Li Shihao
Tang Dynasty: Du Fu
At dusk, officials arrested people at night. The old man climbed over the wall and left, while the old woman went out to watch.
No matter how angry an official is, why do women cry? After listening to the woman, three men guarded Ye.
One man attached a book, and two men died. Those who drag out an ignoble existence are dead.
There is no one in the room, only a baby and a grandson. And grandma didn't go, and there was no skirt in and out.
Although an old woman is weak, please come back at night. If you are in a hurry to serve Shirley in the river and Yang, you might as well prepare the meal in the morning.
The night is long and silent, like crying and choking. Dawn will rise into the future, leaving the old man alone.
translate
At dusk, I stayed in Shihao Village, and at night, officers came to recruit soldiers. The old man fled over the wall, and the old woman went out to deal with it.
The officers shouted so fiercely that the old woman cried so sadly. I heard the old woman come forward and say, "My three sons are going to take part in the battle of Yecheng. One of the sons sent back a message that the other two sons had just died in battle. Let the living live one day at a time, and the dead will never be resurrected!
Old woman, there is no one else at home, only a little grandson who is nursing. Because of the little grandson, his mother hasn't left yet, but she doesn't even have a good dress in and out.
Although the old woman is old and weak, please allow me to accompany you back to camp for the night. Go to Heyang to apply for a job and prepare breakfast for the troops. "
Late at night, the sound faded away, and I vaguely heard a low and intermittent cry. After dawn, I continued on my way, just to say goodbye to the old man who came home.
To annotate ...
Dusk: In the evening.
Voting: Stay.
Officials: officials, junior officials, here refers to the officials who catch able-bodied men.
Night: time noun as adverbial, at night.
Beyond (yú): beyond; Turn over.
Go: run, here refers to escape.
Call: to tell, shout
Hehe: How, how.
Anger: Angry, fierce and rude, which means fierce here.
Cry: cry.
Bitter: bitter.
Forward: forward, forward.
Right: right.
Foreword: refers to an old woman coming forward to speak (to an officer).
Yecheng: Xiangzhou, in Anyang, Henan.
Garrison (shù): Defense, here refers to service.
Attached book: reply to the information. Books and letters. Come back.
Tzu Chi Xin: Recently, just now.
Live, live.
And drag out an ignoble existence: live one day at a time. And: temporarily, temporarily. Drag out an ignoble existence: alive.
Long gone: forever. Already: it has stopped, and it extends to the end.
Room: home.
No one: No one else (male). More: Come again.
Only: only, only.
Breast-feeding grandson: a breast-feeding grandson.
No: Not yet.
Go: leave, here refers to remarriage.
Skirt: A complete suit.
Old woman (Yu): An old woman.
Decline: weak.
Please come back at night: please let me accompany you back at night. Please: request. Follow: follow, follow.
Should: respond.
Heyang: Today's Geely District, Luoyang City, Henan Province (formerly Mengxian County, Henan Province), when the officers and men of the Tang Dynasty confronted the rebels here.
Heyang express service: go to Heyang service as soon as possible.
Jude: Not bad. Yes, I can.
Prepare: prepare.
Cook in the morning: breakfast.
Ye Jiu: It's late at night.
Absolute: cut off; Stop.
Like, like.
Smell: Listen.
Cry: A low, intermittent cry. Tears are silent as "weeping", and crying and choking is "swallowing".
Ming: After dawn.
Boarding the future: stepping on the road ahead. Deng: Step on it. The future: the way forward.
Independence: only, only.
Shi Hao: In today's southeast of Sanmenxia City, Henan Province.
Creation background
In the spring of 759 (the second year of Tang Suzong Gan Yuan), Du Fu, who was 48 years old, was demoted from Zuo Shiyi to join the army in Sigong, Huazhou. He left Luoyang, passed Xin 'an, Shi Hao and Tongguan, stayed overnight and traveled widely, and arrived at Huazhou as a post station. Wherever he went, he was devastated and the people were miserable, which caused a strong emotional shock to the poet. So he wrote this immortal poem according to what he saw and heard.
Literary appreciation
Li Shihao is an outstanding realistic narrative poem, which tells the story that officials go to Shihao Village at night to arrest people for conscription, and even elderly and infirm women are taken to serve, exposing the brutality of officials and the darkness of military service system, and expressing deep sympathy for the people's suffering in the Anshi Rebellion. In art, refinement is a major feature of this poem. The narrative contains lyrics and arguments, and love and hate are clear. Scenes and details describe nature and reality. Good at cutting, with a prominent center.
The first four sentences can be regarded as the first paragraph. The first sentence "cast stone ditch village at dusk", come straight to the point and tell the story directly. The words "dusk", "vote" and "village" need to be pondered, and readers can't let them go easily. In feudal society, due to the disorder of society and the desolation of the journey, tourists all "stay while it is still time", not to mention in the era of war and disaster. Du Fu, on the other hand, hurried to a small village for the night at dusk. This unusual scene is very enlightening. Either he doesn't dare to go this way at all; Or the nearby towns are empty and have nowhere to rest. In a word, a few words not only pointed out the time and place of stay, but also told the whole story about chaos, trouble and disorder, which provided a typical environment for the performance of tragedy. Pu Qilong pointed out that this poem "A tiger catches people" ("Reading Du Xin Jie") is not only about "arresting people at the official night", but also about the environment of the first sentence. The sentence "arresting people at the night of being an official" is the outline of the whole article, and the following plots all come from here. Saying "arresting people" instead of "recruiting soldiers", "counting soldiers" and "recruiting soldiers" is exposed and criticized in the truthful description. Coupled with the word "night", the meaning is even richer. First, it shows that the government's "arresting people" often happens, and people hide or resist during the day and cannot "catch" them; Second, it shows that the means of "arresting people" by county officials is vicious, and they make a sudden attack at night when the people have fallen asleep. At the same time, the poet threw himself into Shihao Village at dusk. Several hours have passed from dusk to night, and of course he has fallen asleep by this time. So he didn't take part in the later activities, but heard them through the door. The phrase "the old man crosses the wall and the old woman goes out" shows that the people have suffered from Ding for a long time and have no peace day and night; Even in the middle of the night, I still fidgeted. As soon as I heard the noise outside the door, I knew that the county officials had come to "arrest people" again. The old man immediately fled over the wall, and the old woman opened the door to deal with it.
These sixteen sentences can be regarded as the second paragraph, from "why do officials get angry when they shout" to "it is better to prepare for cooking in the morning" "Collectors call what anger! Why do women cry! " In two sentences, the sharp contradiction between "official" and "female" is summarized extremely incisively and vividly, and written vividly. A "shout", a "cry", an "anger" and a "bitterness" form a strong contrast; The two adverbials "Yihe" add a sense of color, effectively rendering the savage momentum of the county official like a wolf, and creating an atmosphere of grief and indignation for the old woman's complaint below. The two sides of the contradiction have a master-slave and causal relationship. "Why do women cry" is forced by "why do officials cry and get angry". Below, the poet no longer writes "official call", but writes "women cry" and "official call" to see himself. "Speak before listening to women" is a connecting link. That "listening" is the poet's "listening" and that "delivering a speech" is the old woman's "bitter cry" in response to the county magistrate's "angry cry". Thirteen poems with the content of "making a speech" have changed their rhymes many times, showing many twists and turns, suggesting that county officials have repeatedly "shouted angrily" and forced questions. These thirteen poems were not uttered by an "old woman" in one breath, and the county magistrate was never there to listen to them. In fact, "why do officials get angry when they call you?" Why bother if a woman cries! " It is not only the beginning of the activity, but also the end of the activity. It is the first turning point from "three people guarding Yecheng" to "the dead are gone". As readers can imagine, this is the first time that county officials have forced questions and complaints. Before this, the poet once wrote about the county officials catching tigers and arresting people with the phrase "officials catch people at night". When the old woman went out to see it, she jumped in. The thief looked everywhere, but couldn't find a man. She closed her eyes. Then roared:
"Where have all the men in your family gone? Hand it over! " The old woman sobbed and said, "All three sons are soldiers guarding Yecheng. One son just wrote that the other two sons are dead! ..... "Tears, may not believe the county officials, also took out a letter to the county officials.
In short, "the living drag out an ignoble existence, and the dead are long gone!" " The situation is sympathetic enough, and she hopes to win the sympathy of county officials and be lenient. Unexpectedly, the county magistrate was angry again: "Is there no one else in your family? Hand it over! " She had to complain about this: "There is no one in the room, only the nursing children." These two sentences are not said at once, because there is obvious contradiction between "no one" and the following answer. The reasonable explanation is: the old woman said first: "There is no one at home!" " "At this time, hiding somewhere in the daughter-in-law's arms, my grandson was scared to cry by the roar, but it didn't help to cover his mouth. So the county magistrate seized the handle and threatened: "How dare you lie! Isn't there a child crying? The old woman had no choice but to say, "There is only one grandson! Still breastfeeding, very small! " "Who eats milk? There must be a mother! Don't hand her over! "What the old lady was worried about finally happened! She had to bite the bullet and explain: "The grandson had a mother, and her husband died in Yecheng, and he didn't remarry because he had to breastfeed the child. Pity her rags, how can she meet people! Do me a favor! " (There are two sentences: "Grandma didn't go, and she didn't wear it in and out.". Some versions are "Grandma didn't go out conveniently, and the official didn't wear a dress", and the county official let her out. ) but the county collectors still refused to stop. The old lady was afraid that her widowed daughter-in-law would be caught and starve her grandson, so she had to come forward: "Although the old lady is weak, please come back at night. I am in a hurry to serve food in the river, and I have to prepare breakfast in the morning. " The old woman's "speech" ended here, indicating that the county magistrate reluctantly agreed and stopped "growling".
Although there are only four sentences in the last paragraph, it takes care of the beginning, involves all the characters, and writes the ending of the event and the author's feelings. "The night is silent, like crying and choking." It shows that the old woman has been taken away, crying in a low voice when she walks, and she can't hear crying as she goes further and further. The word "night is long" reflects the long process of the old woman crying repeatedly and the county officials bullying in every way. On the one hand, the word "Ruwen" shows that the daughter-in-law was sobbing because her husband was killed and her mother-in-law was "caught", on the other hand, it also shows that the poet listened attentively and couldn't sleep all night. "Tomorrow is a sunny day, and I will be alone with the old man" is the whole article, which contains infinite affection in the narrative. The night before, both the old man and the old woman greeted the poet, but after a night, the old woman was taken away and her daughter-in-law was sobbing, so she had to say goodbye to the old man who had escaped. What the old man's mood is, and what the poet thinks, all these leave the reader with room for imagination.
Qiu said in Detailed Notes on Du Shaoling Collection: "The ancients had brothers, and only one person was sent to join the army. Today, all the able-bodied men have been driven away. They are old and weak. As the poem says, three people guard, two people die, Sun Fangru, daughter-in-law has no skirt, Weng climbs over the wall, and women walk at night. In a family, father and son, brothers, grandparents and granddaughters are so cruel, which makes people miserable! At that time, Tang Zuo was also in danger! " That is to say, "the people are the foundation of the country". If the people are made like this, the throne of the ruler will be in jeopardy. In the face of all this, the poet Du Fu did not beautify the reality, but truthfully exposed the political darkness and issued a cry of "arresting people at night", which deserves high praise.
In artistic expression, the most outstanding point of this poem is refined. Lu Shiyong praised: "How long! What a simple statement! " That's what I said. The whole sentence narrative, no lyric words, no argument words; But in fact, the author skillfully expressed his feelings through narration and made comments, with clear love and hate and clear tendency. The combination of praise and criticism in narrative not only saves a lot of pen and ink, but also gives readers no conceptual feeling at all. The poem also uses the expression of Tibetan questions and answers. "Collectors call what anger! Why do women cry! " After summing up the contradictions between the two sides, I concentrated on writing "women" instead of "officials", but the ferocity and violence of "officials" were hidden in the old woman's speech and the turning point of the event. Poets are also good at tailoring, and there are endless meanings in the narrative. The first sentence was about staying overnight, and immediately turned to the theme of "arresting people at the night of being an official". For another example, it only wrote "the old man climbed over the wall and walked", but did not write when he would come back; Only wrote "I am sobbing", not who is crying; Only write the old lady's "official night please return", not whether she was taken away; However, the narrative and lyrical "farewell to the old man" begins and ends with care, telling readers that the old man has returned home and the old woman has been taken away; Then, the one who was afraid to cry loudly with tears in her eyes was the young widow who was nursing her child. It is precisely because the poet's pen and ink are concise and refined that it is commendable to reflect the contradictions and conflicts in life with amazing breadth and depth in a short space.