Frontier Song: Cicadas Chirp in the Empty Mulberry Wood
English translation and interpretation are being reviewed.
八月萧关道。
出塞入塞寒，
处处黄芦草。
从来幽并客，
皆共尘沙老。
莫学游侠儿，
矜夸紫骝好。
English translation
Cicadas cry in the empty mulberry wood; the eighth month, on the road to Xiaoguan.
Going out the pass and coming in, it is cold; everywhere the yellow reed grass.
Always the men of You and Bing grow old together with the dust and sand.
Do not imitate the wandering knights, who boast of their fine purple steeds.
Meaning
Cicadas cry in the bare and withered mulberry wood; on the Xiaoguan road in the eighth month the air is crisp and the sky high.
Out beyond the pass and back in again, the weather turns cold; within and without the barrier it is all yellow reeds.
From of old the heroes of Hebei and Shanxi have kept company with dust and yellow sand till old age.
Do not imitate those bravos who pride themselves on valor, loudly boasting of their fine steeds.