The sand below the border-mountain lies like snow,
And the moon like frost beyond the city-wall,
And someone somewhere, playing a flute,
Has made the soldiers homesick all night long.
Original Poem:
「夜上受降城闻笛」
李益
回乐烽前沙似雪，受降城外月如霜。
不知何处吹芦管，一夜征人尽望乡。
Interpretation:
Surrendered city in the early Tang Dynasty has a very prominent experience, but now in the Tang Dynasty, the long-term garrison here in the generals and soldiers no longer have the confidence of the early Tang Dynasty, on the contrary, the war-weary mood overshadowed them. In such a background, the author with a heavy heart, in the late fall on a moonlit night, climbed the building to look into the distance, infinite feelings and composed this poem.
The first two lines: the sand in front of the Huale Beacon is as white as snow, and the moonlight outside the Surrendered City is like white frost in late autumn.
Write the moonlight scenery that the poet saw when he climbed the tower. The moonlight shines on the high standing beacon of Surrender City, together with the vast desert under its feet. The moonlight was as cold as frost, coloring the endless sand with a layer of cold color. In this silent and suffocating night, the poet felt sad.
The last two lines: I don't know where to blow up the desolate reed pipe, causing the soldiers to go out to war all night longing for home.
Following the first two lines, the poet writes that in the midst of the silence, the sound of a reed pipe blowing came from nowhere, and the music, which came with the wind and was intermittent, stirred the homesickness of all the men. If it were not for the eager homesickness of the conscripts, and if it were not for the sleeplessness of the conscripts, how could this musical sound disturb their deep sleep after the fierce battle?
This poem has a beautiful language, a gentle rhythm, and puts feelings into the scenery, writing feelings with the scenery, writing the scene in front of the soldiers, and the poem is far-reaching and evocative.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Li Yi (李益), 748-829 AD, a native of Wuwei in Gansu Province, was one of the “Ten Scholarly Men of the Dali Dynasty”, and is best known for his works on the border and the Plateau, especially for his seven-character stanzas. His poems had a harmonious rhythm and were sung by musicians at that time.
