The original text is as follows:
The child is determined to go to the countryside, or he will not return if he succeeds.
Mulberry fields don't need to bury bones, and life is everywhere.
The translation is as follows:
The child made up his mind to go out of his hometown and vowed not to come back until he succeeded in his studies.
Why should I be buried in my hometown after death? Life is full of green hills, where bones can be buried.
Sentence annotation
1. Saigō Takamori:1828-1877 was a Samoan warrior, warrior, politician and reformist at the end of the Japanese edo period. He is called "Three Reformers" together with Hiroyuki (Kwai Kogoro) and Kubojun.
2. Xiangguan: hometown, hometown. For example, Cui Hao's poem "Yellow Crane Tower": "But I look at home, and the twilight is getting dark, and there is a layer of sad fog on the river waves."
3. Mulberry field: In ancient times, mulberry trees and catalpa trees were often planted next to houses. He also said that the mulberry trees in his hometown were planted by his parents, and we should pay tribute to them. Later generations used mulberries as a metaphor for hometown.
Extended data:
19 10, Mao Zedong's father, Mao Shunsheng, wanted Mao Zedong to do business, but Mao Zedong was determined to go out of Shaoshan and go to a new school-Dongshan Senior High School in Xiangxiang County to continue his studies. Through his own efforts and the unanimous persuasion of relatives, friends and teachers, Mao Zedong's father agreed to his request. On the eve of leaving home to study in Dongshan Senior Primary School in Xiangxiang County, Mao Zedong began to write this poem "Sonnets of Saigō Takamori's Father", which was sandwiched in his father's daily reader.
This poem is a declaration of young Mao Zedong's going to the world, from which we can see his great ambition of caring for the world and aiming at all directions. On the eve of Meiji Restoration in Japan, the poet Yue Xing wrote two poems about his ambition before leaving his hometown to travel eastward. Later, Saigō Takamori read it. He thought the content of the second poem was in line with his own ambition, so after making some revisions, he constantly encouraged himself.
At the end of Qing Dynasty, China was invaded by western powers, and the country and people were in dire straits. The success of Meiji Restoration in Japan became an example for aspiring young people in China, and Saigō Takamori's famous deeds also spread to China. It can be inferred that, in this case, Mao Zedong, a teenager, read Saigō Takamori's version of this narrative poem from books, newspapers or directly from teachers studying in Toyo.
After that, he insisted on leaving home to go to Xiangxiang to receive higher education and open up a broader world. This had a serious conflict with his stubborn and conservative father. In this case, he changed a few words in this poem and dedicated it to his father.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Four Musts-Give Saigō Takamori's Poems to Father.