遯 → 鼎

Commentary

Heaven above the mountain rises into fire over wind — the Cauldron, where raw material is transformed into civilized nourishment. The Men of Qing — Gao Ke's garrison — are stationed far from home in the open wilderness. They wander idly and do not return, longing for their kind mothers. The verse alludes to the Shijing ode 'Qing Ren' from the Airs of Zheng, which satirizes Gao Ke's troops as warriors left to idle on the frontier, accomplishing nothing. Their homesickness is not for home in general but for their mothers specifically — the most primal form of nourishment. From Retreat to the Cauldron, the mountain's withdrawal becomes the cauldron's transformative fire. But here no transformation occurs: the soldiers sit in the wild untransformed, their raw longing uncooked, their purpose unrefined. The cauldron stands empty while its intended contents wander aimlessly outside.