Meaning: As long as it is beneficial to the country, you are willing to sacrifice your own life and will never avoid it because you may be harmed.

Understanding: Expressed in modern language, that is, "As long as it is beneficial to the country, I will do it even if it means death; how can I escape because of fear of disaster." This couplet has been widely used for more than a hundred years. The famous line that has been passed down for generations is also the ideological essence of the whole poem. It expresses Lin Zexu's upright and noble moral character and loyal and selfless patriotic sentiment.

Life and death come from "Zuo Zhuan: The Fourth Year of Zhaogong": Zheng Guo's official Zichan was slandered by others for reforming the military tax system. He said: "To benefit the country, life and death will do it." The original meaning of the word "yi" is "to do", "do" or "engage in". Only by understanding its meaning accurately can we understand the whole poem.

From: Lin Zexu

"Go to the garrison and tell your family members at the entrance"

If you have weak strength and heavy responsibilities, you will be exhausted for a long time. If you continue to exhaust yourself and become mediocre, you will definitely fail.

If you want to benefit the country's life and death, how can you avoid it because of misfortunes and blessings?

Relegated residence is a sign of kindness from the king, and it is appropriate to cultivate the weak and strong in the garrison.

The play tells stories with the mountain wife, and tries to sing to death.

Translation:

I have low abilities and heavy responsibilities, and I have already felt exhausted. I have to take on heavy responsibilities again and again, but with my aging body and mediocre talents, I will definitely not be able to support it.

If it is beneficial to the country, I can risk my life or death. How can we run away from misfortunes and follow them when we see blessings? I was exiled to Yili because of your kindness. It is better for me to retire and not be an official, as it is suitable for me to be a mature soldier.

I joked with my old wife about the story of Song Zhenzong summoning Yang Pu and Su Dongpo to prison as recorded in "Dongpo Zhilin", and said that you might as well recite "This time I will bid farewell to the old man." Scalp” poem came to see me off.

Extended information

Appreciation:

The first couplet says: I have shouldered important responsibilities for the country with my meager strength, and I have long felt tired. If you continue, decline again, and become exhausted, no matter your weak physique or mediocre talents, you will definitely be unable to support it. This has the same meaning as Meng Haoran's "If you don't have talent, you will give up" and Du Mu's "Qing Dynasty has taste but it is incompetent" and other poems. They are all words that are true and contradictory.

The last couplet is derived from a story in Zhao Ling's "Hou Xiaolu": During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, he visited the hermits in the world. Yang Pu, a man of Qi, was summoned to the court and said to his wife before leaving. One of the poems he sent as a gift said: "Don't be greedy for a glass of wine when you are down, and don't be crazy about chanting poems. If you catch the general today, you will lose your scalp this time."

Yang Pu expressed his gratitude to Song Zhenzong through this limerick. Lin Zexu did not want to become an official in the court. Lin Zexu used this allusion to humorously say: "I was joking with my wife. This time I will become Yang Pu. I might lose my life." "The implication is that he implicitly said to Emperor Daoguang: "I have served you enough, let me live in peace and be a common citizen.

For a loyal minister in a feudal society to say such complaining words, this is the limit. If we carefully appreciate this seven-melody poem, we should be able to feel that it has the same inner voice as Qu Yuan's "Li Sao".

The stability and flexibility of antithesis is a characteristic of the writing technique of this poem. For example, "country" versus "misfortune", "life and death" versus "avoidance" are correct pairs according to the part of speech. The word "yi" in "生死义" is interpreted as "wei", which is a verb; and the word "zhi" is a function word. The author not only uses the substantive meaning of the word "Yi" to express the ideological content, but also uses its function meaning to form a contrast with the word "Zhi", which shows the profound power of controlling words.