An ancient war song written by Li Qi was chosen as one of the 300 Tang poems. This poem borrows the Emperor Gaozu to expand the territory and satirizes Xuanzong's use of troops. The whole poem recounts the sufferings of joining the army and is full of non-war thoughts. Thousands of bones are buried in the wilderness, and only grapes are planted in the Central Plains. Obviously, it is not worth the loss. This poem begins with a tense military life. Day and evening are busy, Diao Dou is sad and suffocating at night, the pipa sound is bitter, and the scene is solemn and desolate. Then render the border environment, where the military camp is, look around at the wilderness, the snowy desert, and the night geese wail, which is another cold scene. Finally, I wrote that in such a bad environment, I should have moved back to North Korea, but the emperor refused. However, as a result of the first world war, only grape seeds were sent back to China. It shows the king's indifference to human life. The whole poem is deliberately step by step, and finally makes the finishing point, landing on the theme, showing its ironic pen power. For more appreciation of Tang poetry, please pay attention to Guo Xuexi's 300 Tang poems in Gutang. com。
original text
An old war song.
Author: Li Qi
During the day, the beacon tower climbing the mountain observes and gives an alarm, and at night, the horse leads the horse to the riverside.
The dark wind blew bursts of sounds, like the pipa of a princess in the Han Dynasty, full of hidden grievances.
Camp in Wan Li without battlements until the thick sky joins the vast desert in the snow.
The sorrowful Hu Yanyan flew through the air, and HUS soldiers were all in tears.
It is said that Yumenguan has blocked the road, so the soldiers can only follow the general around.
Every year, we bury countless bones in the desert, but we only see grapevines entering China.
To annotate ...
Poetic lines: a genre of ancient poetry.
Lighthouse: an ancient warning.
Drink horses: yì n, feed horses with water.
Jiaohe: In today's northwest of Turpan, Xinjiang, it refers to all frontier rivers. Give the horse water: let the horse drink water. Drink: Be a verb. (3) Diao Dou: Copper cookers in the ancient army cooked during the day and knocked at the door at night instead of ringing the bell. Princess Pipa: It is said that when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was in power, King Wusun proposed to the Han Dynasty. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty made the daughter of King Jiangdu a princess and married King Wusun. On the way to get married, the princess asked people to play the pipa immediately to express their homesickness.
Princess Pipa: When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty married Wang Kunmo, the daughter of Jiangdu Wang Liujian, he was afraid of being bored on the way, so he played the pipa for entertainment.
Wendao sentence: In order to seize Tianma (that is, Arabian thoroughbred horse), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ordered Li Guangli to attack Dawan, but the war was unfavorable. Li Guangli demanded that the troops be stopped and transferred. Emperor Wu was furious and ordered the Yumen Pass to be blocked. He said: "How dare the army go in and cut!" Block: block. Good: There were good generals in the Han Dynasty, generally referring to the generals here. The border war is still going on, and we must go all out with the general.
Grape: Grape, native to the Western Regions, was introduced into the Central Plains with Gastrodia elata during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
Rhyme translation
During the day, the foot soldiers climbed the mountain to observe the alarm bonfire; At dusk, in order to drink horses, they approached Jiaohe again.
Pedestrians heard Diao Dou screaming in the dim sand; Or hear Princess Wusun's pipa.
Camping in Wan Li, vast and desolate, can't see the battlements; The vast desert is full of heavy snow.
Geese in Alakazam groan and fly at night; The soldiers of the conference semifinals wept bitterly.
I heard that the traffic in Yumenguan is also closed and blocked; Everyone must give his life to fight with the general.
I wonder how many bones are buried in the wilderness every year; What I saw in vain was that grapes from the western regions were transplanted to the Han family.
explain
During the day, the army will climb the mountain to watch the beacon warning, and at dusk, they will go to Jiaohe (in Turpan, Xinjiang, this generation has water, which is not true) to drink horses. Diao Dou is a kind of copper pot, which is used for cooking during the day and working overtime at night. Soldiers carrying Diao Dou trudged through the dark sand. At this time, it must be full of bitterness to think of the pipa music played by the princess who married Wusun Wang from this road in the Han Dynasty. Camping in a deserted place for the night, the heavy snow that pervades the world floats and connects with the desert in the distance. In the autumn night, the cries of geese flying south were mournful, and Hu Bing, one of the warring parties, could not bear this hard life and shed tears. It is said that the imperial court has issued an order not to retreat, so it can only fight to the death with the general (an official who gets off lightly). When Yumen is blocked, it is forbidden to retreat into Yumen Gate. Using the allusion in Historical Records Biography of Dawan, Li Guangli, the general of the Second Division, failed to attack Dawan, retreated to Dunhuang and asked the imperial court to withdraw troops. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was furious and sent someone to block Yumen, saying,' Those who dare to enter will be beheaded!' "As a result, nine times out of ten, they died in battle, and countless people abandon their bodies in a foreign land every year. As a result, grapes were introduced from the western regions to the Central Plains for the rich to enjoy. Although there is sadness in the poem, the tone is still high and enterprising.
Borrowing the Emperor Gaozu to open up the territory and satirize Xuanzong's use of troops. The whole poem recounts the sufferings of joining the army and is full of non-war thoughts. Thousands of bones are buried in the wilderness, and only grapes are planted in the Central Plains. Obviously, it is not worth the loss. This poem begins with a tense military life. Day and evening are busy, Diao Dou is sad and suffocating at night, the pipa sound is bitter, and the scene is solemn and desolate. Then render the border environment, where the military camp is, look around at the wilderness, the snowy desert, and the night geese wail, which is another cold scene. Finally, I wrote that in such a bad environment, I should have moved back to North Korea, but the emperor refused. However, as a result of the first world war, only grape seeds were sent back to China. It shows the king's indifference to human life. The whole poem is deliberately step by step, and finally makes the finishing point, landing on the theme, showing its ironic pen power.
"Joining the army" is an old topic in Yuefu. This poem is about contemporary affairs, so the word "ancient" is added to the title for fear of violating taboos. Ironically, the behavior of contemporary emperors is arrogant, treating human life like dirt, and sorrow is greater than strength.
This poem begins with a tense military life. Climb up the mountain during the day to see if there are border police holding bonfires in all directions; At dusk, I went to Jiaohe River to let the horses drink water (Jiaohe River is in the west of Turpan, Xinjiang, which refers to the frontier river here). The "Diao Dou" in three or four sentences is an ancient military copper pot with a capacity of one barrel. It is used for cooking during the day and patting at night instead of watches. "Princess Pipa" refers to the pipa music played by Princess Xijun when she married Wusunguo in the Han Dynasty. Of course, this is not the sound of joy, but only the tone of sadness. In a word or two, "day" and "dusk", what about night? The third and fourth sentences continue to describe: the wind and sand are filled with darkness, and only the beat of the night patrol in the military camp and the plaintive pipa sound can be heard. What a solemn and desolate scene it is! "Pedestrian" refers to recruiting, which, like the next princess's voice, causes a * * * sound.
Then, the poet deliberately rendered the border environment. Where the military camp is located, there is no battlefield to follow, and the "Wan Li" is extremely vast; The rain and snow are continuous, even connected with the desert, and its cold and cold situation can be imagined. The above six sentences describe the hardships of military life. Next, it seems that it is time to point out the sadness of "pedestrians" positively. However, in a unique way, the poet wrote that "the wild geese whine and fly from night to night, and Tatar's children have many tears to shed". Hu Yan and Hu Er are both born and raised, but they are still crying, not to mention "pedestrians" coming from afar. The word "Hu" is intentionally repeated, and the word "night" and "double" are intentionally overlapped, which has the artistic power to see the clouds.
In the face of such a harsh environment, who doesn't want to demobilize the squad? But I can't. The sentence "But we heard that Yutong is still besieging the city", with ten strokes, seems to be a blow, interrupting the "homesickness of pedestrians". According to Records of the Historian Biography of Dawan, in the first year of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Han army attacked Dawan, and the attack was unfavorable, requesting a truce. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was furious and sent someone to cut off Yumen Pass, ordering: "Those who dare to enter the army will be beheaded." Here, the emperor of the dynasty was assassinated and he was determined to go his own way. Later, the poet added, "I will soon put my life on my light chariot." I can't stop fighting, but I can only follow the general of this department to kill the enemy desperately, overwhelming the above eight sentences. The following sentence, make persistent efforts. What is the result of a life-and-death fight? It is nothing more than "a war bone buried outside the wilderness." The poet used the word "year after year" to point out the regularity of this situation. The whole poem goes step by step, from the ordinary life of the army to the sudden situation in wartime and finally to death. what is the purpose? The pressure of these eleven sentences forced the last sentence to answer: "I saw Pu Tao enter the Han family for nothing."
Pu Tao is a kind of grape. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty opened the western regions in search of Tianma (Arabian horse) and launched wars at random. At that time, the seeds of peach blossom and alfalfa entered China with Gastrodia elata, which was planted by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty next to the Palace Museum. Here, "Pu Tao entered the Han Dynasty for nothing" is used to ridicule the emperor who was eager for success and sacrificed countless lives. What did he get? Just a small peach blossom. The implication is that the emperor seems to be indifferent to human life. For more appreciation of Tang poetry, please pay attention to Guo Xuexi's 300 Tang poems in Gutang. com。
The whole poem is compact and deliberate, and it is not until the last sentence that the finishing touch is made, which shows the great irony of this poem. Poetry skillfully uses syllables to express ideas. The word "day" at the beginning of the first sentence is entering the tone, which means opening the drum. In the third and fourth sentences, "Diao Dou" and "Pipa Xing" use disyllables to enhance the aesthetic feeling of syllables. The middle part turns to rhyme, and "double falling" is the coordination of Jiangyang rhyme and entering tone, just like the ensemble of cymbals and drums, with wide upper part and narrow lower part and the most beautiful syllables. After entering the rhyme in the middle section, the last section chose Zhangkou Liuyun. As far as five syllables are concerned, the first paragraph is feather tone, the middle part is angular tone, and the last paragraph is Shang tone, with scattered syllables and great differences. The words "one after another", "night after night", "double" and "year after year" in the whole poem are used one after another, which not only emphasizes the semantics, but also makes the words overlap with the rhyme, giving birth to many colors on the syllables.
comment
The first sentence of the poem is written from the tense military life, and the atmosphere is depressed. The poet's writing is so monotonous that it implies danger. Climb up the barren hills during the day to see if there are border police holding bonfires in all directions; At dusk, the content is to lead horses to drink water. At night, there is no other warmth in the military camp, only the monotonous sound of tapping "Diao Dou" and the pipa music played by the princess far away from the border, telling one sadness after another. In a word or two, "day" and "dusk", what about night? The air is full of sandstorms and darkness.
Then, the poet deliberately rendered the border environment. Where the military camp is located, it is a wilderness, and there is no place to follow even a sheltered castle in Wan Li; Rain and snow cover the sky and connect the vast desert, which contains a sense of desolation and loneliness on paper. These six poems describe the hardships of life of border guards. Next, it seems that it is time to point out the sadness of "pedestrians" positively. But the poet was ingenious, so he wrote, "With their plaintive cries, wild geese of barbarians fly from night to night, and Tatar's children have many tears to shed" and went on. Hu Erren, a native, is still crying, not to mention the "pedestrians" coming from afar. Mourning and crying night after night. Even the two overlapping words reveal the ever-present and ubiquitous sadness, and the tears of blood and tears are close to the face.
If it is so difficult to defend the country, so be it, but it is not. Whose evil hand is manipulating this evil war? The author's last four poems, like a wind knife and a frost sword, stabbed the overjoyed court and emperor.
"But we heard that Yuguan was still under siege" blew his pen portrait and interrupted "the homesickness of pedestrians". Covering not only Yumen Pass, but also the hope of thousands of soldiers in Qian Qian. Yumen is closed and there is no way back. If you want to stop fighting, you can't get the remnants. Can only follow the headquarters general desperately kill the enemy. According to "Historical Records of Dawan", in the first year of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Li Guangli was sent to attack Dawan, and the war was unfavorable. Guangli asked for a withdrawal. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was furious and sent someone to cut off Yumen Pass, ordering: "Those who dare to enter the army will be beheaded." Although allusions are used here, there is no doubt that Jianfeng refers to Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. The obstinacy and belligerence of the son of heaven is no different from that of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty. These two poems are straightforward and hit the nail on the head, and they have been filled with indignation. The following sentence, in terms of the whole poem, is extremely heavy. For more appreciation of Tang poetry, please pay attention to Guo Xuexi's 300 Tang poems in Gutang. com。
Then make persistent efforts and continue to force questions. What is the result of a life-and-death fight? What is this for? Every year we bury countless bones in the desert. Burying bones everywhere, "year after year" is unusual, time and space are woven into a big net, and the bodies inside and outside the net are everywhere. Step by step, the whole poem, from miserable military life to helplessness at home, to people being killed at will, for what? The pressure of these eleven sentences forced the last sentence to answer: "I saw Pu Tao enter the Han family for nothing." "Pu Tao" is a grape now. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty opened the Western Regions for Tianma (now Arabian Horse), and then there was chaos. At that time, the seeds of "Pu Tao" and "Su Mu" entered China with Tianma, which was planted by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty next to the Palace Museum.
So this is for this little fruit?
Slowly yellow sand and a vine; Bones and a few drops of tempting red juice. What a strong and exciting irony! Countless soldiers died for the emperor's momentary desire! The voice of war, homesickness and even gloomy questioning about life and death suddenly lost their weight. And this poem has been sublimated in this great artistic aesthetic.
Brief introduction of the author
Li Qi (690-75 1), born in Dongchuan (now Santai, Sichuan), was a poet in the Tang Dynasty. I lived in Dengfeng, Henan Province when I was a teenager. In the thirteenth year of Kaiyuan, he was a scholar and served as a junior officer of Xinxiang County Commandant. His poems are mainly based on frontier fortress themes, and his style is bold and sad, especially the seven-character songs. For more appreciation of Tang poetry, please pay attention to Guo Xuexi's 300 Tang poems in Gutang. com。 ()
Li Qi has contacts with poets such as Wang Wei, Gao Shi and Wang Changling, and his poems are quite famous. His poems cover a wide range, especially frontier poems and music poems. Be good at five or seven-character songs. Zhao Jun (now Zhao County, Hebei Province) was born in Dongchuan (now Santai, Sichuan Province). When I was young, my family was rich, but later I met a rich and frivolous child and went bankrupt. After studying hard. He lived in seclusion in Angelababy (now Xuchangnan, Hebei Province) and studied hard for 10 years. In the 23rd year of Kaiyuan reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (735), he was admitted to the imperial examination and was appointed as the county commandant of Xinxiang. After many years in office, without promotion, he still lived in seclusion in his later years. He made a lot of friends all his life, and poets such as Wang Changling, Gao Shi and Wang Wei were all closely related to him at that time. Li Jie's personality is aloof and aloof, and he is world-weary. His poems are mainly frontier poems, which are heroic, generous and sad. The most famous ones are Old Warfare, Ancient Post and Xia Sai Qu. Li Jie is also good at describing music and shaping characters with poems. He is famous for Long song and is also good at short poems. His seven-character poems are especially admired by later generations. Three volumes of Li Jie's poems were recorded in The Whole Tang Poetry, and later generations sorted out Li Jie's poems.
Contrast between English and Chinese
An old battle song
Richie
During the day, the beacon tower climbing the mountain observes and gives an alarm, and at night, the horse leads the horse to the riverside.
The dark wind blew bursts of sounds, like the pipa of a princess in the Han Dynasty, full of hidden grievances.
The clouds in the wilderness are not near the city wall at all, and the rain and snow cover the boundless desert.
The sorrowful Hu Yanyan flew through the air, and HUS soldiers were all in tears.
It is said that Yumenguan has blocked the road, so the soldiers can only follow the general around.
Every year, we bury countless bones in the desert, but we only see grapevines entering China.
An old battle song
Richie
On sunny days, we scan the sky on the mountain to find the torch of war;
In the yellow dusk, we drink water for our horses in the boundary river;
When the drums echoed in the sand wind,
We heard the Chinese princess's guitar telling her endless sadness. ....
There are no towns for 3,000 miles, only camps.
Until the thick sky joins the vast desert covered with snow.
With their plaintive cries, wild geese fly from night to night,
Tatar children have many tears to shed;
But we heard that Yuguan was still besieged,
Soon we put our lives on our light chariots.
Every year we bury countless bones in the desert,
However, we are only concerned about grapes entering China.