The first layer is the first four sentences. The main meaning of these four sentences is "life is not long". In order to express this meaning, the poet did not adopt a direct writing method, but used two metaphors: the tortoise and the snake. The tortoise is a kind of tortoise. The ancients often used it to symbolize longevity. Although the tortoise can live a long life, it will die eventually, so the poem says, "There is still time." Teng snake, according to legend, is a sacred object like a dragon with superb skills. Although Teng snake can walk in clouds and smoke, it will inevitably die, so the poem says, "It will eventually turn to dust." The poet especially praised turtles and rattan snakes here, because in ancient times, when superstitions were quite popular, turtles and rattan snakes were both infected with strong theological colors. Nevertheless, the poet concluded that they could not escape death. The tortoise and the vine snake are still the same. As for other species, nature is more important. Therefore, the poet's metaphor of tortoise and snake not only has the typical significance of drawing inferences from others, but also clearly denies the theological superstition that everything remains unchanged and people can become immortals. From the rhetorical point of view, the first four sentences are all metaphors, only the tortoise and the Teng snake are written as metaphors, and the content of the metaphor is completely omitted. This treatment not only makes the language concise, but also leaves room for readers' imagination, so that readers will naturally think that aging and death are irresistible natural laws. But how to treat aging and death, different people often have different performances. Some eat and drink, wasting time; Some lamented that they were late and pessimistic. Cao Cao, on the other hand, shows another spiritual realm, that is, the thoughts and feelings expressed in the second layer of this poem.

The following four sentences are the second level. This layer is the center of the whole poem. In writing, there are some similarities between this layer and the first layer, and metaphors are also used. The old horse still wants to gallop thousands of miles in the manger, which shows that the martyrs who want to make contributions are still ambitious in their twilight years. An old horse is an old swift horse. In ancient times, swift horse played an important role in people's lives, especially in the war. Therefore, Cao Cao's metaphor for Lao Ji is full of respect and love for Lao Ji, and it is also a symbol of his own decades of military career. In content, this layer inherits the first layer. On the one hand, it shows that Cao Cao has clearly seen that he has reached his twilight years, on the other hand, it also shows his valuable mental state when he entered his twilight years. At the beginning of this layer, it is written that "the old horse lurks", and it is written that a swift horse, like a tortoise and snake, cannot violate the laws of nature and is an old horse. A swift horse is like this, and so are people. He was 53 years old when he wrote "The Tortoise is Living". The ancients said that people "decline at fifty." So in this poem, Cao Cao admits that he is old. However, Cao Cao's outstanding point is not here, but that he is not satisfied with his old age in the face of old age. He must maintain a spiritual realm of endless struggle and hard work. This is really commendable.

A successful person always cherishes his years and always wants to extend his life by relying on human strength, so as to gain more time to make contributions. Cao Cao is such a person. Cao Cao's thoughts and feelings are concentrated on the third layer of Guisishou. In Cao Cao's view, "the period of surplus and contraction is not limited to the sky", that is, the length of human life is related to the sky, but it is not completely determined by the sky. As long as people pay attention to their health, they can live longer. Here, on the one hand, Cao Cao saw the relationship between people's life span and natural attributes, on the other hand, he highlighted people's subjective and dynamic role in life span. This simple and dialectical materialist spirit denied the long-standing superstition that "life and death have a life, and wealth is in the sky", which was quite progressive at that time.

The center of "although turtles live long" is to express a strong and active spirit. This spirit reflects the spirit of the times from one side, and it is also a feature of our cultural tradition in China. This feature has inspired countless people with lofty ideals to work hard in the cause of "ruling the country and leveling the world", and even in their twilight years, "they still hope to make new contributions." It is this kind of thoughts and feelings that Guithough Shou shows, so it has aroused many people's songs since ancient times.

Although Guishoushou is a lyric poem, it is different from other lyric poems. Ordinary lyric poetry focuses on expressing feelings, but this poem obviously has philosophical content, which makes feelings and philosophy blend with each other and makes philosophy reside in images. Therefore, when we read this poem, we can not only be excited by the poem, but also understand the important philosophy of life through concrete images. I'm afraid this is also an important reason why "although you live a long life" has been passed down through the ages.