Belinsky said, "No poet can be great because of himself and relying on himself. He can neither rely on his own pain nor his own happiness; Any great poet is great because his pain and happiness are deeply rooted in the soil of society and history. "
Thakhin Kou Taw Hmain is a great poet. He lived and studied in temples since childhood, familiarized himself with classics, Buddhist scriptures and ancient poems, and then traveled all over the country, laying a solid foundation in literature. When he was young, Thakhin Kou Taw Hmain witnessed the king and queen of Myanmar being forcibly taken away from the palace by British colonists. National humiliation left an indelible historical mark on his young mind, and the seeds of expelling foreign aggression and rejuvenating the motherland were deeply buried in his heart. Therefore, his poetry creation has always been full of strong national consciousness and patriotic enthusiasm, resolutely eulogizing and defending the traditional culture of the nation, reflecting the epic deeds of the Burmese people's resistance to the British colonial rulers and becoming the "diary of the independence struggle" of the Burmese people.
After World War II, British colonialists tried their best to block the national liberation movement in Myanmar in order to consolidate their sphere of influence in Southeast Asia. On July 1947, they assassinated seven national movement leaders headed by Aung San, which shocked Myanmar. As Aung San's teacher, Thakhin Kou Taw Hmain heard the bad news and hated the despicable acts of the British colonists, especially the loss of seven national leaders in Myanmar. The grieving poet wrote a poem "Martyrs Cemetery" at the beginning of 1948, expressing his grief for the martyrs, endless hatred and accusations against the colonialists, and even more worrying about the future fate of Myanmar. The whole poem is always full of melancholy and indignation. The Martyrs Cemetery should have four sections, but the poet only wrote three. Later generations asked about it, and Thakhin Kou Taw Hmain replied, "I was so sad at that time" that I didn't notice that I had violated the poetic format.
The first verse of this poem consists of eight sentences. Among them, "The Palace Que has not been built,/the peak throne has not been boarded,/the flower of victory has suddenly withered" and the repetition at the end of the article make the whole poem full of sorrow, regret and sorrow for the country and the people. "Evil death" refers to British colonists, and "peacock" is a metaphor for Myanmar.
The second section first explains the author's grief over the loss of seven leaders. The poet was shocked to hear the bad news of the seven people in Aung San, and he couldn't help but "wet his clothes with tears". History is always strikingly similar. In grief, the poet can't help but think of the national heroes in the history of Myanmar, such as Alan Sidu, Talon, Ye Min Jean Damian, Damian Bayan, etc. Like Aung San, they are full of ambition and brilliant, but in the end they have to swallow their anger and die because they were assassinated by villains. "Sad historical events emerge one after another,/countless celebrities have lost their lives. /How similar things are now,/I am infinitely sad. " Our country and people have sacrificed too many excellent sons and daughters and shed too much blood. Isn't the history written in blood enough to alert us and arouse people's sense of responsibility to save the nation from peril? The people of Sri Lanka have passed away, but newcomers still exist. The living people must not let the blood of martyrs flow in vain. They must cheer up, unite as one, help each other in the same boat, strive to drive the British colonists out of Myanmar land as soon as possible, and comfort the martyrs. In the third section, the author is still immersed in grief. "In the face of martyrs monument,/Sir, I meditate, I pay tribute! Besides grief, the author's first grief is "career failure". "It was just around the corner to recover the motherland and win independence, but" gangsters did evil to seize power ",which made" the narrowest palace has not been built,/the peak throne has not been boarded,/and the flower of victory suddenly withered! "How difficult the future of the motherland is, and the fate is unpredictable. Without pioneers, the poet is deeply worried about the future of Myanmar, which is the poet's greatest worry. So, at the end, the poet uttered a lament: "Alas! The sacrifice of Aung San is the sorrow of the whole people! "
The Martyrs Cemetery is full of uncontrollable grief and indignation, which is very infectious. Flogging the colonists, penetrating, hearty, sad and happy; Remembering the martyrs, I can't help crying when I read it.
(Xie Maofa)