Sad wanderer, once you conquered the South,
Commanding a hundred thousand men;
Today, dismissed and dispossessed,
In your old age you remember glory.
Once, when you stood, three borders were still;
Your dagger was the scale of life.
Now, watching the great rivers, the Jiang and the Han,
On their ways in the evening, where do you go?
Original Poem:
「送李中丞归汉阳别业」
刘长卿
流落征南将， 曾驱十万师。
罢归无旧业， 老去恋明时。
独立三边静， 轻生一剑知。
茫茫江汉上， 日暮复何之。
Interpretation:
The poem is addressed to Governor Li, a general who returned to his hometown after losing hope in his old age. The poem pays great tribute to his past achievements in defending the borders, and shows emotional resonance to his abandonment. The whole poem is written in a cross between the loyalty and courage of the past and the despondency of today, and the language is very condensed.
The poet sends off this Governor Li who was once a highly successful general of the southern expedition, when he led 100,000 strong troops to the south. Strike and return, the original home and no garden hut, visible Governor Li for the official clean. As he grew older, he still misses the era of political clarity. When Governor Li in the border, the border that is not a beacon. He was not afraid to sacrifice himself for his country, and only his sword knew that. Now Governor Li is going back to his home in Hanyang, and the poet sends him off by the vast river, not knowing what will happen to Governor Li’s future.
The General of the South, who had once commanded an army of 100,000 men, returned to his old age with no property, and still misses the era of political clarity. The cross warning strategy outlines the image of Governor Li as a man who puts life and death at risk, and who is a mighty warrior in the town of Sanbian. Facing the vast river, where will the general go after sunset?
This poem starts with Governor Li’s exile and ends with his exile, and in the middle of it, Governor Li’s great achievements are written in a sad and desolate way, which shows the deep sympathy and grief for his encounter, and the sense of injustice in the generosity of his spirit.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Liu Zhangqing (刘长卿-) was a native of Xian County, Hebei Province. He studied at Mt. Songshan when he was young, and later moved to Jiangxi, where he received his bachelor’s degree in 733 A.D. He also belonged to the Wang and Meng school of poetry. His poems belonged to the school of Wang and Meng, and he was most famous for his five-character poems, and was also most conceited, once thinking that he was “the Great Wall of five-character poems”, which meant that no one could surpass him.
