Though a bugle breaks the crystal air of autumn, Soldiers, in the look-out, watch at ease today The spring wind blowing across green graves And the pale sun setting beyond Liang-chou. For now, on grey plains done with war, The border is open to travel again; And Tartars can no more choose than rivers: They are running, all of them, toward the south.
Original Poem:
「书边事」
调角断清秋， 征人倚戍楼。
春风对青冢， 白日落梁州。
大漠无兵阻， 穷边有客游。
蕃情似此水， 长愿向南流。
Interpretation:
This poem is about what the author saw and heard during his travels to the frontier.
In the clear autumn, the sound of whistling horns echoes in the distant space, imagining that Liangzhou, which is far away from the green mound, is also peaceful as the sun is setting in the west. The tranquility of the frontier, the absence of soldiers in the desert and the presence of guests on the poor frontier are symbols of the country’s peace and tranquility. The final use of metaphor expresses the poet’s desire for national unity and stability on the frontier, but also shows the poet’s concern about unstable factors.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
Zhang Qiao(张乔), present-day Guizhi, Anhui province, Yi Zong Xiantong middle-aged scholar, at that time and Xu Tang, Zheng Gu, Zhang Bin and other southeast talent called “Xiantong ten philosophers”. When Huang Chao revolted, he lived in seclusion in Jiuhua Mountain to end. His poems mostly write landscape nature, there is no shortage of fresh poetry poetry elegant and clever ideas.
