Thinking only of their vow that they would crush the Tartars - On the desert, clad in sable and silk, five thousand of them fell... But arisen from their crumbling bones on the banks of the river at the border, Dreams of them enter, like men alive, into rooms where their lQves lie sleering.
Original Poem:
「陇西行」
誓扫匈奴不顾身， 五千貂锦丧胡尘。
可怜无定河边骨， 犹是深闺梦里人。
Interpretation:
This poem describes a generous and tragic battle scene in concise language. The Tang army pledged to kill the enemy to the death, but in the end, all 5,000 soldiers died in the “Hu dust”, which shows the loyal and brave fighting spirit of the Tang soldiers and their dedication. In the Han Dynasty, the feathered army wore brocade clothes and ermine fur, which is used here to refer to the elite troops. The fact that the troops were so elite, but 5,000 of them died in the battle, shows how fierce the battle was and how heavy the casualties were.
In the poem, instead of writing about the tragic scenes brought about by the war and the sadness of the family, the poem is unique in that the wife in her bedroom does not know that the conscript has died in battle, but still wants to see her husband, who has become a white bone, in her dream, which makes the whole poem have a tragic power that shocks the heart. Knowing that a loved one has died will certainly cause sorrow, but knowing the whereabouts of a loved one is a kind of consolation after all. In this case, the conquistador has long since turned into a dry bone by the Wuding River, but his wife is still dreaming of his early return. It is a real tragedy that when disaster and misfortune befall them, they are not only unaware of it, but also full of fervent and beautiful hopes.
Chen Tao (陈陶,812-855 A.D.), who called himself Sanjiao Bu Yi, traveled to Chang’an in his early years and was good at astronomy, calendar and elephants, and especially at poetry. When he failed to get a scholarship, he traveled to famous mountains at will. When Emperor Xuanzong Dazhong of the Tang Dynasty (847-860), he lived in seclusion in the western mountains of Hongzhou, and later he did not know where he ended up. He had ten volumes of poems, which have been scattered, but later there is a volume of “Chen Songbo’s Poems”.
The poem “Chen Tao” in volume 745 of “Quan Tang Poems” is translated as “a native of Lingnan”. In his early years, the poet studied in Chang’an and was good at astronomy, calendar, and poetry. After failing to obtain a bachelor’s degree, he traveled freely to famous mountains. During the Dazhong period of Tang Xuan Song, he lived in seclusion in the western mountains of Hongzhou, and later he did not know where he ended up. He had ten volumes of poems, which have been scattered, but later there is a volume of “Chen Songbo’s Poems”. The second of four poems in his poem “Long Xi Xing”: “Vowing to sweep away the Xiongnu without regard for their bodies, five thousand sable brocades were lost in the dust of Hu. Pity the bones by the river Wuding, still in the dream of spring boudoir.” It alternates the harsh reality with the beautiful dream of a young woman, creating a strong artistic effect that is still popular today. However, what is less known is that when he was traveling in Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong, he passed through the present-day eastern part of Fujian and left behind poems such as “On the way to Tongshan, he first sent a letter to Han, the envoy of Wenzhou”.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
