The whole poem is divided into six chapters, with ten sentences in each chapter, all written in the tone of the heroine's autobiography.
The first and second chapters are women's memories of their love and marriage. At the beginning of the poem, the image of a man is introduced. "Self-protection flies, bandits come to trade silk, and I beg when I come." "Self-protection" is a name for ordinary men. In the poem, the self-protection of "holding cloth and trading silk" seems to be a small businessman selling silk. "Guo Guo" can be interpreted as "the phase of faithfulness" (Biography of Mao) or "the phase of gentleness" (Biography of Cui Yichuan in the Later Han Dynasty). It should be noted that some comments now think that "Meng" is a derogatory term for men in poetry (Gu Shuo); Change the word "goo goo" to "scoff", interpret it as a joke (said by Ma) and translate it into a fake smile. I think this explanation is a bit inappropriate: Meng proposed to a woman. His appearance at that time did not leave the impression of flirtation and flattery. On the contrary, his slightly stupid appearance won the trust of the woman. The heroine did not deny this when recalling the first love scene, which can be further proved below. "As for Dunqiu, it's important to send a son. When I was a robber, I had no good media. There is no anger in the child, and autumn is a period. " On the way off, the woman agreed to Meng's proposal and agreed on the wedding date. From her words of comforting the man, it can be inferred that Meng was so anxious to get married at once that she was angry for a time, and the woman trusted his "enthusiasm". "Take the wall, in order to hope. I didn't see the resumption of customs, so I cried. I am full of laughter when I see the resumption of GATT. " The mood of a woman in love expressed in this poem is obvious. The heroine often climbs up the fence with fascination and stands there looking into the distance. She is anxiously looking forward to meeting the man and waiting for the wedding day. The "re-entry" here is still a matter of words (in other words, see the Collection of Three Poets), which refers to the place where "Meng" lived. Here, poetry refers to people with place names. "Self-protection" finally came, and the woman was greeted with joy. "Boolean well, no blame. Come by car and bribe me to move. " Because divination is a good omen, the woman took her belongings, got into the man's car and went with him.
Zhu called these two chapters "Ye Fu", that is, "telling the truth". The poet adopts a direct narrative technique, and we clearly feel the heroine's deep remorse in her narrative. She regrets her addiction to love and her simple and hasty marriage. Chapter three or four turned to lyricism, and she sighed sadly in a sorry tone.
"Mulberry has not fallen, its leaves are fertile. I don't eat mulberries! " The heroine uses lush mulberry trees to compare the deep affection between men and women when they are unmarried, and uses turtledove's gluttony for mulberries to compare her love. In the unfortunate situation after marriage, she felt the inequality between men and women in love life. She shouted to her sisters and warned them not to repeat their mistakes: "If you are a girl, you can't take care of others!" " The anxiety of scholars can still be said; You can't say you are a woman! "The first sentence of the fourth chapter is still compared with mulberry trees." Mulberry trees have fallen, yellow and fallen. "Women use the gradual decline of mulberry trees to compare the indifference between husband and wife." Self-pity, poor three years old. Qishui soup, curtain skirt. Women are unhappy, and scholars do their best. Scholars are also extremely useless, Germany 23! "Life after many years of marriage is poor, but the woman has not been shaken or changed at all because of poverty. For men's "two-way behavior", she could not help but loudly reprimand: "Scholars are useless, virtue is two or three! "The' three years old' in the poem refers to many years, not a real number. There have always been two interpretations of "Qi Shui Tang Tang, drifting away from the car": "Justice in Shi Mao" was interpreted by Jian Zheng as "I said that although I knew you were poor, I still took the trouble to drive in this deep water, and I knew I was paying attention to you"; Another theory holds that this refers to the situation that a woman is abandoned and comes back after crossing the water. According to the coherence of the tone of the poems before and after, we think the first theory is more suitable. The woman complained that she was poor after marriage and thought she was determined to cross the water. So far, she has never done anything wrong to that man, but he is half-hearted, so she has no resentment. As for whether the woman was abandoned to go home, this can only be speculated.
In the third and fourth chapters, the heroine's philosophical lament from her personal painful lessons, as well as her resentment and reprimand to her husband, fully reflect the humble position and unequal situation that women generally suffered in feudal society.
"I am three years old, I am a woman, I am tired from work, and I am eager to stay up late." The first four sentences of the fifth chapter simply summarize her hard life for many years, and she bears the burden entrusted to her by her family. However, her husband not only didn't understand her, but "kept his word, as for violence". After the goal of being a family and owning a woman was achieved, he began to abuse her rudely. When I went back to my mother's house, I was only laughed at by my brothers. The woman "calmed down and bowed her head and mourned." In the last chapter, the heroine expresses her decisive attitude in her unresolved sadness. "Being a boss with you makes me complain. Qi has a shore and discipline has a plate. General's corner banquet, talking and laughing. Swear, forget it. On the contrary, I don't think about it, I am already embarrassed! " Many notes speculate that this woman met Meng when she was a minor according to the sentence "General's Corner Banquet, Laughing and Laughing", but this is a guess after all. We think these words can also be translated as follows: "Qi Shui has a shore, and Ji also has a shore. Children play together, naturally nobody cares. The open man vowed that he would not count! I don't want to think about his treachery any more, so forget it! "
The whole poem shows us two completely different characters. One is the image of "Meng", a despicable person. Although this small businessman looks honest, he is actually a heartless, disloyal and selfish villain. He deceived a simple girl with false enthusiasm and won the trust of women with false vows and empty spells. For him, women are labor and tools to satisfy selfish desires. Once cheated, they exposed their despicable and cruel nature. The heroine in the poem is the image of a kind and enthusiastic working woman. She is hardworking and simple, and she is not afraid of poverty. After marrying Meng, she sincerely pinned her hopes for happiness on Meng. However, after marriage, her husband's tyranny and bullying day after day completely shattered her desire to grow old together. She changed from patience and injustice to resentment, and finally let out a cry of pain. There is more resentment than sadness in her poems. Let us see the oppression and bullying of women in feudal society.
Structurally, the whole poem can be divided into three parts. The first part includes the first three chapters, mainly showing homesickness; The second part, including the fourth and fifth chapters, mainly describes the prosperity of generals' costumes and the hard work of guarding soldiers; The third part, the last chapter, describes the scene of returning to China. The whole poem begins with "picking Wei" and ends with "walking slowly, carrying thirst and hunger". With the care from beginning to end, it highlights the physical and mental pain suffered by the guards, and the pen is always full of grief and indignation.
The first part of the three chapters, in the form of complex sentences, repeatedly expresses the sad mood after a long separation from other places. The first sentence of these three chapters is "receiving the EU", which leads to the following. "Picking Osmunda japonica" is to collect wild Osmunda japonica, and the food and grass are not continued, so soldiers have to feed on it. At the beginning of this poem, readers see the bleak scene of frontier life. We seem to see the hungry defenders collecting wild vegetables on the hillside in the wilderness, missing their long-lost hometown and counting the dates of going home ... It is worth noting that although these three chapters all express the same emotion in a repetitive way, the author has slightly changed it, thus showing the progress of feelings. For example, in the first two sentences of the first chapter, it says, "When you pick a rose, the rose will stop." This is about spring, and the green buds of Osmunda japonica have just sprouted; The second chapter reads: "picking Wei, Wei is also gentle", and it is written that in summer, the leaves of Wei Cai are fat and tender; The third chapter is: "Picking roses is just finished", which means that in autumn, the leaves and stems of Osmunda japonica will be old and hard. From spring to autumn, Osmunda japonica is tender and old, and time passes mercilessly; The soldiers are thinking about going home. From spring to autumn, a year will pass. When can I go home? -These meanings are expressed through the changes of Osmunda japonica.
Furthermore, when the last six sentences of each chapter specifically describe the feeling of homesickness, the expression forms also change. For example, the author of the first chapter only said that he could not go home by the end of the year; And complained: "I lost my home in a room, so I died;" If you don't start living, you will die. "This is because you make it difficult for him to go home. The second chapter says: "when I return to my hometown, my heart will no longer be worried;" He was hungry and thirsty with worry. He was bored by homesickness, as if on fire, hungry and thirsty. He also thought, "My residence is uncertain, and it is impossible to send a letter from home. "In the third chapter, it is early spring in October, and there is still no hope to go home. The guards couldn't help moaning in pain: "I'm worried and sorry, I can't do it." "The mood is extremely painful. Who can forgive me? Obviously, with the extension of border defense time, homesickness is getting deeper and deeper. In this way of reciting repeatedly and deepening step by step, the author lets readers step by step into the hearts of soldiers and experience their growing homesickness.
The second part describes the frontier life in detail. The generals drove their horses and chariots on the road, and the soldiers also embarked on a difficult journey; The generals sat in the car, and the foot soldiers surrounded the sides of the car, relying on it to hide when they started fighting. They have to move many times a month, and they dare not live in peace. They are always on guard and dare not relax, because they are facing extremely fierce enemies. Literally, this part does not write homesickness, but the bitter feeling always lingers in the poet's singing. How can these poor guards not miss a peaceful and peaceful life more when they are dragging their tired bodies behind the chariots and horses, when they lean against the carriages to avoid enemy arrows, and when they are waiting for death?
It can't be ignored that in this part of singing, there is also resentment against the uneven bitterness. You see, the horse pulling the cart is tall and strong, which means it is well fed. It goes without saying that their owners can't eat and drink badly. The soldiers, on the other hand, barely ate enough by collecting Osmunda japonica, all with dishes on their faces and pins on their heads. The general sat in the car, well dressed and swaggering; When the soldiers trudged behind the car all day, their faces were covered with dust and their clothes were in rags ... Although the author only described the majesty of the generals' riding and the gorgeous costumes here, his tone was ironic. For example, the first four sentences of Chapter 4: "How about Bilviho? It's Tang Dihua. What kind of car is it? A gentleman's car. " Translated into modern language, it is: "What flowers are in full bloom? Those are the flowers of Tang Di; What car is tall and big? It is not a noble car "(see Yu Guanying's The Book of Songs), and the irony is obvious. These descriptions are in sharp contrast with the life of the defenders and arouse their homesickness.
The third part is the most lyrical chapter of the whole poem. On a rainy and snowy day, the garrison soldiers finally set foot on their way home. This was originally an exciting thing, but we can't see any joy here, only feel sad. Long-term frontier life left a psychological trauma in the hearts of the garrison soldiers, and he returned to his hometown with a broken heart. Sadly, he remembered: "I was away, and there was a bright future"-when I left my hometown that year, it was spring, and there was a bright future; Today, "I think of it today, and it's raining again"-it's a foggy winter when I return to my hometown today. Here, the poet didn't pour out his inner feelings directly, but used willow silk fluttering with the wind in spring to render the reluctant feelings when he was on the road in the past, and used rain and snow to express the difficulty of returning home today and the inner bitterness, so that the lingering, deep and wandering feelings naturally flowed out of the mountains and rivers, with profound meaning and endless taste. These four poems are praised by later generations as the best sentences in The Book of Songs.
"The road is slow and full of hunger and thirst", which is the situation on the way home. The journey is so far away that it never seems to end. Thirsty and hungry, he struggled to get back to his hometown. On this difficult way home, the soldiers in the garrison learned from a painful experience, recalled all kinds of experiences after leaving their hometown, silently sucked their inner suffering and felt their loneliness. He sang painfully: "I am sad, I don't know that I am sad!" " -I feel very sad, who knows!
After reading the complete poem, we seem to see this thin warrior, braving the rain and snow, walking slowly to the depths of the picture and to the distance where it is raining and snowing. Only left us a lonely figure, a sad sigh.