War in the south of the city
Tang Dynasty: Lu Zhaolin
The general came out of Zisai and Maodun was in Wucai.
Jia Xuan is to the north of Yanmen, and Zhen Yinglong City is to the south.
The carved bow turns around at night, and the iron cavalry ginsengs the bow at dawn.
You should stay in the sun to prepare for the battle.
Translation
The general rode out of the Zisa Great Wall to fight against Maodun who was stationed in Wucai.
The two armies launched a war to the north of Yanmen Pass, and our army and the enemy set up positions in the south of the city.
The war continued all night long, the soldiers' bows made a melodious sound, and the sound of the cavalry running did not stop until dawn the next day.
The soldiers fought bloody battles at night and should have rested during the day, but they did not stop. They only waited for the victory to have a good sleep.
Comments
Zhanchengnan: the name of Han Yuefu's "Cao Song", which describes the casualties of war. Later generations wrote poems on this topic, and also wrote about wars.
Zi Sai: A general term for frontier fortress. Cui Bao's "Annotations on Ancient and Modern Times" Volume: "The Qin Dynasty built the Great Wall, and the color of the soil was purple, and the same was true for the Han Dynasty, so it was called Zisai Yan."
Modun (mòdú): That is, Maodun Shanyu, The leader of the Xiongnu in the late Qin and early Han dynasties. This generally refers to the enemy chieftain. Wucai: The name of the country in the Western Han Dynasty, and the name of the province of Wucai Zili. Its territory is in the Ili River Basin of present-day Xinjiang. This term refers to the enemy's base.
Jia Xuan: the sound of Hu Jia playing. Jia: Xiongnu musical instrument, namely Hu Jia. Yanmen: The name of the mountain is also the name of the pass. Its original location is in the north of Yanggao County, Shanxi Province. It has been an important garrison place since ancient times.
Array Wings: Both sides of the battle array. Dragon City: This term refers to the enemy’s capital.
Carved bow: A bow with carved patterns, which refers to the soldiers carrying carved bows. Wanzhuan: still meandering, the way the queue extends in a zigzag manner.
Cavalry: Elite cavalry wearing iron armor. Yi: Horse's foot shank ginseng is known as long hair. Shen Yi: Check the horse's armor, etc. Refer, check. There are two opinions on the pronunciation of this phrase, one is "cāndiàn" and the other is "cāntán".
Standing in the sun: using the allusion of Lu Yang to retreat from the sun. Lu Yang was the county official of Chu during the Warring States Period. Legend has it that he once made the sun move back with a wave of his hand.
To wait: To wait, the battle is in full swing: The battle is fierce.
Appreciation
This is a pseudo-ancient poem. By describing the border war with the Xiongnu in the early Han Dynasty, it eulogized the bloody battles of the border guards at that time to defend the territory, and reflected the external policy of the early Tang Dynasty. Some realities of war.
The first couplet of the poem is a strict couplet. "The general came out of Zisa, and Mao Dun was in Wuqi" pointed out the two warring parties and introduced the geographical background of the war. Shanyu Maodun, who was good at conquering and fighting, killed his father and established himself, destroyed Donghu, Zhuyuezhi, conquered Dingling, invaded Qin's Henan (today's Hetao area in Inner Mongolia), and became powerful. In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, they invaded further south from time to time, seriously affecting the Western Han Dynasty. Here "Mao Dun" is used versus "General". Since Mao Dun is so brave, then "General" is naturally also extraordinary. This sets the stage for the fierce battle below. "Wucan" is opposite to "Zisha", indicating that it is in a foreign land. "Zisa" is the customary name used by ancient people for the Great Wall. Purple symbolizes nobility, solemnity, inviolability, and is opposite to the black color. Adding the word "greed" after the word "黑" is more likely to make people feel despicable. The poem uses the shape, meaning and color of the words to create a fixed impression in people's minds, cleverly creating an aura that the evil will not suppress the good, which not only pave the way for the following words, but also express the confidence of victory.
"The jias are noisy to the north of Yanmen, and the array of pterodactyls is to the south" echoes the first sentence and points out the reason why "the general came out of Zisai". The enemy is so rampant, so the Han army will naturally rise up to resist the enemy. The next sentence of "Array to the South of Winged Dragon City" also came into being. Not only did they attack head-on, but they also surrounded them from the left and right. The battle formations on both wings had reached "South of Dragon City" - heading straight for the enemy's nest. This shows the strength of the Han army, and the awe-inspiring righteousness that bravely fought against foreign enemies filled the lines.
"The eagle bow turns around at night, and the iron cavalry ginseng and hammers at dawn" further describes the fighting life of soldiers fighting against the enemy. They were in full formation, not letting go of their bows at night and never leaving their saddles in the morning, ready to fly arrows and leap horses to chase north. Compared with "waiting for the future", the description of "holding the jade saddle at night" is novel and bold. "Wan Zhuan" and "Shen Yi" not only appropriately express the nervous but calm mood of the soldiers at the front, but also are full of confidence in victory.
"You must stand in the daylight to prepare for the war" is a famous saying that has been passed down through the ages. Although the poem does not specify when the confrontation began, the day was drawing to an end and the battle was still raging. The soldiers were waiting for the victory of the decisive battle, so they called out from the bottom of their hearts: "Sun! Please stay, let us fight the enemy!" The sunrise and sunset are unchangeable natural laws. "We must stay in the daytime." "The call seems irrational and almost crazy, but in fact it vividly reflects the high fighting spirit of the soldiers. This is a variation from the poem "A long rope ties the day". It ends with the words "The war is in full swing", which does not directly state the outcome of the war, but it is already clear who wins and who loses, because the second couplet has stated that they are heading straight to the enemy's nest - the southern part of the Winged Dragon City. Overall, this is an excellent piece of music that combines music and music.