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Chū SàiOut to the Frontier 出塞
Wang Changling's moon over two thousand years of frontier wars.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
秦时明月汉时关
qín shí míng yuè hàn shí guān
万里长征人未还
wàn lǐ cháng zhēng rén wèi huán
但使龙城飞将在
dàn shǐ lóng chéng fēi jiàng zài
不教胡马度阴山
bù jiào hú mǎ dù yīn shān
Simplified characters; traditional title: 出塞.
English translation
The moon of Qin times still shines on Han-time passes;
Men marched ten thousand li and still have not come home.
If only the Flying General of Dragon City were here,
No Tartar horse would dare to cross the Yin Mountains.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
The first line is famously compressed: the moon and the pass belong to both Qin and Han, collapsing centuries of frontier warfare into one image. The second line gives the human cost. The last couplet wishes for a great general who could end the fighting — praise of the past that implies criticism of present commanders.
Background
The first of two poems titled "Out to the Frontier." The "Flying General" refers to Li Guang of the Han dynasty, feared by the Xiongnu. Ming critic Li Panlong ranked it first among Tang seven-character quatrains.
Key words
- 关 guān
- frontier pass
- 龙城 Lóngchéng
- Dragon City, a frontier stronghold
- 飞将 fēi jiàng
- the "Flying General" Li Guang
- 阴山 Yīn Shān
- the Yin Mountains
About the poet: Wang Changling
Wang Changling was called the "Master of the Seven-Character Quatrain." His frontier poems about soldiers and border fortresses, and his poems of farewell, are among the most anthologized of the Tang.
Lifetime: c. 698–756. Other famous works: Out to the Frontier (出塞); Farewell to Xin Jian at Hibiscus Tower (芙蓉楼送辛渐); Lotus-Picking Song (采莲曲); Seeing Off Censor Chai (送柴侍御).