南北朝詩歌 Poems of the Northern and Southern Dynasties

敕勒歌^（1）

〇南北朝樂府詩

敕勒川，

陰山下^（2）。

天似穹廬^（3），

籠蓋四野^（4）。

天蒼蒼，

野茫茫^（5）。

風(fēng)吹草低見牛羊^（6）。

【注釋】

(1) 敕勒歌：敕勒（chì lè）：民族名稱，也稱之為“丁零”、“高車”。敕勒族人主要居住在蒙古草原上。這是他們的民歌。

(2) 敕勒川，陰山下：敕勒族人居住的地方在陰山腳下。這里的“川”字含義豐富，既有河谷、河川之義，也有草原、一馬平川之義，可以廣義地理解為敕勒族人生活的地方。陰山：山脈名稱，位于內(nèi)蒙古高原的南緣，東西長達(dá)一千二百多公里，現(xiàn)名“大青山”。

(3) 天似穹廬：穹廬（qióng lú）：游牧民族居住的帳篷，即今所謂“蒙古包”。這句說，天空看上去像一個(gè)中間圓拱、四面垂下的帳篷。

(4) 籠蓋四野：籠（lǒng）：原本是大箱子的意思，因此“籠蓋”就是完全地蓋住、很嚴(yán)密之意。古人認(rèn)為大地是方形的，延伸至東西南北，所以稱“四野”。

(5) 天蒼蒼，野茫茫：天是幽暗的深藍(lán)色，大地廣闊無邊，看不到盡頭。蒼：深藍(lán)色。茫茫：沒有邊際，看不清楚，形容廣大無邊的樣子。

(6) 風(fēng)吹草低見牛羊：風(fēng)兒吹動(dòng)，草浪起伏，草低處露出正在吃草的牛羊。這里的“見”字讀（xiàn），義同“現(xiàn)”，顯露出來的意思。

A Shepherd’s Song

Yuefu Poetry in the Northern and Southern Dynasties

By the side of the rill，

At the foot of the hill

The grassland stretches under the firmament tranquil.

The boundless grassland lies

Under the boundless skies.

When the winds blow

And grass bends low，

My sheep and cattle will emerge before your eyes.

【賞析】

這首詩大約產(chǎn)生于公元400多年南北朝時(shí)期北魏朝的中期。原詩是用鮮卑語寫成的，是古代敕勒族人民歌唱自己的家鄉(xiāng)、歌唱美麗草原的心聲，后由不知名的人翻譯成漢語。由于是翻譯作品，所以形成長短不齊的雜言語句。但翻譯者既熟悉草原生活，又熟練掌握了漢語，所以詩句雖長短不齊，卻明白通順，朗朗上口，成為漢語詩歌寶庫中歌唱少數(shù)民族人民生活的稀有珍品。

開頭六個(gè)字交待地理位置，這是豪邁地歌唱家鄉(xiāng)的開始。第二句寫站在草原上，上望天，下望地，都是蒼茫無盡、看不到邊際的那種感覺。在平坦遼闊的草原上，極目所至，天與地在看不見的遠(yuǎn)方交合在一起，圍繞著目視者形成一個(gè)圓圈。只有真切地體驗(yàn)到這種感覺的人才能寫出“天似穹廬，籠蓋四野”的詩句。最后兩句寫出在天地蒼茫之間，并非空若無物，而是充滿著無限生機(jī)：綠草肥美，覆蓋大地，高過牛羊，在風(fēng)兒的吹動(dòng)下草浪滾滾；牛羊成群，自由自在，點(diǎn)綴在綠草之中。全詩動(dòng)中有靜，靜中有動(dòng)，悠遠(yuǎn)遼闊，充滿生機(jī)。全篇?dú)鈩莼趾辏钊诵臅缟疋?，充分表達(dá)了草原牧民對(duì)家鄉(xiāng)的熱愛，直到今天仍然是草原牧歌中最優(yōu)秀的一首。

Interpretation

This poem was composed in the mid Northern Wei Dynasty during the Northern and Southern Dynasties．It was originally written in Xianbei（Sienpi）dialect，singing the praise of the beautiful prairie which was the home of the ancient Chile people．It was translated into Chinese later by an anonymous person，thus forming such a poem consisting of long and short lines．The translator，however，was familiar with the life of the grassland and had a good command of Chinese．Although the lines vary in length，the poem is plain and smooth and can be read aloud fluently．It has become a rare treasure in the Chinese poetic treasure-house singing the life of the ethnic minority people.

The first line tells the readers the geographical background，and the second line shows that the poet felt the grassland boundless when he was standing on it gazing upward into the sky and downward onto the grass．When one looks as far as his eyes can on the smooth and vast grassland，he sees that the heaven and the earth appear to merge at the horizon and form a circle around him．Only those who have experienced this personally can write the lines “Heaven looks like a vaulted house，which shrouds the vast expanse of the open ground.”The last two lines point out that between the boundless sky and the earth，it’s full of life．The rich grass covering the land grows higher than the herds，surging as the wind blows and one can see cattle and sheep grazing here and there when the grass bends low．There is quietness in motion and motion in quietness in the poem，so the poem is full of vitality．The whole poem is magnanimous，making us feel carefree and happy．The poem has really expressed the herdsmen’s love for their native land，and has thus become one of the most excellent pieces of the grassland pastorals.

木蘭詩^（1）

〇南北朝樂府詩

唧唧復(fù)唧唧^（2），木蘭當(dāng)戶織^（3）。

不聞機(jī)杼聲^（4），惟聞女嘆息^（5）。

問女何所思，問女何所憶^（6），

女亦無所思，女亦無所憶^（7）。

昨夜見軍帖^（8），可汗大點(diǎn)兵^（9），

軍書十二卷^（10），卷卷有爺名^（11）。

阿爺無大兒，木蘭無長兄，

愿為市鞍馬 ^（12），從此替爺征 ^（13）。

東市買駿馬，西市買鞍韉 ^（14），

南市買轡頭 ^（15），北市買長鞭。

旦辭爺娘去 ^（16），暮宿 ^（17）黃河邊。

不聞爺娘喚女聲，

但聞 ^（18）黃河流水鳴濺濺 ^（19）。

旦辭黃河去，暮至黑山頭。

不聞爺娘喚女聲，

但聞燕山胡騎 ^（20）鳴啾啾 ^（21）。

萬里赴戎機(jī) ^（22），關(guān)山度若飛 ^（23）。

朔氣傳金柝 ^（24），寒光照鐵衣 ^（25）。

將軍百戰(zhàn)死，壯士十年歸 ^（26）。

歸來見天子 ^（27），天子坐明堂 ^（28）。

策勛十二轉(zhuǎn) ^（29），賞賜百千強(qiáng) ^（30）。

可汗問所欲 ^（31），木蘭不用尚書郎 ^（32）。

愿馳千里足 ^（33），送兒還故鄉(xiāng)。

爺娘聞女來，出郭相扶將 ^（34）；

阿姊聞妹來，當(dāng)戶理紅妝 ^（35）；

小弟聞姊來，磨刀霍霍向豬羊 ^（36）。

開我東閣門，坐我西閣床，

脫我戰(zhàn)時(shí)袍，著 ^（37）我舊時(shí)裳，

當(dāng)窗理云鬢 ^（38），對(duì)鏡帖花黃 ^（39）。

出門看伙伴，伙伴皆驚忙：

同行十二年，不知木蘭是女郎。

雄兔腳撲朔 ^（40），雌兔眼迷離 ^（41）；

雙兔傍地走 ^（42），安能辨我是雄雌 ^（43）？

【注釋】

(1) 木蘭詩：本詩的題目也叫《木蘭辭》，選自宋代郭茂倩編的《樂府詩集》。

(2) 唧唧復(fù)唧唧：“唧唧（jījī）”是模仿織布機(jī)織布的聲音，也有人說是嘆息的聲音。復(fù)：重復(fù)著，一聲接一聲。

(3) 木蘭當(dāng)戶織：“木蘭”是本詩女主人公的名字，詩中無姓，不知從何時(shí)起人們認(rèn)為木蘭姓花。當(dāng)戶織：正在家中織布。

(4) 不聞機(jī)杼聲：聞：聽。杼（zhù）：織布機(jī)上的梭子。全句意為：聽不到織布機(jī)上梭子往來的聲音。

(5) 惟聞女嘆息：惟，同唯，只有，僅僅。全句為：（當(dāng)織布機(jī)聲忽然停止的時(shí)候），只聽到屋中女孩的嘆息。

(6) 問女何所思，問女何所憶：這里使用了詩外旁白的手法，似乎是木蘭的父母在問木蘭，你在想些什么呀，為什么一聲聲地嘆息？思、憶：思考、思念、思慮。

(7) 女亦無所思，女亦無所憶：這句似乎是女孩對(duì)父母的回答，女兒也沒有想什么事。這樣說好像是在安慰父母。憶：思念。

(8) 昨夜見軍帖：昨天晚上看到軍事文告。軍帖（tiě）：軍書，這里是指國家因戰(zhàn)爭需要而發(fā)出的征兵文件及名冊(cè)。

(9) 可汗大點(diǎn)兵：皇上大規(guī)模征兵?？珊梗╧è hán）：中國古代鮮卑（bēi）、突厥（jué）、回紇（hé）、蒙古等少數(shù)民族最高統(tǒng)治者的稱號(hào)。這里當(dāng)指北朝的君主。

(10) 十二卷：這里是指軍書中的名冊(cè)很多很長，表示征兵人數(shù)很多，并不是嚴(yán)格意義上的十二卷。后文中的“十年歸”、“十二轉(zhuǎn)”、“十二年”都是虛數(shù)，表示時(shí)間長、數(shù)量多，而非確指。

(11) 爺名：父親的名字。下文中的“阿爺”也是指父親。

(12) 愿為市鞍馬：愿意為此事到集上買馬匹和馬具。市：在市場上買賣貨物。鞍（ān）：放在馬背上供人騎乘或馱運(yùn)貨物的工具。

(13) 替爺征：代替父親從軍打仗。

(14) 鞍韉：馬鞍和馬鞍下的墊子。韉：讀jiān。

(15) 轡頭：駕馭（yù）牲口用的嚼（jiáo）子和韁（jiāng）繩。轡：讀pèi。

(16) 旦辭爺娘去：早晨告別了父母，踏上征途。旦：早晨。辭：告別。爺娘：父母。

(17) 暮宿：夜晚睡在……

(18) 但聞：只聽見。但：只，僅僅。聞：聽見。

(19) 鳴濺濺：水流的聲音嘩嘩地響。鳴：鳥叫或物體發(fā)出聲音。濺濺（jiān jiān）：水流聲。

(20) 燕山胡騎：燕山下北方少數(shù)民族的騎兵。騎（jì）：戰(zhàn)馬、騎兵。

(21) 鳴啾啾：馬匹一聲聲地叫。啾（jiū）：馬叫聲。

(22) 萬里赴戎機(jī)：走了千萬里路，直奔戰(zhàn)場。萬里：表示征途漫長而非確指。赴：徑直前往某處。戎（róng）：軍事。機(jī)：軍事、軍機(jī)。

(23) 關(guān)山度若飛：像飛一樣迅速跨過一道道關(guān)，翻過一座座山。

(24) 朔氣傳金柝：北方寒冷的空氣中傳過來夜里打更的聲音。朔（shuò）：北方。金柝（tuò）：夜里打更用的工具。

(25) 寒光照鐵衣：寒冷的月光照在戰(zhàn)士用金屬片做的戰(zhàn)袍上。鐵衣：也叫鎧（kǎi）甲，是古代軍人作戰(zhàn)時(shí)穿的護(hù)身衣，通常用金屬片連綴而成。

(26) 將軍百戰(zhàn)死，壯士十年歸：這兩句詩使用的是互文的手法，并不是準(zhǔn)確地說一百次戰(zhàn)斗或十年時(shí)間，也并非具體指某位將軍死了。詩句的含義是將軍和戰(zhàn)士都經(jīng)歷了無數(shù)次艱苦卓絕、九死一生的戰(zhàn)斗，許多人犧牲了，而詩中的主人公木蘭在勇敢戰(zhàn)斗了十多年后終于告別了戰(zhàn)場，回到后方。

(27) 天子：皇帝，在本詩中即前面所說的可汗。

(28) 明堂：古代帝王舉行盛大典禮或隆重會(huì)議的大廳。

(29) 策勛十二轉(zhuǎn)：給木蘭記功很多次。策：簡策，是記功的賬冊(cè)，古代用竹片做成。勛：功勛、戰(zhàn)績。轉(zhuǎn)：量級(jí)，表示軍功的等級(jí)。

(30) 賞賜百千強(qiáng)：賞賜了很多的財(cái)物。百千：言指很多。強(qiáng)：有余，比……還多。

(31) 可汗問所欲：皇上問木蘭還有什么希望和要求。

(32) 不用尚書郎：不想擔(dān)任高級(jí)官員。尚書郎：中國古代某種高級(jí)政府官員的職務(wù)名稱。

(33) 愿馳千里足：希望騎上千里馬。此句另一版本為：愿馳明駝千里足。明駝：一種日行千里的駱駝。

(34) 出郭相扶將：互相攙扶著走到村外（迎接木蘭）。郭（guō）：外城，本詩指莊外。

(35) 當(dāng)戶理紅妝：（趕快）在家里梳洗打扮，涂脂抹粉，（好漂漂亮亮地迎接妹妹）。當(dāng)戶：在家里。理：梳理。紅妝：也寫成“紅裝”，指婦女用胭脂、口紅等紅色化妝品涂抹后的艷麗外表，后泛指婦女的裝束。

(36) 磨刀霍霍向豬羊：磨快了刀殺豬宰羊。霍霍：磨刀的聲音。向：對(duì)著。

(37) 著（zhuó）：穿上。

(38) 理云鬢：梳理高高蓬起如云朵般的頭發(fā)。鬢（bìn）：鬢角，常代指頭發(fā)。

(39) 對(duì)鏡帖花黃：對(duì)著鏡子用金色紙剪成花樣貼在額上或頭發(fā)上，這是古代婦女的一種裝飾。帖：同貼。

(40) 雄兔腳撲朔：雄性兔子喜歡亂蹬腳，不安穩(wěn)。

(41) 雌兔眼迷離：雌性兔子喜歡安靜，不跑動(dòng)時(shí)兩眼總是瞇成細(xì)縫。迷離：微閉著眼。

(42) 傍地走：貼著地面跑。傍：緊貼。

(43) 安能辨我是雄雌：怎樣能分辨出哪一個(gè)是雄性，哪一個(gè)是雌性呢？

Song of Mulan

Yuefu Poetry in the Northern and Southern Dynasties

Alack，alas！Alack，alas！

Mulan weaves and sees the shuttle pass.

You cannot hear the shuttle，why？

Its whir is drowned in her deep sigh.

“Oh，what are you thinking about？

Will you tell me？Will you speak out？”

“I have no worry on my mind，

Nor have I grief of any kind.

I read the battle roll last night，

The Khan has ordered men to fight.

The roll is written in twelve books;

My father’s name is in twelve nooks.

My father has no grown-up son，

For elder brother I have none.

I’ll buy a horse of hardy race，

And serve in my old father’s place.”

She buys at the fairs east and west

A steed with saddle fitting best.

She buys a long whip north and south

And metal bit for the horse’s mouth.

At dawn she leaves her parents by the city wall;

At dusk she reaches Yellow River shore.

All night she listens for old folks’ familiar call，

But only hears the Yellow River’s roar.

At dawn she leaves the Yellow River shore;

At dusk to Mountain Black she goes her way.

All night she hears her old folk’s voice no more，

But only on north mountains Tartar horses neigh.

For miles and miles the army marches along，

And cross the mountain barriers as in flight.

The northern wind has chilled the watchmen’s gong，Their coat of mail glistens in wintry light.

In ten years they’ve lost many captains strong，

But battle-hardened warriors come back in delight.

Back，they have audience with the Khan in the bright hall，

Honors and gifts are lavished on them with grace．The Khan asks her what she wants after all，

She wants to ride a camel to her native place.

Hearing that she has come，

Her parents hurry to meet her at city gate.

Her sister rouges her face at home，

Her younger brother kills pig and sheep to celebrate.

She opens the doors east and west

And sits on her bed for a rest.

She doffs her garb worn under fire，

And wears again female attire.

Before the window she arranges her hair

And in the mirror sees her image fair.

Then she comes out to see her former mates，

They are lost in amazement great.

“We’ve marched together for twelve years，

Not knowing you’re a lass among our compeers.”

“The wooing buck would stamp his feet;

The doe，wooed，blink bleary eyes sweet.

When side by side two rabbits go，

Who can tell the buck from the doe？”

【賞析】

這首詩是根據(jù)古代人民群眾中口頭流傳的故事寫成的長篇敘事詩歌。

全詩分成七個(gè)部分：

第一部分從開頭到“惟聞女嘆息”，寫女主人公木蘭的憂愁。這幾句詩中聲、形、情并茂，交代了主人公的名字、性別、身份、所處環(huán)境和當(dāng)時(shí)的心情。

第二部分從“問女何所思”到“從此替爺征”，寫木蘭嘆息的真正原因以及最終的解決辦法。這一段開始時(shí)采用民歌常用的問答方式，使人感到親切生動(dòng)，入情入理。緊接著又用倒敘手法介紹了事情的前后經(jīng)過：原來是要打仗了，皇帝下了命令，征召父親從軍參戰(zhàn)。父親已年老體弱，家里沒有其他成年男子，在沒有辦法的情況下，木蘭下定決心要替父從軍。這一段并沒有什么濃重的筆墨，但卻寫出了木蘭作為女兒對(duì)父母的敬愛與孝心、作為青年人保家衛(wèi)國的精神和勇氣。

第三部分從“東市買駿馬”到“燕山胡騎鳴啾啾”，寫從軍前的準(zhǔn)備和從軍后征途中的情況?！皷|市、西市、南市、北市”的寫法，并不是真的一類東西分四處去買，而是一種藝術(shù)手法，表現(xiàn)出準(zhǔn)備工作的繁忙有序。兩組“旦辭……，暮宿（暮至）……；不聞……，但聞……”的對(duì)仗寫法，以十分清晰的層次說明了木蘭告別父母后踏上征程的情況，不僅寫明了出征的路線與旅途中曉行夜宿的艱辛，同時(shí)也寫出了女兒對(duì)父母的思念以及河水滔滔、戰(zhàn)馬嘶鳴的壯闊場面。這從側(cè)面反襯出從軍女英雄寬廣的胸懷和驚人的膽量。

第四部分從“萬里赴戎機(jī)”到“壯士十年歸”，寫木蘭在戰(zhàn)場上的情況。這一段本應(yīng)是“木蘭從軍”內(nèi)容最核心的部分，因?yàn)橹挥羞@一段寫了木蘭在戰(zhàn)場上的表現(xiàn)，但作者卻用了簡潔的筆法，只用三十個(gè)字作了高度的概括。應(yīng)該說，這一概括相當(dāng)成功，寫出了萬里征程、夜半更聲、寒光鐵衣、九死一生，直到最后的勝利凱旋。語言雖短卻感人至深，寫出木蘭經(jīng)受住了戰(zhàn)爭的考驗(yàn)而成為一名戰(zhàn)斗英雄的過程。

第五部分從“歸來見天子”到“送兒還故鄉(xiāng)”，寫勝利后的木蘭被天子接見的情況。這一段突出介紹木蘭的赫赫戰(zhàn)功和居功不自傲、功成不受賞的優(yōu)良品質(zhì)。這充分說明，木蘭勇敢從軍作戰(zhàn)并不是為了個(gè)人升官發(fā)財(cái)，而是為了保國安邦，為了人民能過幸福安定的生活。這一段描寫使木蘭的形象更加豐滿和高大，她不僅孝順、勇敢，而且有一顆純潔的心，不計(jì)較個(gè)人得失，不追求虛榮名利，熱愛家鄉(xiāng)，熱愛人民，熱愛生活。這一段描寫也使本詩的意義得到深化和提高，指出人民熱愛和平、反對(duì)戰(zhàn)爭，并指出參加戰(zhàn)爭的目的是為了制止戰(zhàn)爭、重現(xiàn)和平。

第六部分從“爺娘聞女來”到“不知木蘭是女郎”，寫全家歡迎木蘭還鄉(xiāng)的情況。這一段寫得細(xì)致具體，不同人物的不同表現(xiàn)、木蘭自己回家后恢復(fù)女兒裝的輕松心情，都寫得合乎身份，入情入理，使全詩呈現(xiàn)出歡快的喜劇色彩。特別是同行十二年的伙伴發(fā)現(xiàn)戰(zhàn)場上的勇士竟是一位女郎，個(gè)個(gè)驚慌失措，更反襯出木蘭不是男兒勝似男兒的高大形象，徹底打破了封建社會(huì)男尊女卑的思想觀念，令人拍手稱快。

第七部分是最后四句，用雌雄兔靜臥時(shí)表現(xiàn)不一而運(yùn)動(dòng)中卻難分彼此作比喻，對(duì)木蘭從軍故事的真實(shí)可信性作出了說明。這樣的結(jié)尾，既說理，又生動(dòng)有趣，具有鮮明的民歌色彩。

總之，這首詩歌頌了中國古代婦女勤勞、善良、勇敢、純潔的優(yōu)秀品質(zhì)，反映出廣大人民熱愛生活、反對(duì)戰(zhàn)亂、渴望和平的意愿，沖破了封建禮教輕視婦女的思想禁區(qū)，為后世人樹立了“木蘭”這樣一位女中豪杰的形象。這一形象千百年來在人民群眾中產(chǎn)生了深遠(yuǎn)的影響，對(duì)廣大婦女更起到了激勵(lì)和鞭策的作用。“木蘭詩”也因此成為中國古代詩歌特別是民歌寶庫中稀有的珍品。

Interpretation

This long narrative poem was composed on the basis of a folk story handed down orally by the ancient Chinese people.

The poem consists of seven parts.

The first part，from the beginning to “only the girl’s sigh is heard，”depicts the heroine’s anxiety．These sentences tell the heroine’s name，gender，identity，surroundings and feelings.

The second part，from “what are you thinking about”to “henceforth I’ll join the army taking my father’s place，”tells us why Mulan heaved a sigh and how she settled the problem finally．The paragraph begins with a question-and-answer formula often used in folk songs，which seems vivid，fair and reasonable．Right after that comes the introduction of the whole course of the incident by means of flashback．It goes like this：there was going to be a war and the emperor ordered Mulan’s father to enlist in the army．As her father was old and weak and there were no other male adults in the family，Mulan made up her mind to enlist in place of her father．With just a few words，the paragraph portrays Mulan’s love for and filial devotion to her parents，and her spirit and courage of defending her motherland.

The third part，from “buy a steed from the eastern market”to “at the foot of the Mount Yan the war-horses of the Mongols are neighing，”describes Mulan’s preparation for joining the army and the situation during her journey．The phrases “eastern market，western market，southern market and northern market”do not really mean going all around for the purchase of things needed；they are a kind of artistic expression，showing how busy and orderly the preparatory work is．The two groups of “say good bye to … in the morning，stay in … in the evening；not hear…，but hear …”are antitheses，telling the readers in details what had happened on Mulan’s journey after she bid farewell to her parents．They not only show us the route and the hardships she suffered during the day and the camping site in the night，but also convey Mulan’s longing for her parents and the grand scene of the billowing water and neighing war-horses，all of which serve indirectly as a foil to the heroine’s broad mind and amazing courage.

The fourth part，from “ten thousand li she tramped on the errand of war”to “the heroine returns after ten years，”describes Mulan’s heroic deeds in the battlefields．This stanza，which is the only part displaying Mulan’s performance in the army，should have been the core of “Mulan joining the army”，but the writer simplified it to only thirty characters．The condensation proved to be quite a success，depicting the journey of ten thousand li，the sounding of the night watches late at night，cold moonlight and armour，a narrow escape from death，and the triumphant return at last．Short as it is，it’s very moving，revealing the process in which Mulan had stood the war test and become a heroine.

The fifth part，from “return and have an audience with the emperor”to “send me to my hometown，”briefs the situation in which Mulan was received by the emperor，highlighting Mulan’s brilliant military success and her fine qualities of not being arrogant and not being willing to receive awards for her outstanding service．This has fully demonstrated that the reason why Mulan joined the army and fought heroically is not for personal power and money，but for safeguarding and bringing peace to her country，and for the people to live a happy and peaceful life．This stanza has fully developed Mulan’s lofty image that she was not only filial and brave，but also had a pure mind．Regardless of personal gains or losses and not affected by vanity and fame，she had deep love for her hometown and the people，and enjoyed the pleasures of life．The description also deepens the meaning of the poem，indicating that people love peace and hate war，and that they fight a battle only to stop the war and restore peace.

The sixth part，from “her parents hear that Mulan’s coming home”to “not knowing Mulan is a young woman，”describes the situation after Mulan’s returning home and how her family welcomed her．The description of this stanza is detailed and specific，different people acting differently and Mulan being much relaxed at home after resuming her woman’s raiment．This description is exact and reasonable，adding cheerful and comedic colors to the entire poem．Particularly，the scene that her comrades-in-arms who had been in the war with her for twelve years were panic-stricken on the discovery that Mulan，a warrior in the battlefield，was a female，also serves as a foil to Mulan’s lofty image．Mulan was not a man but fought better than a man，which broke thoroughly the mode of thought of men being superior and women being inferior in the feudal society.

The seventh part is composed of the last four lines．With an analogy from male and female rabbits who act differently when lying quietly，but hard to differentiate one from the other in motion，it tries to prove the truthfulness of the story Mulan Joining the Army．The ending is reasonable and interesting，imbued with a distinctive of flavour folk song.

In brief，this poem sings the praises of the fine qualities of industriousness，virtuousness，bravery and pureness of ancient Chinese women，reflecting people’s virtue of loving life，opposing war and longing for peace．Breaking through the forbidden zone of the Confucian ethics which looked down on women in the feudal society，this poem has set the image of Mulan as a heroine，who has made a far-reaching influence on the people through the ages，encouraged the broad masses of women particularly．The song of Mulan，therefore，has become a treasure in the treasure-house of the ancient Chinese poetry，especially folk songs.