Li Bai: Daizhou Horses Do Not Think of Yue

Daizhou Horses Do Not Think of Yue

代 马 不 思 越

代 马 不 思 越
越 禽 不 恋 燕。
情 性 有 所 习
土 风 固 其 然。

昔 别 雁 门 关
今 戍 龙 庭 前。
惊 沙 乱 海 日
飞 雪 迷 胡 天。

虮 虱 生 虎 鹖
心 魂 逐 旌 旃。
苦 战 功 不 赏
忠 诚 难 可 宣。
谁 怜 李 飞 将
白 首 没 三 边？

Dai Ma Bu Si Yue

Dai ma bu si yue
Yue qin bu lian yan.
Qing xing you suo xi
Tu feng gu qi ran.

Xi bie yan men guan
Jin shu long ting qian.
Jing sha luan hai ri
Fei xue mi hu tian.

Ji shi sheng hu he
Xin hun zhu jing zhan.
Ku zhan gong bu shang
Zhong cheng nan ke xuan.
Shei lian li fei jiang
Bai shou mei san bian?

Daizhou Horses Do Not Think of Yue

Daizhou horses do not think of Yue
Yue Qin birds do not love the north.
Feelings and temperaments influenced by a region’s customs
Naturally molded by one’s environment.

Past departures to the mountain pass gate at Yanmen
Today in front of the garrison at Longting.
Stirred up sand like sunshine on the ocean
When snow flies in all directions into the northern nomadic skies.

Nits and lice emerge from their armor
Hearts and souls obey the ancient battle banners.
Warfare skills not admirable or enjoyable
Loyalty and honesty difficult to prove to those back home.
Who can sympathize with the flying General Li
White-haired head buried all by itself under the desert.

Notes:

Daizhou: Also spelled as Taizhou. City on the east coast of China, Jiangsu Province.

Yue: Ancient nation state once consisting of Zhejiang Province and surrounding regions.

Longting: Dragon Courtyard located in the city of Kaifeng, Henan Province.