Reading | Zhang Guoling: Picking up the Lamp and Looking at the Poetry and Pride of the Sword - Reading Liu Xiaowei's Poetry Collection "Bronze of The Years"

Text/Zhang Guoling

What can be hidden in a book?

In general, you can hide a leaf, a bookmark, or a thicker one may be a love letter. If I were to say that a book could contain thousands of horses, you would shake your head and smile and say, "Bragging." "A few days ago, when I opened a book of poems, I really found thousands of troops and horses in it, and they were still thousands of armies and horses with guns and live ammunition, and they were thousands of troops and horses with victory in their hands.

Reading each line of poetry carefully, I found that there were even more hidden in it, including thousands of generals driving the most advanced aircraft, operating the most intelligent missiles, surveying the sky and looking at a thousand rivers, and aircraft carriers that could chop waves and go straight to the ocean...

This book is the poet Liu Xiaowei's new book "Bronze of Years".

From the short and loud title, the reader can feel the hardness of its core at once. It is a collection of military poetry that came into being under the background of a new era of strong military, and it is also the first book in the "New Era Poetry Library" edited by the Poetry Magazine and published by China Yanshi Publishing House.

The hardcover version of the sky blue cover is elegant and atmospheric, and at first glance there is a bit of the depth of the still flow of the deep sea. Turning over this plain and idyllic, walking into the lines of the poem, what you hear is the sound of the golden drum, the blowing of the horns and the camp, what you see is the battlefield, the flag is shaken, and what you feel is the grandeur and pride of picking up the lamp and looking at the sword, and the confidence and victory of the long tassel in hand.

Every new work, every line of poetry, as long as it is recited with heart, there is the sound of steel and iron colliding, with a deafening roar, just like the waves rushing in the mountains and the sea, and like the crumbling boulders that break the earth. If you taste slowly, you seem to hear the long, deep and persistent sound of arrows from the ancient dysprosium, watch the strings of sparks splashed by the horseshoe hitting the stone road, and the thunderbolts in the desert, and the blue light flickering under the dark clouds of the night. That momentum, that scene, can't help but be reminiscent of crotch dismounting, palm shot, the poet harnessing the words, wielding poetry of the fierce bravery, really like an unstoppable whirlwind protruding, in the million army straight to the first rank of general Xiao Yong.

I have to say that reading "Bronze of The Years" greatly surprised me. Because Liu Xiaowei, who is both a poet and an editor, has an introverted personality and is not ostentatious, he has given me the impression of being simple and loyal, affectionate and subtle, and dealing with people is extremely peaceful and low-key. Whether it is his author or a friend, as long as he contacts, he will be immediately touched by his sincerity and warmth.

Reading his "Bronze of Time", there is something that always rises in my heart impatiently, and for a moment I can't say exactly what that feeling is, is it a flame? Is it madness? Is it a hurricane? Is it arrogance? Or is it the masculinity and boldness of a hero? It should be said that there are all, but it cannot be simply described by a few words, they are like a majestic wind hanging straight up on the cloud sails, and my bosom is also inflated, I want to go to the surprise, I want to charge, I want to be a husband and wife, I want to win a thousand miles.

As we all know, the most inspiring thing for soldiers is undoubtedly the horn, the trumpet of the charge, the trumpet of the battle, and as long as there is a trumpet at any time, the blood will be stirred up at once, and quickly adjust every cell in the body to the best state. The best state of a soldier is not to sit, not to stand, but to charge forward regardless of life and death. "Bronze of Time" is to color a large amount of pen and ink in this posture, so that soldiers have a sense of eagerness to try when they read it, and let the people read it with peace of mind.

Since the birth of military poetry, the lyrics are the tragic grandeur of soldiers dying on the battlefield, wrapping the bodies of horse ge, and sacrificing their lives for the country. However, in the creation of military poetry in these years, there has been a worrying phenomenon, that is, the decline of yin and yang. The so-called yin sheng is to write about the feelings of the military and the love of the soldiers more, and the yang decline is to show less iron-blooded heroism and fortitude and heroism. There are many military poets, including those who became famous for their military poetry, and the males in the poems are also degenerating, and even no longer write military poems. In my opinion, this is not the masculinity of the soldiers, but the loss of the poet's masculinity, the dereliction of duty of the military poet.

It is gratifying that the steeliness of that long-lost military poem has been greatly satisfied in my reading of "Bronze of Time".

Seeing the first episode of the book, "Steel Gathering", my eyes flashed a bright light, and a sword blade lit up.

The first chapter of this episode, and the first chapter of the whole book, is Zhu Rihe's "Zhu Rihe: The Gathering of Steel". I have recited these verses over and over again, and the longer I read them, the longer I become heroic:

This is a group of fighting in a buildup.

Electromagnetic lightning fills the mountains,

The giant ship sailed to deep blue.

We are deep in the mountains and dense forests, in the desert caves,

The sword that points straight to the firmament,

It is the extreme flight that hits the blue sky.

It is the deepest potential in the rough seas

Wordless deterrence. We are Shenzhou, we are beidou,

It's Tianhe, it's Tiangong, it's Chang'e, it's Jiaolong,

It is written on the proud smile on every Chinese's face.

……

I don't know how the soldiers who read these verses, the Chinese who read these verses, and every peace-loving person who reads these verses will feel.

As a reporter for the People's Liberation Army Daily, Liu Xiaowei must have been to Zhu Rihe more than once. This training ground for the red and blue confrontation of the Chinese army has made thousands of soldiers yearn for it, and how many commanders have endured the blows and tempering of steel and iron, water and fire here. All the troops and soldiers who have come here and gone out from here are more powerful and confident, because their will and ability, bloodiness and boldness, their understanding of modern warfare and their sense of winning have all been sublimated and tempered here. So Liu Xiaowei can write out the steel assembly, and then think about it carefully, is it only steel that is assembled?

The poet tells us that there are electromagnetic mountains and hills, there are giant ships sailing towards deep blue, there are swords pointing straight to the sky, there is extreme flight in the blue sky, there is the deterrence of the hidden dragon in the sea, there is the Shenzhou, there is the Beidou, there is the Tianhe, there is the Tianhe, there is Chang'e, there is a dragon in hand, and now these high-tech military technologies have been mastered by the Chinese soldiers. Their role is not to start a war, but to stop the war, not for war, but for peace, not for the purpose of attacking the city and plundering the land, but for the sake of subjugating the soldiers. They exist only to write smiles on every Chinese's face.

It is a poetic gathering. This assembly not only gathered equipment and troops, but also gathered confidence and gathered the skills and courage of Chinese soldiers to fight and win wars. Therefore, through reading Liu Xiaowei's "Bronze of Time", we know that zhu Rihe is not only the ruthless coldness of steel such as aircraft cannons and tanks and missiles, but also the survival wisdom of a great nation and the broad feelings of praying for world peace.

"Steel Collection" is only a chapter in the poetry collection, and the entire poetry collection is an extension and reinforcement of the poet's literary thinking and poetic feelings. In my opinion, such poems can only be born under the pen of military poets, and only military poets who are both excellent soldiers and excellent poets can write them with great emotion and poetry.

Everyone who has been a soldier

I only glanced at the crowd

It's recognizable

Because there was light in his hair

There is light in the body

There is a shiny one on the chest

Something that others can't see

This is the peace of the years

Such a dazzling medallion hangs

The chest of every soldier

——Excerpt from "The Medal"

All soldiers yearn for medals, for this lofty honor, do not hesitate to sharpen the skin and flesh of youth, pain and youth, do not hesitate to sprinkle their blood and sweat on the training ground, and do not hesitate to sacrifice everything for the defense of their families and the country. But not all soldiers can get the tangible medal they want, wear it on their chests, and accept the envy of their comrades-in-arms, the blessings of their relatives, and the scrutiny of the eyes of others. There are always people who have to retire with regrets, and there are always people who have to pursue with dreams that never stop.

However, in Liu Xiaowei's poem "Medals", he wrote that as long as you look at the crowd, you will know who is a soldier, because those who have been soldiers have a shining thing on their chests, that is, medals. In his pen, this medal is not a visible medal, but a peaceful and good year. This wonderful stroke of God is a kind of affirmation and a great realm created by the poet with his experience and experience for all those who have served as soldiers, those who are just soldiers, and those who are eager to enter the ranks of the army.

In the poet's heart, the soldiers did not fall behind when they lost their skin and flesh, and they shed blood and sweat without tears, not just for the small military merit medal, but for the medal they pursued to benefit the peaceful years of the 1.4 billion people on the land of Shenzhou. Therefore, those who have been soldiers have a medal on their chests, and this medal is written in the hearts of the common people and worn in the red heart loyalty of the warriors.

Such whimsical ideas and meaningful verses are all over the place in "Bronze of Time", which makes people can't help but clap their hands again and again.

What is good poetry? It is out of nature and from the heartstrings that people can be moved and shocked after reading, so that people's spirit is more excited and their minds are more stretched after reading. Liu Xiaowei's "Bronze years" is precisely because of its profound military literacy and literary accumulation, closely following the beat pulse of the era of a strong army, undertaking the literary and artistic mission of military poets, good at observing, thinking, and excavating unique poetic eyes, and casting the ordinary years that seem to flow easily into a bronze and golden text for eternity. As a military poet, I look forward to Liu Xiaowei's more masterpieces, and continue to polish the silver years and golden age in his poetry creation.

Book Title: Bronze of the Ages

Author: Liu Xiaowei

Publisher: China Yanshi Publishing House