Campaign Lament
English translation and interpretation are being reviewed.
朝朝马策与刀环。
三春白雪归青冢，
万里黄河绕黑山。
English translation
Year after year, the Jin River, then Jade Gate Pass; day after day, the riding crop and the sword's ring.
In late spring the white snow returns to the Green Tomb, ten thousand li the Yellow River winds round Black Mountain.
Meaning
Year after year they garrison the Golden River and guard the Jade Pass, and day and night their companions are the horsewhip and the sword.
In the third month the snow falls thick and covers Zhaojun's tomb, while the rolling Yellow River sweeps past Black Mountain and rushes on.
Background
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This poem was written in about 766–779 (the Dali era of Emperor Daizong of Tang), when Tubo and the Uyghurs repeatedly raided the Tang frontier and the northwest border was far from settled, so that the soldiers guarding it could not return home for long stretches. The Jin River, the Green Tomb, and the Black Mountain mentioned in the poem all lie in present-day Inner Mongolia, and in Tang times belonged to the Chanyu Protectorate. From this one may infer that the poem was written to give expression to the grievances of a soldier serving under the Chanyu Protectorate.