From Li He's Why Don't Thirteen Teenagers in Nanyuan Take Wu Gou?
Original poem:
Why don't men take Wu Gou and accept fifty states in Guanshan?
Please go to see the paintings of the founder heroes with pictures. Another scholar was once called the aristocrat of a million families?
Translation:
Why didn't the man take the sharp Wu Gou with him to recover the fifty states of Guanshan, which divided the north and south of the Yellow River? Please go to Lingyange, where there are portraits of founding heroes, and see which scholar can be canonized as the prince of every household in the food city.
This seven-character quatrain is a rare lyric masterpiece, which is fresh and euphemistic and has a unique style.
Extended data:
This poem consists of two rhetorical questions, abrupt and radical, but also straightforward, expressing the pain of home and country and the sadness of life experience to the fullest.
The first question is a general question, and it is also the poet's own question, which contains the lofty sentiments of "every man is responsible for the rise and fall of the country". "Why don't men take Wu Gou?" The first sentence is very urgent, followed by the second sentence, "Guanshan gathers fifty states", which looks magnificent like a waterfall falling from a height. "Taking Wu Gou" refers to the action of joining the army, wearing a saber and going to the battlefield. That spirit is heroic.
"Recovering Guanshan" is the purpose of joining the army. The mountains and rivers are broken, the people are miserable, and the poet does not want to live in the countryside and do nothing. Therefore, he is eager to make contributions and serve the country. One or two sentences, fourteen words in one go, and the rhythm is bright, which is very in line with the poet's high-spirited mood and urgent mood.
The word "why not" in the first sentence is very expressive. It not only constitutes specific sentences (questions), but also emphasizes the tone of rhetorical questions, which enhances the power of poetry to convey feelings. Faced with the situation of raging fires and wars, the poet was extremely anxious and couldn't wait to go to the battlefield immediately to defend his country. The poet's self-questioning and self-answering "Why not" sentence is imperative, which implies the critical military situation and the poet's own anxiety.
In addition, it also makes readers feel the poet's pent-up resentment. Scholar Li He has long been famous for his poems. He could have learned to be an official, but this road to entry was ruthlessly blocked by the feudal ethics of "avoiding his father and taboo", which made him have no chance to display his talents. The word "why not" means that it is really out of helplessness.
The word "take" in the second sentence, as easy as lifting weights, has the potential to break bamboo, vividly expressing the poet's desire to save the country. However, it is not easy to "gather 50 States in Guanshan", and the scholar's spirit naturally cannot achieve the great cause of recovering Guanshan. If you want to get rid of the sad situation in front of you, you have to go through a military career and make meritorious deeds by killing the enemy. This contradiction highlights the poet's anger and injustice.
References:
Baidu Encyclopedia-13 songs in Nanyuan? Why don't men take Wu Gou?