Author: Ai Qing
If I were a bird,
I should also sing with a hoarse throat:
This land hit by the storm,
This river of sadness and anger will surge forever,
This endless wind,
And the gentle dawn from the forest ...
And then I died,
Even feathers rot in the ground.
Why do I often cry?
Because I love this land deeply. ...
Writing background
I love this land, which was written in 1938, 165438+ 10/7 and published in "Ten Days of Literature" published in Guilin in the same year. 1938 10, Wuhan fell, and the Japanese invaders trampled on China. The author and many literary and art figures at that time withdrew from Wuhan and gathered in Guilin. The author wrote this poem with love for the motherland and hatred for the invaders.
Extended data
Ai Qing once said: "The poet chose two paths in the face of this cold reality. Some poets are more brave to join the revolutionary life and engage in creation in the dark bottom of the times and hard struggle. Their highest demand is how to more truly reflect the dark reality of China today.
Other poets, on the other hand, escaped from this historical depression and devoted themselves to all foreign forms of manufacturing and transplantation of foreign skills. "There is no doubt that ai qing chose the latter. After the outbreak of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Ai Qing went from the eastern coast to the Central Plains, to the north, and to Yan 'an in the war.
During his migration, he saw more social reality and the sufferings of the nation in the anti-aggression struggle. He devoted himself to using his poems to truly express what he saw.
Just like when I came back from Europe early. It is impossible to play the "fresh and melancholy reed flute" with Europa flavor, but repeating the "high excitement" during the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War will not help improve the poet's level, nor can it fully and faithfully reflect the social reality of the continuous stage of the Anti-Japanese War. This "patriotic feeling with strong melancholy" is the continuation and development of all previous feelings.
In the poem "I Love This Land", phrases such as hoarseness, storm, blow, grief, death, decay, frequent tears and so on try to render a strong tragic atmosphere.
If we consider the situation at that time: the Japanese invaders are ravaging the land of China, slaughtering the people of China and insulting the women of China, the nation has reached a critical juncture. It is not easy to win the war, which requires the people of China to exchange their blood and lives.
Ai Qing's melancholy is based on his profound understanding and experience of the protracted and arduous nature of China Revolution and War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. He said that telling a faithful soul living in this era not to be depressed is like telling a farmer who is tossing and turning in a muddy dream not to be depressed, which belongs to a naive hope.
But melancholy does not mean disappointment, nor does it mean that the author has lost confidence in the future. On the contrary, his melancholy can give readers deeper strength. He said: "Take melancholy and sadness as a kind of strength!
Gather the longing, injustice and anger that pervades the vast land ... and then wait for the storm to take it away and sweep the whole ancient world! "The melancholy color is because the poet deeply loves the nation and the people.
In fact, his poems are full of enthusiasm and unremitting pursuit and yearning. Poets are often born in desolation, and light is revealed in darkness. You see, even in the poem "I love this land" which expresses the love for the troubled motherland, there is still a beautiful yearning.
Listen to "I should also sing with a hoarse throat: ... the incomparably gentle dawn from the forest ..." Isn't his "incomparably gentle dawn" a metaphor for a better life after the victory of the revolution? Even in the dark, the poet never lost hope for a better tomorrow.
For the author's deep and complicated feelings, we can use the famous sentence in the poet's own poem as an annotation: "Why do I often have tears in my eyes?" Because I love this land deeply. "