Name of the work
Seven mourning poems
Year of creation
Jin Wei
Source of works
Cao Zijian set
Literary genre
Five-character poem, a poem that will always be in my heart
author
Cao zhi
quick
navigate by water/air
Annotation translation
Creation background
works appreciation
Controversy of works
Brief introduction of the author
original work
Seven Wounded Poems (1)
The bright moon shines on tall buildings, and the time is falling (2).
There are sad women in the world, more sad than sad (3).
Who is the sigh upstairs? A word for a wife (4).
You have been in business for more than ten years (5) and often live alone (6).
If you remove the dust from the road, if you dirty the cement.
Different ups and downs (8), when will they meet in harmony?
May the southwest wind die in your arms (9).
If you can't open your arms (10), what should you do for a concubine? [2]
Annotation translation
Word annotation
(1) Seven Sorrow: This is an eternal poem in my heart, and it may also be used to "mock the monarch". As a new theme of Yuefu, Seven Sorrow originated in the late Han Dynasty. [3]
(2) streamer: moonlight shed.
(3) Remaining sorrow: endless sorrow. [4]
(4) Xunzi: Xunzi. Refers to people who have traveled abroad for a long time and have not returned.
(5) exceed: exceed.
(6) loneliness (qι): living alone.
(7) Qing: Describe the dusty road. Zhu: Describe the mud in the water. "Clear" and "turbid" are the same thing.
(8) floating: it will be fine. Shen: It's cloudy. Metaphor husband and wife (or brothers and sisters) used to be one, but now their status is different.
(9) Death: Go. [ 1]
(10) Jun Huai: refers to the heart of a pawn. [4] Liang: A long time ago.
Vernacular translation
The bright moon shines on tall buildings, and the light shed swings upstairs.
There is a sad woman upstairs, sighing sadly.
Who is sighing upstairs? Answered that it was the wife of a foreign tourist.
My husband has been gone for more than ten years, and my body is often alone.
My husband is like dust on the road, and my body is like mud in dirty water.
Floating dust and settling mud are different. When will they meet and live in harmony?
If I can, I would like to turn into a southwest wind and disappear into my husband's arms!
My husband's mind is no longer open to me, so what can I rely on? [5]
Creation background
After Cao Cao's death, Cao Pi succeeded to the throne and was very wary of Cao Zhi. Cao Zhi is ambitious and has nowhere to display, but his brothers and sisters are wary of him everywhere, which makes Cao Zhi disheartened. Knowing that fame and fortune were hopeless, Cao Zhi pinned his sorrow on the sorrow of a dissatisfied wife who shared his joys and sorrows. [ 1]
works appreciation
Literary appreciation
The poet compares himself to an "abandoned wife", compares his political exclusion to the unfortunate experience of his wife's abandonment, and compares his estrangement from Emperor Cao Pi to the divorce between his wife and her husband, which is "different from Yue Hu". The poet thinks that the two brothers are "ups and downs, but they are not close", and further compares their situation to "clearing the road dust" and "mud cement". "I am willing to be the southwest wind, and the deceased is like a husband", secretly voicing my thoughts on serving the country; And "I can't open my arms, what should I do?" expresses my indignation at Cao Pi's ruthlessness and reveals an infinite sense of sadness. The whole poem is written from thinking about women's sorrow everywhere, and every sentence implicitly contains the poet's suffering. Poetic and picturesque, implicit in conception, profound and graceful in brushwork, it really has the characteristics of "elegant emotion". [ 1]
The opening of this poem not only describes the real scene, but also renders a sad atmosphere, covering the whole poem. "The bright moon shines on a tall building, and the time flies" uses the technique of "xing" to set off the heroine's background: the bright moon shines high, remembering that the woman is alone in a tall building, feeling sorry for the shadow and missing her husband far away. The bright moon shines on tall buildings, which is the most urgent time for lovesickness. The wandering moonlight evokes the sadness of missing women-images such as "bright moon", "tall building" and "missing women" created by Cao Zhi have been repeatedly used by later poets to express in my heart forever. In the tradition of China's poetry, the bright moon plays a role in causing homesickness, such as Li Bai's "Looking up, I found it was moonlight, and then sinking, and I suddenly thought of home". Moonlight and moonlit nights will arouse the poet's endless thoughts and remind him of people or things he cares about. [ 1]
The last two sentences, "There is a woman who is worried about her, and her worries add to her worries", use the expression of "Fu" to directly point out the protagonist of the poem-the feelings of the woman who is worried about her-lamentation and sadness. When the bright moon shines on a tall building, the clear moonlight gently shakes like swimming, standing on a tall building overlooking the distant thinking woman, bathed in moonlight, giving out endless laments. I can't see you because I miss my lover, and I can't even hear from you. This is a typical line drawing technique, that is, the performance of "happiness". [5]
The fifth and sixth sentences, "Who is sigher and who is the wife?" It is also expressed by the method of "Fu", but the expression effect of "Fu" is realized by asking and answering questions: "Who is sigher upstairs? The answer is that it is the wife of a foreign traveler. " Direct, crisp and clear. Cao Zhi then adopted the form of self-questioning and self-answering, which led to his bitter wife's light description of his bitter life experience and influenced Cao Zhi's feelings about his rough situation. From the bright moon stirring the heart to quoting the inner anguish, Cao Zhi wrote smoothly and naturally, without trace, and became a "Jian 'an swan song". [5]
The seventh and eighth sentences, "Your husband has been in business for more than ten years, and my concubine often lives alone", continue to use "happiness" to express. Sifu tells his loneliness and loneliness: "My husband has been gone for more than ten years, so I have to live alone." Through her narration, it further describes the lament of thinking women more directly.
The ninth and tenth sentences, "If you clear the road dust, my concubine is cement", further express the sad feelings of missing women by the method of "comparison". Comparing my husband to the dust on the road and comparing myself to the dirty water and mud shows that the two are too far apart to be integrated, which is also very sad. My husband is above himself, disdaining himself, being humble and unable to persist. Cao Zhi compares himself to the abandoned wife of "mud cement", and "sweeping the road dust" refers to Cao Rui of Cao Pi. After Cao Pi succeeded to the throne, he no longer cared about brotherhood, alienated and even guarded his own brother. When Cao Rui was king, Cao Zhi tried many times on the table, but failed to get the appointment after all. Therefore, Cao Zhi used the distance between muddy mud and dust removal to reflect each other and set off the distant distance between brothers and nephews.
The eleventh and twelfth sentences "ups and downs are different, when will we meet?" Connecting the preceding with the following, at the same time, it expresses the sad feelings for women in the way of "comparison" and "fu" Dust removal is floating, cement is heavy, and the position of floating and sinking is different, so the chance of being together is slim. Ups and downs are metaphors, pointing out discordant sadness. [5]
The thirteenth and fourteenth sentences "I would like to be a southwest wind and die in your arms" express my thinking about women by means of "comparison". When a woman thinks of being abandoned, she is not only willing to repay her kindness, but also willing to sacrifice herself: "If possible, I would like to turn into a southwest wind and disappear into her husband's arms!" How faithful Sifu is to her husband! In order to meet my husband, I will compare myself to the southwest wind and throw myself into your arms! Cao Zhi is looking forward to the harmony of flesh and blood and serving Cao Pi and Cao Rui. So he said that he hoped to turn into a southwest wind and return to her husband, that is, her brother and nephew.
The fifteenth and sixteenth sentences "What should I do?" Use the way of "Fu" to express the experience and thinking feelings of a woman who was snubbed. The thoughts of missing a woman are like the fleeting breeze. The last breeze and the first moonlight are isomorphic, forming a lonely and cold realm. Sifu knows her husband's temperament very well. More than ten years have passed, and there is no news. "My husband's thoughts have long been closed to me. What can I rely on? " Sadness soared into the sky. These two sentences are very direct and are typical "fu" techniques. Xelloss Cao Rui has always been wary of doubting Cao Zhi, whose ambition of "serving the country faithfully, benefiting the people, building a career through the ages, and opening up a golden stone" cannot be realized. [5]
On the surface, this poem describes the sadness of being abandoned by her husband. In fact, it is a metaphor for the depression and frustration of being alienated and rejected by her big brother. This is another expression of "bi" and a deeper self-metaphor of the poet. [5] "I wish to blow the southwest wind and die in your arms" is a famous sentence in Wei Qi's poems of the Three Kingdoms, and it is a firm and persistent oath. After ten years of loneliness, without sinking and decadence, Sifu is still willing to turn into a long wind and go with the wind, according to you. This is the only expectation of Sifu in this life. So is Zijian. After realizing the impermanence and absurdity of his fate, he didn't give up his original intention, but "grew anxious" (Zhao English).