Modern-Ai Qing
If I were a bird,
I should also sing with a hoarse throat:
This land hit by the storm,
This river of sadness and anger will surge forever,
This endless wind,
And the gentle dawn from the forest ...
And then I died,
Even feathers rot in the ground.
Why do I often cry?
Because I love this land deeply. ...
Extended data:
This poem was written in Wuhan in 1938.
At this time, the poet has already had rich experience. Whether it is social unrest, national crisis or people's suffering, poets have been or are being strongly shocked. And all this happened in this land of China. Poets who have been caring and thinking about this land have a deeper understanding of this land and stronger feelings. Born in Jinhua rural area, the poet has a deep affection for the land in the south since he was a child.
Subsequently, with the ups and downs of life, the poet has been to Shanghai, Changzhou, Shanxi and Shaanxi, and was deeply moved by the land in the north. As a singer of an era, how should a poet treat this land that bears and nurtures himself, this land with a long history, this land with deep disasters, and this land that is burning with the bonfire of the Anti-Japanese War? The poet can't restrain his burning emotion any longer, and he wants to express his strong love for this land. ...
This strong emotion is condensed into the poem "I love this land".
Judging from the title of this poem, it is obvious that the poet's intention is to highlight the word "love" firmly and unequivocally. And how did the poet write about his love for this land? Reading this poem made us fall in love with it.
What's your feeling for the land? This poem can be said to be a confession of the poet. The poet expressed his feelings for the land in a "direct" lyric way. As serious as "oath" and as solemn as "blood".
The poet compares himself to a bird:
"If I were a bird,/I should also sing with a hoarse throat:/This land has been hit by a storm,/This river of sadness and indignation is always surging,/This angry wind is blowing endlessly,/There is an incomparably gentle dawn from the forest .../-Then I died,/Even my feathers rotted in the ground."
I am a bird, and I want to sing to death. Who are you singing for? The poet summed up the mission of "I" with four symbolic poems. These four poems have no specific reference, but they have expanded and deepened the connotation of this mission with more vivid and broader general references. The land that the poet loves deeply is experiencing a great historical struggle and great changes.
In this land, it is no longer a stagnant pool, nor is it just desolation and suffering. The people are rising, the nation is awakening, and the "incomparably gentle dawn" is just around the corner ... As a bird, the poet will sing for this great era!