"Journey to the West" is the first poem in "Journey to the Six Nations". It is an overview of the visits to the six countries. The following poems are separate descriptions of the visits to each country.
Here I mainly write about the spectacular scenery overlooking the world during the flight, and the passionate passion triggered by it. This poem, which was revised by Mao Zedong, has become the representative work of Chen Yi's visiting poems with its rich ideological connotation and highly perfect artistic form. The use of metaphor and symbolism also makes it a highly interpretable masterpiece among Chen Yi's many popular poems.
The Dapeng is a legendary bird. Its wings are as big as the clouds hanging from the sky. When it rides on the wind, it hits the water surface of three thousand miles and soars up to ninety thousand miles. The author chose such a divine bird as a metaphor, a divine creature whose appearance and description are difficult to describe. It is impossible to see the whole of it with the utmost eyesight, and its magnificence is difficult to see with all the imagination. On the surface, the author just uses it to compare large passenger planes. He uses the plane to compare with flying into the blue sky compared to the Dapeng fighting at high altitudes, and the plane flying at high speed to compare with the Dapeng riding on the wind. This contains the admiration for modern civilization and the admiration for the greatness of creation. The pride of humanity itself. But this is only the surface semantics of the poem, only the shallow layer where the deep structure of the poem can emerge. Chen Yi wrote a poem "Eagle Taming" as early as 1962: If it were a true eagle, it would spread its wings and soar into the sky. Soar in space and swim in the sea. If you don't like to throw food to you, you can still be fettered. In the author's opinion, a real eagle should soar into the sky, fight in space, and pursue freedom. This is what an eagle should be like, and it should be even more so in life and in a country. If two years ago, the author used a tethered eagle to express his lament for the country and life and express a sky-high ambition, then the Dapeng in "Westward Journey" is the author flying above the nine heavens, full of hope. Pride, with a more majestic image, moves from a superficial metaphor to a profound and heroic metaphor. It is also a metaphor for life and the country, but it has more solid, rich and majestic content. Since 1963, Chen Yi has accompanied Zhou Enlai on his thousands of miles of visits to Asia and Africa. Especially in 1964, *** visited more than 20 countries in Asia, Africa and Europe. By 1965, more than 40 countries had established diplomatic relations with China, most of which were Asian and African countries. Since then, the friendship between China and the people of the world has grown day by day, and China has played a decisive role in the international united front against imperialism, anti-colonialism, and anti-hegemony. Chen Yi resolutely implemented Mao Zedong's revolutionary diplomatic line, which enabled China to always seize the initiative with its magnanimous magnanimity and excellent diplomatic art in complex and dangerous political situations, win the trust of people around the world, and attract world attention. Such a high-spirited, prosperous China that is soaring forward with the momentum of covering the sky and the sun, how can people not think of the great roc that rides the wind and controls the sky, soars up, and moves thousands of miles, Chen Yi, a man who once commanded millions of troops and swept thousands of armies The Generalissimo, a diplomat who has traveled all over the world and has a global mind, is currently on a plane, soaring in the sky, overlooking the world, with mountains, lakes and seas, and the world of human beings all in one glance. The big universe is lying in front of him. Looking back on the glorious achievements of the past few years, how can all this not stir up the poet's rich and sensitive soul, so that the magnificent spirit of dominating the world will burst out. At this time, in addition to the magical Dapeng, there are also What can express its lifelong pride, his infinite emotion and excitement? If in "Falcon Taming Ci", the poet just sighs, states a wish, expresses an ideal of fighting in space without being fettered by others, At this time, China's step-by-step success on the diplomatic front was gradually turning this idea into reality. At this time, it also coincided with the majestic feeling of freedom, liberation, and unrepression during the flight. The grandeur overflows in the poet's chest, and all of this may be the metaphor of Dapeng.
1964 to 1965 was a troubled period in world history. The day when China exploded the first atomic bomb was when Khrushchev stepped down. The new government led to the complete division of the international communist movement; the U.S. war against Vietnam continued to escalate; the entire Africa was also in shock, and the world entered A period of great global turmoil, great differentiation, and great reorganization. Although this had not yet officially arrived when the author wrote the poem in 1964, the author must have foreseen this trend with his keen political vision. From a superficial semantic point of view, wind and thunder refers to the revolutionary movements of the people of various countries in Asia and Africa. The trend of national independence movements is like wind and thunder in nature, but this is only its direct metaphorical meaning. On a deeper level, it refers to the political instability throughout the world. The combination of the two is the true symbolic connotation of wind and thunder. But just as the wind and snow are witnesses of the strong green pines, and the severe cold is the embodiment of the evergreen honeysuckle, the wind and thunder here also provide a violent and conflicting background for the Dapeng to show its power. It is on this land where winds and thunders are galloping and thundering that the Dapeng soars upwards with overwhelming force and overlooks the lower realms. It is even more majestic, heroic and confident. It can also be seen from here that the author always infuses the article with his own spirit. Qi, always in contradictions and struggles, revealing the theme in a dynamic tension structure to create breathtaking artistic charm.
Understanding the two metaphorical and symbolic images of Dapeng and Wind and Thunder, you will have a deeper feeling for the majesty of the entire poem. Thousands of Miles Westward Journey is not only a description of the frequent visits and urgent schedules of diplomatic warriors, but also implies the turbulence and tension of the world situation. Riding the wind and navigating space is not only a metaphor for the speed of an airplane, but also an exaggeration of the majesty of the roc.
If it weren't for the wingspan of a Peng, how could there be a bird's way? It's modern means of transportation that make a journey of thousands of miles seem to go in an instant, making the bird's path that the Yellow Crane can't pass feel as smooth as walking on it, and this triggered the author's emotion: what China has experienced Difficulties one after another, obstacles that stand between China and the people of the world have been eradicated, dangers have been turned into safety countless times, and the natural chasms that apes have climbed into have been turned into clear paths. It is not all because the Chinese people have shown the courage of Dapeng. , confidence and power, only the Dapeng fighting high in the sky can see such a magnificent scene: the sea brews thousands of bells of wine, and the mountains cut thousands of green onions. The turbulent sea is like a thousand bells of wine being brewed, and the towering mountains are like thousands of lush green onions. What a magical and majestic imagination, what a romantic and passionate passion. The wind and thunder drove the earth, and the majestic momentum of the thunder raised the majestic spirit of Peng to the extreme. It was at this time that the author pointed out the theme of relatives and friends everywhere. The revolution is thundering across the five continents. Wherever the revolutionary trend arises, there are calls for China's friendship. In the violent situation, China will use its broad mind, great personality and national character to forge immortal friendships with the people of the world and fight against each other. At this point, the realm of poetry reaches its peak.
This poem can make people feel a majestic atmosphere from beginning to end. Here, the author reverses the tender and melodious style of "For Friends from Myanmar", creates a magnificent artistic conception with vigorous writing power, and completes the praise of friendship with the people of the world to a new level. If in 1957, Chen Yi, who had not yet officially served as foreign minister, was afraid of shortcomings and deepening the depth of his problems, China's diplomatic work was still in its infancy. At that time, the author only expressed the hope of promoting friendship with neighboring countries. , China, which is increasingly taking the initiative in the turbulent world situation, from the eagle in the turbulent waves to the Dapeng driven by wind and thunder, the author obviously holds a more heroic and confident optimistic attitude to the whole world. A warm call for peace and stability was issued. If "To Friends in Burma" tells a feeling of closeness and neighborliness, in "Journey to the West", the author, as a marshal diplomat with a global mind, pays close attention to the process of the entire world revolution, expressing that people all over the world can Human love in peace. With such a mind, it is no wonder that there is such an atmosphere, and only such an atmosphere can produce such excitement that it is difficult to calm down.
Due to the use of metaphor and symbolism in this poem, its connotation can be understood from different angles, and its ambiguity greatly increases the artistic charm of the poem.