The poet once said, "I wrote the brand, life, hope and old horse to show my outlook on life and attitude towards life". The poet wrote down the life he saw: "This is not a mixture of fun, this is life,/10,000 backstabbing lies surround you,/1,000 times to serve you." Pointing to "hope", he said, "You always speak beautifully,/You never know what a red face is. /Humans are chasing after you for mercy,/You have never given them a perfection. " In the poet's view, not only should we have no illusions about life, but we must also be cautious at all times. Therefore, the poet thinks that life is "like a grain of sand, the wind carries you flying,/you don't know where you are going", and writes about the tragic situation that you can't control your own destiny. Facing the sinister life, the poet put forward "personal perseverance", that is, not to be discouraged, not to be depressed, to bite the bullet and to endure hardships. "Old Horse" is a comment on this attitude towards life: the current hardships are your opponents, and you should try your best to fight against them. The characteristic of Cang Kejia is that he is different from the "Stoicism" of crescent poets, modernist poets and poets of China Poetry Society. He can seriously face the sinister suffering in real life and "know life from the tip of a thorn"; He can meet hardships calmly and sharply with a stubborn spirit. Among China's modern and contemporary poets, no one is spiritually connected with China farmers like Cang Kejia, which is his most precious thing. He always looked down and stared at the miserable land of China and the people at the bottom who were struggling on the line of death and hunger. His thoughts are not only connected with those of peasants, but also his attitude towards writing poems is peasant-like. His earnest and persistent advocacy of "bitter singing" is unique in China's modern and contemporary poetry circles.
The first section of the poem presents a tragic picture to readers: an aging thin horse is exhausted and unable to drive away, but under the arrogance of its owner, it is forced to bear an unbearable burden and endure it silently without any complaints and protests. Even if the pressure on his back is buckled into the meat, he just hangs his head heavily. This description vividly shows the tragic situation of the old horse and reveals his indomitable personality and slim hope. The poet said: "Even if you can't have a keen eye to predict the future, you should reflect the tragic situation in front of you in your poems, otherwise it will be a shame to be a poet." (Cang Kejia's On New Poetry) In fact, the poet wrote about the life he saw through the old horse's situation, and the image of bearing the heavy burden of life and bowing his head to endure it was a manifestation of "perseverance".