Remembrance Day and Flanders poppies Nov.11,2011

November 11 is Rememberance Day in Canada. People wear red poppies on their chests to remember the Dead who died in the wars, who died for the country,people and the peace,who died in young or old.

Today I read the newspaper,then I realized the Flanders poppy flowers that we wear on this day, that we see everywhere in the spring time in Chinese is called "Yu Ji's flower"("虞美人").A flower that has history root, a flower that can touch every Chinese's heart-it is "霸王別姬"之虞姬化成之"虞美人"啊!

 

三軍散盡旌旗倒,玉帳佳人坐中老,香魂夜逐劍光飛,輕血化為原上草.

當年,西楚霸王困於垓下,兵孤糧盡,四麵楚歌.虞姬拔劍自殺,鮮血落地,化為鮮豔的虞美人.

 

All the soldiers died with all the flags fallen down,

The hero-Ba Wang's beautiful mistress-Yu Ji was left in the tent,lonely,helpless

In the deep of the night,she took off the sword,took her won life in despair

With the royalism to her Ba Wang

The red blood flows into the grass,then the beautiful poppies grow...

 

A touching story that was told generations after generations, that in every Chinese's heart, that blood, still flows in every Chinese's heart...

 

Now, this beautiful,sad story twined ,we call "YU Ji's flower" is the field poppy, also called "Flanders poppy", that we wear every year in November.

 

Another sad story about the same beautiful flower.

 

There is a poem that is very famous by John McCrae (1872-1918)-In Flanders Fields will be recited on Nov.11 the Rememberance Day, that is also the root of the tradition of wearing the red poppies on our chests on that day.

 

                        In  Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses,row on row

That mark our peace,and in the sky

The larks,still bravely singing,fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

 

We are the Dead,short days ago

We lived,felt dawn,saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved,and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

 

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch;be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep,though poppies grow

In Flanders Fields.

 

                 在法蘭德斯田野上

 

在法蘭德斯田野上,罌粟花在風中飄揚

飄揚在成排成行的十字架中,一片一片的

標誌著我們的和平,天空中

那雲雀,還在密集的槍聲中勇敢地歌唱,飛舞

偶爾飄入戰士的耳中

 

我們死了,而幾天前

我們還活著,迎接朝陽,看著鮮紅落日落下...

我們愛著,也被愛著,現在我們死了

在法蘭德斯田野上

接過我們對敵人的仇恨

從我們失敗的雙手

你接過那熊熊的火炬,舉得高高的

如果你失去對我們戰死的戰士的信心

我們將死不瞑目,雖然罌粟花依然長

在法蘭德斯田野上