It mainly talks about conscription, which profoundly exposes the unreasonableness of the military service system and sympathy for the people
Original text of the work
Traveling to Xin'an Road, there is noisy news Order troops.
I would like to ask the officials of Xin'an: Is there no official in the county?
The house notice was posted last night, and the men’s company was chosen for the second time.
The middle-aged man is extremely short, how can he defend the royal city?
The fat man is supported by his mother, while the thin man is alone.
The white water flows eastward at dusk, and the green mountains still cry.
Don’t let your eyes dry up and shed your tears.
When your eyes are dry, you will see your bones, and the world will be merciless!
Our army took Xiangzhou and watched it leveled day and night.
Unexpectedly, the thieves are unpredictable and return to the military star to disperse the camp.
Stay close to the old base for food, and stay in the capital when training soldiers.
There is no water when digging trenches, and the horse herding work is also light.
Kang Nai is Wang Shishun, and his upbringing is very clear.
Don’t cry blood when you see him off. He shoots like a father or brother.
Translation of the work
The author was walking on the road in Xin'an County and heard Xin'an officials counting troops based on household registration.
The author asked the Xin'an official: "Is it because Xin'an County is small and all the able-bodied men have been drawn out, that these young men are arrested?"
The Xin'an official replied, "The government notice was only issued last night. He also ordered that if there were no able-bodied men, the underage men would be drawn out one by one. The author also asked, "How can the underage men be strong enough to defend the royal city?" The middle-aged man was accompanied by his mother, but the thin boy became lonely because his parents died during the war.
The river flows eastward day and night, but the green mountains still cry!
“Don’t let your tears dry up, hold back your tears.
When your tears dry up, your skull will be exposed, but heaven and earth are ruthless after all and cannot change this tragic arrangement.
Our army captured Xiangzhou and hoped to regain it day and night.
But the thieves were unpredictable and the army was defeated.
We went to the original camp to eat. , military training also relies on Luoyang.
The trenches are not deep enough to reach water, and the labor of herding horses is relatively light.
What's more, the imperial officers and soldiers are in line with justice. It will all go well, and it is clear that we care for the soldiers.
Don’t cry so sadly when bidding farewell to the soldiers, the commander will care for you like a father and brother.”[2]
The background of this poem is Qianyuan. In the winter of the first year (AD 758), Anqingxu retreated to Baoxiangzhou (today's Anyang, Henan). Suzong ordered Guo Ziyi, Li Guangbi and other nine military envoys to besiege Xiangzhou with 200,000 people on foot and cavalry. From winter to spring, they failed to break the city. In March of the second year of Qianyuan, Shi Siming led troops from Weizhou (now Hebei Daming) to support An Qingxu and fought with the official army in Anyang, Hebei. Jiujiedu's army was defeated and fled south. An Qingxu and Shi Siming almost occupied Luoyang again. Fortunately, Guo Ziyi led his Shuofang army to demolish the Heyang Bridge and prevented Anshi's army from going south. After this battle, the officers and soldiers were scattered and soldiers were in urgent need of replenishment. So the imperial court ordered the conscription of troops. Du Fu returned to Huazhou from Luoyang and passed by Xin'an. He saw the conscription situation and wrote this poem.