Folk songs in northern dynasties
Yinshan chilechuan,
The sky is like the sky, and the cage covers four fields.
The sky is gray and wild,
See cattle and sheep when the wind blows.
[Notes]
1. Chile: ethnic name, who lived in Shuozhou (now northern Shanxi Province) in the Northern Qi Dynasty.
2. Yinshan Mountain: In the north of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
3. Vault: A tent made of felt cloth, that is, a yurt.
4. pale: cyan.
5. See Xi an, the same as "now"
6. Read in the wild.
translate
At the foot of Yinshan Mountain, there is a huge plain where Zile people live.
The sky in Chilechuan is connected with the earth in all directions.
It looks like a "yurt" where herders live.
Grassland under the blue sky, rolling green waves,
Where the wind blows, flocks of cattle and sheep hide from time to time.
[Appreciation]
This is a folk song sung by Chileans, translated from Xianbei into Chinese. It praises the scenery of grassland and the life of nomadic people.
The first two sentences "Chilechuan, under the Yinshan Mountain" show that Chilechuan is located at the foot of the towering Yinshan Mountain, which sets off the grassland background very majestic. Then there are two sentences: "The sky is like a dome, and the cage covers four fields". Zile people use the "dome" in their own lives as a metaphor, saying that the sky is like a felt dome tent, covering all directions of the grassland, so as to describe the magnificent scene of the distant view and the connection between the wild and the wild. This kind of sight can only be seen on the grassland or at sea. The last three sentences, "The sky is grey, the wild land is boundless, the wind and grass are low, and the cattle and sheep are low", are a magnificent and vibrant panorama of the grassland. "When the wind blows grass, you can see cattle and sheep." A gust of wind bends the grass, exposing flocks of cattle and sheep, vividly depicting the scene of rich water and grass and fat cattle and sheep here. There are only twenty words in the whole poem, which shows a magnificent picture of the life of ancient herders in China.
This poem has a clear and generous style unique to the folk songs of the Northern Dynasties, with an open realm, a majestic tone, clear language and strong artistic generalization. Huang Tingjian, a poet in the Song Dynasty, said that the author of this folk song "hastily used strange words to cover up the truth" (The Inscription of the Valley, Volume 7). Because the author is very familiar with the life of grassland herders, he can grasp the characteristics at once without hard engraving, and the artistic effect is very good.
[feeling]
Zile people use dome-shaped felt tents to compare the grassland sky and eulogize the scenery of "wind blowing grass and low cattle and sheep", which is closely related to their lifestyle. The treasury is a mobile room for nomadic dissidents, and cattle, sheep and pastures are their sources of food and clothing. They have deep feelings for these things that are related to their lives and destiny. Therefore, we say that they eulogize grasslands and cattle and sheep, that is, eulogize their hometown and life; We believe that this folk song has a strong national and local color, which is also the reason.