ChineseStudy

243. Song Below the Pass, II | Lu Lun

Contents

Text

English translation

The woods are dark; the wind startles the grass. In the night, the general draws his bow.

The scene draws on the story of Li Guang mistaking a stone for a tiger at night. The wind's sudden stirring of the grass comes first, followed immediately by the commander's trained reaction.

At first light they search for the white-feathered shaft and find it buried deep in the edge of a rock.

First light is early dawn, and mo means submerged or embedded. The target was invisible at night; only the arrow found in stone reveals the force of the shot.

赏析 · Commentary

力量没有正面描写 · Strength Shown Only by Its Result

诗没有说将军力大，也没有写弓有多强。夜里只有拉弓一个动作，第二天才看见箭没入石中。把结果推迟到清晨，既保留夜林中的悬念，也让力量显得超乎常理。人物能力由现场证据说明，不靠评价。

The poem never calls the general powerful or describes the strength of the bow. At night there is only the act of drawing; the arrow embedded in stone appears the next morning. Delaying the result preserves suspense in the dark woods and makes the force seem extraordinary. Evidence in the scene replaces praise.

误认不妨碍将军形象 · A Mistake That Does Not Diminish the General

故事的起点其实是误判：风动草木，将军把石头当成猛兽。但边地夜巡需要对异动立即反应，误认反而说明环境紧张。天明以后，箭入石的结果又把注意力从判断失误转到勇力。诗保留人的有限，也塑造传奇。

The story begins with a misjudgment: movement in wind makes the general take stone for a beast. Yet a frontier patrol must react quickly to disturbance, so the mistake also conveys tension. At dawn, the embedded arrow shifts attention from faulty identification to extraordinary force. The poem keeps human limitation while creating legend.

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