Explanation of the poem "Qilu·Long March"

Qilu Long March by Mao Zedong, October 1935

〖Original poem〗The Red Army is not afraid of the difficulties of the expedition, and it can only wait for thousands of rivers and mountains. The five ridges are meandering and the waves are flowing, and the fog is majestic and the mud balls are walking. The golden sand and water are warm against the clouds and the cliffs are warm, while the iron cables across the Dadu Bridge are cold. I am even more happy that there is thousands of miles of snow in Minshan Mountain, and the three armies are all happy after the passing.

Translated poem: The Red Army was not afraid of the countless difficulties and obstacles on the Long March, and only regarded them as ordinary things. Although the mountain road in Wuling was winding and continuous, in the eyes of the Red Army, it was just like tiny waves. Although Wumeng Mountain is majestic, in the eyes of the Red Army, it is like a small rolling mud ball. The water of Jinsha River laps at the cliffs on both sides, giving people a warm feeling. There is only one chain bridge across the Dadu River, which makes people feel frightened after seeing it. What made the Red Army even more delighted was that the Qianli Min Mountain was covered with snow. After the Red Army passed by, everyone was beaming with joy!

Appreciating the Long March is an unprecedented great feat in human history, and "Qilu. Long March" is an immortal masterpiece in the history of poetry creation.

The 56 words carry thousands of difficulties and obstacles on the Long March, and are full of the heroic aspirations of the Chinese Communist Party. It is a heroic epic of the Chinese revolution and a brilliant pearl in the treasure house of Chinese poetry. It is a landmark work both in the history of revolution and in the history of poetry.

"The Red Army is not afraid of difficulties in expeditions, and it is just waiting for thousands of rivers and mountains." The first couplet goes straight to the point and praises the Red Army's brave and tenacious revolutionary spirit of not being afraid of difficulties. This is the central idea of ??the whole article and the artistic tone of the whole poem. It is the beginning of the spirit of the whole poem and the knot of the artistic conception of the whole poem. The word "not afraid" is the poetic eye of the whole poem. "Only leisurely" strengthens and reiterates "not afraid"; "difficult expedition" encapsulates this extraordinary historical process, and "thousands of rivers and mountains" summarizes the internal and external aspects of "difficulty" Implication. This couplet is like a rock falling from a mountain, rolling down, affecting the whole article and shrouding the whole poem. "Only waiting for leisure" is a light-weight, which shows the poet's commander-in-chief demeanor that he regards the enemy of nature as a ladder and plays with the enemy of society as applause. "Only" strengthens the firm tone and has a strong emotional color. It highlights and emphasizes the Red Army's revolutionary spirit of contempt for difficulties, and shows the Red Army's iron army style of being calm, able to cope with the sword, and invincible. The closing couplet is the leader of the whole poem, and the following three couplets closely follow the first couplet.

Starting from the first couplet, the whole poem unfolds two lines of thinking and constructs two time and space domains. One is objective and realistic: "Expeditions are difficult" and there are "thousands of rivers and mountains". ; One is subjective and psychological: "not afraid" and "just take it easy". This forms a strong contrast, casts the vast physical space and the magnificent psychological space of the whole poem, and establishes the powerful and broad tone of the whole poem.

The four sentences of the chin couplet and the neck couplet describe the Red Army's victory over difficulties from the aspects of mountains and water respectively. They are derived from the "Thousands of Mountains" and "Ten Thousands of Waters" mentioned above. According to the route of the Red Army's Long March, the poet chose four geographical names with typical significance. They are all famous natural dangers and highly summarized the "thousands of rivers and mountains" of the Red Army's Long March. In Mao Zedong's poetry, there are many geographical names written directly, and most of them are used to express marching routes. For example, in "Qing Ping Le. The War between Jiang and Gui", "The red flag jumped over the Tingjiang River and went straight down Longyan to Hangzhou", and in "Die Lian Hua. From Tingzhou to Changsha" there is "Millions of workers and peasants worked hard together, sweeping Jiangxi and heading towards Hunan and Hubei", etc. wait. These are true records of the military activities of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army. So, from this we can see how Mao Zedong’s poetry is closely linked to the Chinese revolution. Compared with other poems, the use of place names in poems is more concentrated in this article, and the spatial distance shown is also larger. What is particularly different is that the four sentences cited above emphasize that the Red Army is marching quickly and with unstoppable momentum. The Red Army has a strong sense of movement in the picture. In this poem, the poet focuses on "the Red Army is not afraid of the difficulties of the expedition." "This central idea unfolds and emphasizes the Red Army's contempt for difficulties, which is the presentation of the inner world of the Red Army commanders and soldiers. Therefore, the description of the Red Army is hidden, using mountains and rivers to contrast the Red Army's feats. The two verbs "teng" and "walk" make the mountains turn static into movement, which is the manifestation of the spirit of the Red Army. Generally speaking, it is difficult to write poems with place names. If there are too many place names, it is easy to cause failure.

But Mao Zedong used it very successfully. This is not only because he has the poetic talent to defeat all things with his pen, but also to express the majestic poetry in his heart. It also reflects Mao Zedong's ability to refine the language of his motherland.

"The five ridges are meandering and the waves are rolling, and the Wumeng is majestic and muddy." One couplet is about mountains, and it is also about the conquest of mountains by the Red Army. Wuling and Wumeng are objective existences, but when they enter the poet's field of vision, they become aesthetic objects. So it is no longer a simple mountain, but an emotional object. "Meandering" and "majestic" express how high and vast the mountains are. This is the mountain in the heart of the Red Army and also in the poet's mind. The big and the small are exactly the poet's perception of the mountain. The emphasis here is on the small rather than the big. The bigger the mountain, the more the Red Army appears. The Long March is difficult; the more difficult it is, the less afraid the Red Army will be. Focusing on the small also highlights the Red Army's contempt for difficulties. Through two sets of antagonistic relationships between the great and the very small, the poet fully expresses the tenacious and heroic spirit of the Red Army. Artistically speaking, this is exaggeration and contrast. The mountains are painted with bright lines, while the Red Army is painted with dark lines. The combination of movement and stillness, light and dark, and contrast are very clever.

"The golden sand and water are warm against the clouds and cliffs, and the iron cables across Dadu Bridge are cold." One couplet is about water, and it is also about the Red Army's conquest of water. The Red Army's crossing of the Jinsha River and Dadu River was of great significance in the history of the Long March. The Jinsha River was wide and fast, and Chiang Kai-shek dreamed of using this day to encircle and annihilate the Red Army on the borders of Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou. In May 1935, the Red Army skillfully crossed the Jinsha River. If the skillful crossing of the Jinsha River is the most intelligent and successful battle in the Red Army's strategy and tactics, then the forced crossing of the Dadu River is the bravest and most tenacious battle in which the Red Army performs. The Dadu River is no less dangerous than the Jinsha River, and is heavily guarded by the enemy. The cunning enemy even removed the planks of the Luding Bridge on the river, leaving only thirteen iron cables. However, the heroic Red Army braved the enemy's bullets and braved the Dadu River, shattering Chiang Kai-shek's attempt to make the Red Army become the second Shi Dakai. Therefore, the battles written in these two sentences are of typical significance. The two sentences "Wuling" and "Wumeng" directly express the heroic spirit of the Red Army through the subjective feelings of the Red Army. These two sentences describe events by describing scenes, and express the heroic deeds of the Red Army by recording events.

The pair of antonyms "warm" and "cold" in the neck couplet are two emotional acupuncture points carefully designed by the poet. The word "warm" is warm and joyful, expressing the joy of overcoming difficulties; the word "cold" is cold and harsh, conveying the aftertaste after a narrow escape. The two adjectives represent a great change of spirit and a fission of emotion. They contain inexhaustible meanings and show endless interest outside of them. They are swaying, ups and downs, and relaxed.

The last couplet "I am even more happy with the thousands of miles of snow in Minshan Mountain, and the three armies are all happy after the passing." is a response to the first couplet. It starts with "not afraid" and ends with "more joy", which strengthens the theme and sublimates the purpose of the poem. "Gengxi" comes from the above and is also the emotional conclusion of the above. The Red Army crossed the Five Ridges, crossed Wumeng, crossed Jinsha, and captured Dadu, and fought their way out of the enemy's siege. It is naturally gratifying. Now, the Red Army has crossed the Minshan Mountains and entered northern Shaanxi. The victory meeting is not far away, and the purpose of the strategic shift has been basically achieved. Compared with all the previous joys, it is naturally better than a sorrow. 4 "Beautiful Faces" describes the laughter of the three armies, which is the laughter of the impending final victory. It ends with this, further embodying the optimistic spirit of the whole poem.