"Two Short Songs (Part 1)" is a poem written by Cao Cao, a statesman and writer in the late Han Dynasty, based on ancient Yuefu titles. . The original text is as follows:

Two Short Songs (Part 1)

Eastern Han Dynasty · Cao Cao

Singing over wine, what a life!

Like morning dew, it will be more painful every day.

Generosity should be treated with generosity, and worries will be unforgettable.

How to relieve worries? Only Du Kang. Qingqing Zijin, my heart is leisurely.

But for the sake of your Majesty, I still ponder it.

Yo yo, the deer roars, eating apples in the wild.

I have a guest who plays the drum, harp and sheng.

It’s as bright as the moon, when can you wipe it off? Worry comes from it and cannot be cut off.

The more unfamiliar you are, the more you cross the border, the more useless you are.

Qi Kuo talks about Yan, thinking about old kindness. The moon and stars are few and far between, and magpies are flying south.

Walking around the tree three times, where is the branch to lean on?

The mountains never get too high and the sea never gets too deep.

When Duke Zhou spits out food, the world returns to its heart.

Translation

Singing while drinking, how many years of life are there.

Just like the morning dew, it is fleeting, too much time has passed!

The singing at the banquet was impassioned, but the sadness in my heart was hard to forget.

What can you do to relieve your depression? Only drinking wine.

You learned and talented people, you make me yearn for you day and night.

It’s just because of you that I still recite it in pain.

Under the sunshine, the deer chirped happily and ate mugwort in the wilderness.

Once talented people from all over the world come to my house, I will play the harp and sheng to entertain the guests.

When can we pick up the bright moon hanging in the sky?

The deep worries in my heart can’t stop pouring out.

Guests from far away came to visit me through the criss-crossing field roads.

We reunited after a long absence to talk and have a feast, reliving the kindness of the past.

The moonlight was bright and the stars were sparse, and a group of nesting magpies flew south.

They flew around the tree three times without folding their wings. Where can they find shelter?

The mountains are majestic only if they do not abandon the earth and rocks, and the sea is majestic only if it does not abandon the trickle of water.

I would like to be as courteous and courteous as the Duke of Zhou, and I hope that all the heroes in the world will sincerely submit to me.

Notes

1. Sing to wine: Sing while drinking. Dang means facing.

2. Geometry: How much.

3. The last day is more painful: compared with (morning dew), it is as painful but long. It means lamenting the shortness of life.

4. Generosity should be generosity: refers to the passionate and generous singing at the banquet. It should be understood that "should be used" here means. The whole sentence means that one should sing passionately and generously.

5. Du Kang: According to legend, he was the first person to make wine, which here refers to wine.

6. Qingqing Zijin (jīn), leisurely my heart: from "The Book of Songs·Zheng Feng·Zijin". Originally written about a girl missing her lover, here it is used as a metaphor for longing for a talented person. Zi, a respectful name for the other party. Jin, an ancient style collar. Qingjin is the clothing worn by scholars in the Zhou Dynasty, here it refers to a learned person. Long, long-lasting, describing continuous thoughts.

7. Chanting: originally refers to whispering and thinking in a low voice, but here it refers to the yearning and admiration for the sage.

8. Yo (yōu) Yo, the deer roars, eating apples in the wild. I have a guest, playing the harp and sheng (shēng): from "The Book of Songs·Xiaoya·Lu Ming". Yoyo: The sound of a deer braying. Apple: mugwort.

9. Drum: play.

10. When can it be harvested (duō): When can it be harvested? Pick up, pick up, pick. Another interpretation: 掇 pronounced as chuò is a false character, 懇 means "stop", which means to stop. When can we stop, which means when can we stop?

11. Yue Mo Du Qian: pass through the criss-crossing paths. Mo, an east-west field road. Qian, a north-south path.

12. Existing in vain: paying a visit. In vain, here is the meaning of "in vain"; to use, to. Save, greet, miss.

13. Yan (yàn): means "banquet" ("?" in the original text).

14. Three turns (zā): three weeks. Turn, week, circle.

15. The sea never gets too deep: A book called "The water never gets too deep". Here are words borrowed from "Guanzi·Xingjie", the original text is: "The sea does not reject water, so it can become as big as it is; the mountain does not reject soil, so it can become as high as possible; the Lord of Ming does not hate people, so it can become as numerous as it is..." It means that we hope to accept as many talents as possible.

Introduction to the work

"Two Short Songs (Part 1)" is a poem written by Cao Cao, a statesman and writer in the late Han Dynasty, based on ancient Yuefu titles. "Xianghe Song Ci·Ping Tiaoqu". Through the singing at the banquet, the poet's thirst for talents and his ambition to unify the world are expressed in a calm and frustrated style. The whole poem is profound in content, solemn and elegant, and full of emotion. It gives full play to the specialty of poetry creation and accurately and skillfully uses Bixing techniques to achieve the purpose of integrating reason with emotion and touching people. It has always been regarded as Cao Cao's representative masterpiece. 1

Appreciation of Works

"Dan Ge Xing" is actually a "Song of Seeking Virtue", and precisely because it uses the form of poetry and contains rich lyrical elements, it is It can play a unique role in contagion, effectively publicize the ideas he insists on, and cooperate with the decrees he issued.

The whole poem is divided into four stanzas, which are analyzed one by one.

The first section mainly expresses the poet's lament about the short life. There are two references to "wine" in the first stanza. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, wine was mostly favored by Wei and Jin poets. Regardless of whether you are happy or sad, it is not difficult to find the shadow of wine when you feel emotional. How do we understand the poet's lament that life is short? The poet was born in troubled times and saw the people displaced and heartbroken. He longed to make contributions but failed to change the situation in troubled times, so he lamented that life is short.

The second section is even more touching and profound. He said "Qingqing Zijin, my heart is long", which is of course a direct metaphor for missing "virtuous people". Since it was actually impossible for Cao Cao to find those "virtuous people" one by one, he used this implicit method to remind them: "Even if I didn't find you, why didn't you take the initiative to join me?" From this It can be seen from the implicit meaning that his intention of "seeking talents" is so thoughtful and indeed has the power to move people. And this touching power reflects the combination of politics and artistry in literary and artistic creation. Of course, his deep and subtle intentions cannot be fully expressed in documents such as "Ling for Seeking Talents"; as a poem, "Dan Ge Xing" can express emotions that cannot be expressed in political documents and serves as a political document. function that it cannot play. This means that as long as you come to my place, I will definitely treat you as a "guest", and we can get along happily, harmoniously and cooperate. These eight sentences still do not clearly say the word "seeking talents". Because what Cao Cao wrote is poetry, he used allusions as metaphors. This is the expression method of "tactful but full of irony".

The third section emphasizes and echoes the above sixteen sentences. The above sixteen sentences mainly talk about two meanings, that is, worrying about seeking talents, and expressing the need to treat talents with courtesy. If we use music as a comparison, these can be said to be two "theme melodies" in the whole poem, and the eight lines of "Mingming is like the moon" are the recurrence and variations of these two "theme melodies". The first four sentences are talking about sorrow again, which are echoes of the first eight sentences; the last four sentences are about the arrival of "virtuous talents", which are echoes of the second eight sentences. On the surface, the meaning is repeated with the first sixteen lines, but in fact, due to the recurrence and variations of the "theme melody", the whole poem is more melodious and repeated, strengthening the lyrical concentration. From the perspective of expressing the literary theme of the poem, these eight sentences are not simply repeated, but contain profound meanings. That is to say, many "talents" have come, and we have cooperated harmoniously. However, I am not satisfied. I am still worried about seeking talents and hope that more "talents" will come. The bright moon in the sky is always moving and will never stop. Likewise, my desire to seek talents will never cease.

Saying this is a sign of thoughtfulness, because Cao Cao is constantly recruiting talents, so will latecomers worry about "overcrowding"? Therefore, Cao Cao further stated here that his pursuit of talents will never end like the bright moon, and people do not need to worry about it. They will receive preferential treatment regardless of whether they come early or late.

In the fourth quarter, the thirst for talents is further deepened. The four sentences of "Moonlight" are both accurate and vivid descriptions of the scene, and also have metaphorical meanings. In fact, it means that those who are hesitant are at a loss what to do in the situation of the Three Kingdoms. The poet inspired them with the scene of crows circling the tree and "what branch can they lean on?" Don't be half-hearted, be good at choosing a branch to perch on, and come to me quickly. The last four sentences of "Zhou Gong" are the finishing touch. They clearly express their sincerity and hope that all talents will come to submit to me, Cao Cao, and clarify the main purpose of the whole poem. Regarding the allusion of "The Duke of Zhou spits out food", it is said that the Duke of Zhou said to himself: "I am the son of King Wen, the younger brother of King Wu, and the uncle of King Cheng. I am also a relative of the world, and I am not scornful in the world. However, one bath, three hairpins, and one meal If you spit out your food three times, you are afraid of losing the world's best." These words also seem to express the poet's mood.

To sum up, "Dan Ge Xing" is a very political poem, mainly serving the political line and political strategies implemented by Cao Cao at that time; however, its political content and meaning are completely cast. In the rich lyrical artistic conception, the whole poem gives full play to the specialty of poetry creation, and accurately and skillfully uses Bixing techniques to achieve the purpose of integrating reason with emotion and touching people.

Creative background

There are roughly five theories about the creation time of this poem in the academic world. First, on the basis of the "Hengshang Fu Poems" language in Su Shi's "Red Cliff Ode", "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" states that Cao Cao recited this "Song to Drinking Wine" before the Battle of Chibi, and the time was set in the 13th year of Jian'an (208 )end. The second is the theory of seeking talents, which comes from Zhang Keli's Chronicle of Sancao: "It expresses the passionate desire to recruit talents, and it was written at the same time as the Order of Seeking Talents." The time was in the 15th year of Jian'an (210). The third is Bin's main song and the harmony theory. This idea comes from Wan Shengnan. He believes that this poem was written in the first year of Jian'an in the Han Dynasty (196), when Cao Cao moved to the Han Dynasty to present the emperor in Xudu. It was a harmonious work by Cao Cao and his close men such as Xun Yu and others. . The fourth is the theory of carpe diem, but there is no research on the specific time. This statement was made by Shen Deqian, Volume 5 of "The Source of Ancient Poetry": ""Dan Ge Xing", it is said that it is time to be happy." The fifth is Wang Qing's statement at the banquet for Karasuma Xingchan Yu Pufulu, The time was in May of the 21st year of Jian'an (216).

About the author

Cao Cao (155-220) was an outstanding politician, strategist, and writer in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, and the founder of the Cao Wei regime. Cao Cao, whose given name is Mengde and whose nickname is Ah Man, was born in Qiao County, Peiguo (now Bozhou, Anhui). He was an outstanding statesman, military strategist, and writer in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, and the founder of the Cao Wei regime.