The Temple of the Former Lord of Shu
English translation and interpretation are being reviewed.
千秋尚凛然。
势分三足鼎，
业复五铢钱。
得相能开国，
生儿不象贤。
凄凉蜀故妓，
来舞魏宫前。
English translation
The hero's spirit within heaven and earth still commands awe after a thousand autumns.
His power made the three-footed tripod, his work restored the wu-shu coin.
He gained a minister and could found a state, but the son he begot was not like his sire.
Pitiful, the dancing girls of fallen Shu, who come to dance before the Wei palace.
Meaning
The heroic spirit of Liu Bei truly filled heaven and earth, and after a thousand ages it is still awe-inspiring as ever.
He founded a domain and divided the empire into three with Wu and Wei, and by restoring the five-zhu coin he aimed to revive the Han house.
Then the Chancellor Zhuge Liang helped him establish the state, but alas, he begot a son unlike his father in wisdom.
Most pitiful of all were the singers and dancers of the Shu palace, who performed in the Wei palace and made Liu Shan feel no shame at all.
Background
Read the background
The First Lord of Shu is Liu Bei, Emperor Zhaolie of Shu Han. The temple of the First Lord of Shu stands on Baidi Mountain in Kuizhou (with its seat east of present-day Fengjie county, Chongqing); Liu Yuxi served as governor of Kuizhou from 821 to 824, and this poem should be dated to that time.