kāi yuán '
èr shí liù nián,
kè yòu cóng yù shǐ dà fū zhāng gōng chū sài '
ér hái zhě,
zuò yàn gē xíng yǐ shì shì,
gǎn zhēng shù zhī shì,
yīn '
ér hé yān。
hàn jiā yān chén zài dōng běi,
hàn jiāng cí jiā pò cán zéi。
nán '
ér běn zì zhòng héng xíng,
tiān zǐ fēi cháng cì yán sè。
chuāng jīn fá gǔ xià yú guān,
jīng pèi wēi yí jié shí jiān。
xiào wèi yǔ shū fēi hàn hǎi,
chányú liè huǒ zhào láng shān。
shān chuān xiāo tiáo jí biān tǔ,
hú qí píng líng zá fēng yǔ。
zhàn shì jūn qián bàn sǐ shēng,
měi rén zhàng xià yóu gē wǔ。
dà mò qióng qiū sài cǎo shuāi,
gū chéng luò rì dǒu bīng xī。
shēn dāng '
ēn yù cháng qīng dí,
lì jìn guān shān wèi jiě wéi。
tiě yī yuǎn shù xīn qín jiǔ,
yù jīn yìng tí bié lí hòu。
shàofù chéng nán yù duàn cháng,
zhēng rén jì běi kōng huí shǒu。
biān tíng piāo yáo nà kě dù,
jué yù cāng máng gèng hé yòu!
shā qì sān shí zuò zhèn yún,
hán shēng yī yè chuán diāo dǒu。
xiāng kàn bái rèn xuè fēn fēn,
sǐ jié cóng lái qǐ gù xūn?
jūn bù jiàn shā chǎng zhēng zhàn kǔ,
zhì jīn yóu yì lǐ jiāng jūn!
The northeastern border of China was dark with smoke and dust.
To repel the savage invaders, our generals, leaving their families,
Strode forth together, looking as heroes should look;
And having received from the Emperor his most gracious favour,
They marched to the beat of gong and drum through the Elm Pass.
They circled the Stone Tablet with a line of waving flags,
Till their captains over the Sea of Sand were twanging feathered orders.
The Tartar chieftain's hunting-fires glimmered along Wolf Mountain,
And heights and rivers were cold and bleak there at the outer border;
But soon the barbarians' horses were plunging through wind and rain.
Half of our men at the front were killed, but the other half are living,
And still at the camp beautiful girls dance for them and sing.
...As autumn ends in the grey sand, with the grasses all withered,
The few surviving watchers by the lonely wall at sunset,
Serving in a good cause, hold life and the foeman lightly.
And yet, for all that they have done, Elm Pass is still unsafe.
Still at the front, iron armour is worn and battered thin,
And here at home food-sticks are made of jade tears.
Still in this southern city young wives' hearts are breaking,
While soldiers at the northern border vainly look toward home.
The fury of the wind cuts our men's advance
In a place of death and blue void, with nothingness ahead.
Three times a day a cloud of slaughter rises over the camp;
And all night long the hour-drums shake their chilly booming,
Until white swords can be seen again, spattered with red blood.
...When death becomes a duty, who stops to think of fame?
Yet in speaking of the rigours of warfare on the desert
We name to this day Li, the great General, who lived long ago.