Old Ballad of Following the Army
English translation and interpretation are being reviewed.
黄昏饮马傍交河。
行人刁斗风沙暗，
公主琵琶幽怨多。
野云万里无城郭，
雨雪纷纷连大漠。
胡雁哀鸣夜夜飞，
胡儿眼泪双双落。
闻道玉门犹被遮，
应将性命逐轻车。
年年战骨埋荒外，
空见蒲桃入汉家。
English translation
By day we climb the hills to watch for beacon smoke; at dusk we water the horses beside the Jiaohe.
The marchers' clappers sound through the dark of wind and sand; the princess's pipa is heavy with hidden sorrow.
Wild clouds for ten thousand leagues, never a city wall; snow and rain fall thick across the great desert.
The Hu geese cry mournfully, flying night after night; the tears of Hu children fall in pairs.
They say the Yumen Pass is still shut to us; we must stake our lives to follow the light chariots.
Year on year the bones of warriors are buried beyond the wastes; in vain we see the grapes brought into the house of Han.
Meaning
By day we climb the hills to watch the beacon fires; at dusk we lead the horses to the Jiao River to drink.
The driving sand blots out the light and all is black; nothing can be heard but the watchman's clappers going the rounds in the camp, and the plaintive, tearful music of the pipa.
Over the wilderness, cloud and haze stretch ten thousand li with never a city wall in sight; rain and snow drift down over the boundless desert.
Wailing Hu geese fly past night after night; the Hu soldiers too are stirred by the sight and shed their tears.
We hear that the Jade Gate Pass is barred against our returning; the soldiers can only follow their general and fight the enemy to the death.
Year after year the bones of the slain are buried in the wasteland, and all that is bought with them is the Western Regions' grapes sent to the Han court.
Background
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This poem was written in the early Tianbao era (reign title of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, 742–756). Though what the poet sings of is history, the content of the poem expresses his view of Emperor Xuanzong's frontier policy of ceaselessly seeking martial merit and expanding the borders by force of arms.