdiction.
⒁ Yanran: The name of the ancient mountain is now Hangai Mountain in Mongolia. This refers to the front line. "Book of the Later Han·Biography of Dou Xian": Xian led his army to defeat Shan Yu's army, "Then he climbed Yanran Mountain and marched for more than three thousand miles. He carved stones to show his merits and recorded the mighty virtues of the Han Dynasty, and ordered Ban Gu to write an inscription." The meaning of these two sentences is that in On the way, he met the waiting cavalry and learned that the commander was still at the front after defeating the enemy.
⒂Smoke: beacon smoke, the fireworks lit when calling the police.
Translation: (I) Qingche Jiancong wants to inspect the frontier, and the place he wants to go is far beyond Juyan. I) floated out of Hansai like fluffy grass, flew into the northern sky like a returning goose, and gained freedom. The solitary smoke rises straight up in the desert, and the sun sets perfectly beside the Yellow River. When I walked to Xiaoguan, I happened to meet a scout on horseback. The former enemy commander was on the front line of Yanran.