"I" understand that it is not only tigers that are imprisoned by human beings, but also noble lives that do not yield and live; In front of this "unruly soul", "I" understood the vulgarity, lewdness and ignorance of human beings; "I" understand that in sadness and distress, people should transcend suffering, reject vulgarity, resist degeneration and go forward bravely.
5. This poem expresses the thoughts and feelings of China intellectuals in the early 1970s, who did not yield to the darkness and pursued the bright future. Today, anyone who wants not to give in, not to get lost, and to pursue spiritual freedom and personality independence in a tempting society can be inspired by this poem.
The poem was written in June of 1973, during the period of "ten years of turmoil". The author works in a cadre school of the Ministry of Culture in Xianning, Hubei. I once went to Guilin and saw a imprisoned tiger in the zoo. After returning to the cadre school, he wrote this song "South China Tiger".
The South China Tiger is the main image of this poem. It has a "gorgeous face/fiery eyes", a beautiful appearance and a strong body, but it is imprisoned in a human cage, far away from the vast mountains-its spiritual home.
It "turns its back on the timid and desperate audience,/peacefully lies in a corner", but the majesty surging in its bones oppresses and threatens the people trapped in it. Lying peacefully reveals the South China tiger's contempt for the audience and the living form represented by the audience. Whether it is "stoning to death", "yelling sharply" or "hard persuasion", "it will be desperate", and the vast and vast "vast mountain forest" is the destination of its soul and strength. The reason why the "soul" of the South China Tiger feels "humiliated" is that it has left the land of freedom forever and disappeared into the dirty world. It deeply understands the suffering, desolation and hopelessness of this world, and feels endless loneliness and anger inside.
People can torture it physically, imprison it with its "strong legs" galloping around, wring its "toes and claws" full of fighting power, and cut off its strong "teeth" with a hacksaw, but the brutality of fascism can't imprison its "unruly soul" after all. "There are bloody gullies on the gray concrete wall", suggesting that it fought bravely for freedom but in vain. However, the South China Tiger will continue to fight indomitable and unrepentant, because fighting is all the sustenance and practical significance of its survival, and it is a powerful presentation of its noble soul. This kind of struggle makes me feel "dazzling and harsh", "ashamed" and feel the pain of my soul as a member of the audience. Then I heard a "rock-breaking roar" and "an unruly soul/flying over my head/flying away" in a trance. This is not only my worship of the unyielding soul of the South China Tiger, but also my awakening to the humiliating soul.
"I", like others, "see" the South China Tiger through the iron fence. However, my conscience is still alive after all. From the "blood" and "grief" of the tiger's "dazzling like lightning", "I" felt the spiritual power of silence in my heart and the degradation of the personality of all beings in this world. I finally understand. I'm ashamed. I left. I heard a roar in my trance. This voice comes from my soul and represents the awakening of the soul of a man with conscience and thought.
This poem has a strong symbolic color. Symbol is to indirectly express similar or similar concepts, thoughts and feelings through a concrete image. The South China Tiger in the cage represents unyielding life and persistent soul. In contrast, it is an iron cage that imprisons freedom and represents evil. The fierce conflict between them shows the poet's extreme desire for spiritual freedom and personality independence.