"Horse Poems" is a set of twenty-three five-character quatrains written by Li He, a poet of the mid-Tang Dynasty. By chanting horses, praising horses, or lamenting the fate of horses, poems express the heroes' extraordinary talents, lofty ambitions, and untimely emotions and resentment. The method of expression is analogous.
Original poem:
The sand in the desert is like snow, and the moon in Yanshan Mountain is like a hook.
How can I be a golden person and walk quickly through the autumn.
Word translation:
Yanshan - the name of the mountain, in the north of what is now Hebei Province. Hook - scimitar, is an ancient weapon, shaped like a crescent moon. Jinluonao - a horse bridle decorated with gold, indicating the luxury of the harness.
Verse translation: The flat sand is covered with a layer of white frost and snow under the moonlight. On the rolling ridges of Yanshan Mountain, a bright moon looms in the sky, like a curved hook. When will the emperor appreciate me and put a gold bridle on my horse, so that I can gallop on the battlefield in autumn and make contributions?
Analysis:
The first two sentences outline a vast and majestic landscape: thousands of miles of flat sand, which seems to be covered with a layer of white frost and snow under the moonlight. However, the crescent moon on the mountain hangs as high as a scimitar. This "moon is like a hook" means thinking about war, and Yanshan also wants readers to think of battle. However, what Li He faced at that time was not a border danger, but a disaster in the feudal town. The last two sentences are: When can we put on the mighty saddle, gallop on the autumn battlefield, and establish achievements? The poet used the poem to describe his ambition, expressing his frustration of not being appreciated despite his desire to make achievements. Li He also said in "Thirteen Poems of Nanyuan (Part 5)": "Why don't men take Wu hooks and collect the fifty states in Guanshan?" What he expressed is also this feeling of serving the country.