Appreciation of "Mulan Poetry"
Northern folk songs, like the Yuefu folk songs of the Six Dynasties, are mostly short in structure, but this "Mulan Poetry" is a long narrative poem. It plays an important role in the history of Chinese poetry development. The poem describes the story of the heroine Mulan who joins the army for her father, and depicts the vivid image and noble quality of Mulan, a heroine. The style of the whole poem is clear and vivid, simple and vigorous, and it can be called an outstanding work of northern folk songs.
"Mulan Poems" adopts the narration technique. The work can be roughly divided into three parts. The first part is before the expedition. The second part is military life. The third part is the return from meritorious service. The author does not use equal force in these three parts, but is detailed and brief, focusing on the first and third parts.
At the beginning of the poem, it is written that Mulan is weaving, but "the sound of the weaving machine is not heard, but the woman sighs", which makes the reader wonder why Mulan is sighing. "Ask the girl what she is thinking about, and ask the girl what she is remembering?" The author asked the question himself, and then answered, "The girl has nothing to think about, and the woman has nothing to remember." Since the poem uses a narrative technique, the first few sentences should explain Mulan's reasons for joining the army, but the author does not explain it straightforwardly. Instead, it starts with Mulan's lack of intention to weave, showing her inner peace. Next, the author should explain why his heart is not peaceful, but the author does not write it immediately. Instead, he uses two questions with the same meaning, followed by two answer sentences with the same meaning, but still does not answer the question from the front. But these four lines are not redundant. In addition to having the flavor of a folk song, these four lines of poetry play a prominent role in emphasizing the reasons mentioned later. After such questions and answers, the author got back to the topic, "I saw the military post last night, and the Khan ordered his troops. There are twelve volumes of military books, and each volume has his name." The military post is a document for conscription, and the Khan is a nationality in the northwest region. There are so many names for the monarch in twelve volumes, and "the volumes have my name" is obviously an exaggeration. At this point, the reader understands that Mulan is not interested in weaving because the Khan conscripted troops, and Mulan's father was also among the conscripts. Obviously, her father is too old to apply for the army, but "I have no eldest son, and Mulan has no eldest brother," which makes Mulan worried. At the beginning of the poem, Mulan is placed in front of such a contradiction to express it. Facing difficulties, what does Mulan plan to do? "I am willing to saddle the horse for the city and fight for my father from now on." Mulan is an extraordinary woman after all, and she is determined to join the army in place of her father.
This section describes Mulan’s reasons for joining the army. It does not describe it in a straightforward manner, but starts from Mulan’s psychological activities. While narrating, it pays attention to the characterization of the character, so that readers can see a rich and courageous person who dares to shoulder heavy responsibilities. The image of a decisive and brave woman with a sense of responsibility.
Next, Mulan is preparing to go on an expedition, using four repeated sentences. The content is nothing more than buying war horses and riding equipment. The horse, the saddle (the pad under the saddle), the bridle (the bit, bridle, and reins used to control the horse) and the long whip must be bought from several places in the East City, West City, South City, and North City respectively. It seems unreasonable, but it is However, it exaggerates the atmosphere of war and the tension of preparations before leaving home. At the same time, these four lines are the same characteristics of folk songs as the four lines below "Asking the girl what she is thinking" above. As Ming Xie Zhen said: "This is said casually, as if unintentionally. It is simple and natural, complex but not chaotic. If it is a question and answer, or a saddle horse is bought in the market, it is simple and tasteless, and it is almost not the same as Yuefu. ”
The second part of the poem writes about Mulan embarking on a journey. The following eight lines of "I bid farewell to my parents once I leave" are about Mulan bidding farewell to her parents and going to the battlefield. A repetitive sentence pattern is used here to divide Mulan's journey into the army into two paragraphs. Although the sentence pattern is the same, the place names are changing, showing that the war is urgent and Mulan rushes to join the war without stopping. But the author has not forgotten that the hero he is trying to portray is a woman who disguises herself as a man and is away from her parents for the first time. "Don't hear her mother-in-law's call to a girl" is in line with Mulan's situation and her identity at that time. Tan Yuanchun of the Ming Dynasty commented on this sentence and said: "The most wonderful thing is that the words are fragrant, and there is no man's spirit of conquering the garrison." "There is no man's spirit of conquering the garrison" is also the author's brilliance, and only in this way can the image of Mulan be more beautiful. Distinctive and more individual. Mulan can resolutely join the army for her father and withstand the test of harsh war, which shows that she is different from ordinary women, but she is still a woman after all, and she is attached to her hometown and parents after all. This highlighting of her female identity, far from weakening her heroic image, made her military action more legendary and fascinating.
Then he writes about Mulan's military life in the army, but this part of the content is very summarized. From the southern and northern wars to the return of meritorious service, he only uses the following six sentences: "Guan Shandu Ruofei", which can be said to be Simple and simple. Here "Rong Ji" refers to war, "Shuo Qi" refers to the cold air in the north, and "Jin Watch" refers to the bronze utensils used in the army for cooking and watchkeeping. The rhythm of these verses is neat. Therefore, later generations often suspect that this poem was written by the Tang Dynasty. Some researchers speculate that this poem may have been processed and modified by the Tang Dynasty during its circulation. But there is insufficient evidence for these claims. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, many works were close to the modern poetry of the Tang Dynasty in terms of institutional rhythm. Some poems at that time already had very strict rhythms. It can be seen that the presence of several harmonious and well-matched verses in this poem does not prove that they were written by the Tang Dynasty. Chen Yinqian said: "The idioms of 'Shuo Qi Chuan Jin Tuo' are definitely related to those of the Tang Dynasty. However, although the Qi and Liang people speak Tang language, the Tang people cannot speak Han and Wei languages. From this we know that they are truly ancient poems."
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This section about Mulan's military life could have been written about many things, but the author summarized this experience in just a few words. It can be seen that the author's interest is not in showing war, but in It focuses on the dramatic incident of Mulan disguising herself as a man and joining the army for her father.
The third part is about the scene after Mulan's meritorious service. When she came back, she met the emperor, who met her in the hall. "Cexun" refers to merit, and "zhuan" refers to the rank of the title. The twelve "zhuan" here are also consistent with the official system of the Tang Dynasty. An accidental coincidence. It does not prove that this poem was written by the Tang Dynasty or modified by the Tang Dynasty. "A hundred thousand strong" means more than a hundred thousand, but Mulan does not care about official status and rewards. She just wants to return to her hometown as soon as possible. Family reunion. Mingtuo refers to a camel that can travel a thousand miles. Mulan does not want an official position or a huge reward, but just borrows a camel that can travel a thousand miles to go home. This shows that she is eager to return home, and it also shows that she was born as a commoner. The heroine does not like fame and wealth.
After a long and arduous war, Mulan finally returned to her hometown. The poem details the joy of Mulan and her family after hearing the news. The sentence pattern of repetition is still used here. , describing the actions of the mother-in-law, sister and younger brother in great detail. This repeated parallelism of sentences enhances the joyful and festive atmosphere. Then the story of Mulan's actions after arriving home is also described in detail. , opened the door of the east pavilion and sat on the bed of the west pavilion, fully showing her joy after returning home. After changing and dressing up, she restored her true appearance as a woman, and then went out to see her companion. The companion was shocked, "We have been together for twelve years, and I don't know who Mulan is." Girl!" This plot is full of comedy. The surprise of the companions reflects Mulan's immense pride and pride, and the whole story ends in a climax full of comedy. However, the author seems to still have more to say, and writes four more chapters at the end. Sentence: "The male rabbit's feet are twitching, the female rabbit's eyes are blurred, the two rabbits are walking next to each other, and you can tell whether I am male or female!" The metaphor is strange. As the end of the whole poem, it is unique, heroic and powerful, and the tone is full of praise for Mulan. Xie Zhen said: "This knot is the most touching, and it also contains strange words. If these four sentences were missing, the princes of the Six Dynasties would not be able to say it. "Indeed.
There are several aspects worth noting in the artistic form of this poem. First of all, the narrative plot is appropriately detailed. For example, it is very concise when describing the battle life in the army, and it is very concise when describing the military life before the expedition and meritorious service. The return is very complicated. This is determined by the author's intention in writing this poem. The author is only interested in the rare event of Mulan disguising herself as a man and joining the army for her father. The first part is nothing more than writing about her anxiety and thoughts. It shows that she is a woman, because it is natural for men to go to war, but it is unusual for women to go to war. The second part also mentions "not hearing the mother-in-law's call to women" to highlight her identity as a woman. In the third part, it is written that she does not want to. Being an official, eager to go home, and various actions after returning home emphasize that she is a woman. The detailed arrangement of the entire poem is centered around this intention. Secondly, the author attaches great importance to the portrayal of characters and is good at using contradictions. The characters are represented in the process of creation and resolution, thus giving the characters distinct personalities. Third, the whole poem uses a lot of repetitive and parallel sentence patterns, which not only enhances the atmosphere, emphasizes the narrated plot, but also makes the language smooth and rich. The charm reflects the techniques commonly used in folk songs, and finally the style of the whole poem is bright, vigorous, simple and vivid, as Ming Dynasty poet Hu Yinglin said: "The ancient quality in this song is similar to that of the Han and Wei dynasties. ”
In short, "Mulan Poetry" is a masterpiece of northern folk songs and a wonderful flower in the history of Chinese poetry. It has had a great influence on future generations.