The full poem "Ode of Lime" by Yu Qian is as follows:

Thousands of hammers have carved out the deep mountains, and the fire is burning like nothing.

Don’t be afraid of your bones being shattered into pieces, you must remain innocent in this world.

The translation is as follows:

Limestone can only be mined from the mountains after thousands of hammerings, and it treats the burning of raging fire as a very common thing.

Even if your body is broken into pieces, you are not afraid, and you are willing to leave your innocence in the world.

"Ode of Lime" is a seven-character quatrain composed by Yu Qian, a politician and writer in the Ming Dynasty. This poem expresses one's aspirations through objects and uses symbolic techniques. It is literally a chant of lime, but it actually uses objects to describe people and expresses the poet's noble ideals.

Extended information:

Creative background

Yu Qian has studied hard since he was a child and has great ambitions. It is said that one day, he strolled to a lime kiln and watched the masters calcining lime. I saw piles of blue-black rocks, which turned into white lime after being burned by the raging fire. He was deeply touched and wrote this poem after thinking about it for a while. It is said that Yu Qian was only twelve years old at this time. This poem he wrote was not only a portrayal of Li Qian's image, but also his pursuit of life in the future.

Appreciation of the work

This poem uses the tempering process of chanting lime to express the author's valuable spirit of not avoiding all kinds of difficulties and dangers, having the courage to self-sacrifice in order to maintain a loyal and innocent character. This poem uses symbolic techniques throughout the poem to compare objects to people, integrating the character of objects and the character of people. The words are about things, but the intention is about people. Without talking about people, people are in it, and they come out as soon as they are called. The style is bold, the momentum is magnanimous, sonorous and powerful.

About the author

Yu Qian (1389～1457), a minister of the Ming Dynasty. His courtesy name was Tingyi, a native of Qiantang (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang). He became a Jinshi in the 19th year of Yongle (1421). He first served as censor and served as minister of the Ministry of Officers and Soldiers.

In the 14th year of Zhengtong (1449), Emperor Yingzong of Ming Dynasty was captured by Wala. Yu Qian supported and established Emperor Jing of Ming Dynasty, repelled the invasion of Wala and defended Beijing, which made his contribution to the annals of history. Later, Xu Youzhen, Shi Heng and others welcomed Ming Yingzong's restoration and killed him. Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty pursued his posthumous title Sumin, and Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty changed his posthumous title to Zhongsu. Most of his poems are mainly about caring about the country and loving the people and expressing his steadfastness and integrity. There is "Yu Zhongsu Public Collection".

Baidu Encyclopedia——Lime Yin