The bright moon lifts from the Mountain of Heaven
In an infinite haze of cloud and sea,
And the wind, that has come a thousand miles,
Beats at the Jade Pass battlements...
China marches its men down Po-teng Road
While Tartar troops peer across blue waters of the bay...
And since not one battle famous in history
Sent all its fighters back ag ain,
The soldiers turn round, looking toward the border,
And think of home, with wistful eyes,
And of those tonight in the upper chambers
Who toss and sigh and cannot rest.
Original Poem:
「关山月」
李白
明月出天山，苍茫云海间。
长风几万里，吹度玉门关。
汉下白登道，胡窥青海湾。
由来征战地，不见有人还。
戍客望边色，思归多苦颜。
高楼当此夜，叹息未应闲。
Interpretation:
Li Bai wrote this poem in a unique and innovative style. The poet expresses the hardship of the ancient border guards, condemns the suffering brought by unjust wars to the people, insinuates and criticizes the militarism of the Tang ruling class, and expresses the theme of aversion to aggression and war.
The first four lines of the poem describe the vast border landscape, including the pass, mountains and moon: the bright moon rises slowly from the Qilian Mountains, gently floating in a sea of misty clouds, the long winds stir up dust and sand sweeping for tens of thousands of miles, and the Jade Gate Pass has long been closed by the wind and sand. The poet uses such a desolate picture of the border to arouse the emotion of nostalgia for his homeland.
The middle four lines write about the scene of the border war and the tragic cruelty of the battlefield: the Han army’s flags stand on the Baideng Road, but the Qinghai Bay is a place where the Hu people peep at. It cleverly points out that since ancient times, this place has been a place of war for each other, which leads to the poet’s sorrowful sigh.
The last four lines transition to the description of the back: guarding the frontier of the conscripts in the face of the reality of blood and rain, which is not sad and bitter face to return to their hometown? And then the poet thought that this night on the high building thinking of his wives, should also be in front of the window sleepless all night, sighing.
This poem is natural and simple, with the flavor of northern folk songs, reflecting the bold temperament and sentimental mood. The poet did not write the feelings of the conscripts thinking of their wives in a weak and overly sorrowful way, but once he put down his pen, he showed an infinitely vast and vast realm, looking down on the past and present, majestic and magnificent.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Li Bai (李白), 701 ~ 762 A.D., whose ancestral home was in Gansu, was preceded by Li Guang, a general of the Han Dynasty. Tang poetry is one of the brightest constellations in the history of Chinese literature, and one of the brightest stars is Li Bai.
