[updated September 2022]
Old Man of Xinfeng With a Broken Arm
新 丰 折 臂 翁
新 丰 老 翁 八 十 八
头 鬓 眉 须 皆 似 雪。
玄 孙 扶 向 店 前 行
左 臂 凭 肩 右 臂 折。
问 翁 臂 折 来 几 年
兼 问 致 折 何 因 缘。
翁 云 贯 属 新 丰 县
生 逢 圣 代 无 征 战。
惯 听 梨 园 歌 管 声
不 识 旗 枪 与 弓 箭。
无 何 天 宝 大 征 兵
户 有 一 丁 点 一 丁。
点 得 驱 将 何 处 去？
五 月 万 里 云 南 行。
闻 道 云 南 有 泸 水
椒 花 落 时 瘴 烟 起。
大 军 徒 涉 水 如 汤
未 过 十 人 二 三 死。
村 南 村 北 哭 声 哀
儿 别 爷 娘 夫 别 妻。
皆 云 前 后 征 蛮 者
千 万 人 行 无 一 回。
是 时 翁 年 二 十 四
兵 部 牒 中 有 名 字。
夜 深 不 敢 使 人 知
偷 将 大 石 锺 折 臂。
张 弓 簸 旗 俱 不 堪
从 兹 始 免 征 云 南。
骨 碎 筋 伤 非 不 苦
且 图 捡 退 归 乡 土。
臂 折 来 来 六 十 年
一 肢 虽 废 一 身 全。
至 今 风 雨 阴 寒 夜
直 到 天 明 痛 不 眠。
痛 不 眠，终 不 悔
且 喜 老 身 今 独 在。
不 然 当 时 泸 水 头
身 死 魂 飞 骨 不 收。
应 作 云 南 望 乡 鬼
万 人 冢 上 哭 呦 呦 。
老 人 言，君 听 取
君 不 闻 开 元
宰 相 宋 开 府
不 赏 边 功 防 黩 武？
又 不 闻 天 宝
宰 相 杨 国 忠
欲 求 恩 立 边 功？
边 功 未 立 生 人 怨
请 问 新 丰 折 臂 翁。
Xin Feng She Bi Weng
Xin feng lao weng ba shi ba
Tou bin mei xu jie si xue.
Xuan sun fu xiang dian qian xing
Zuo bi ping jian you bi she.
Wen weng bi she lai ji nian
Jian wen zhi she he yin yuan.
Weng yun guan shu xin feng xian
Sheng feng sheng dai wu zheng zhan.
Guan ting li yuan ge guan sheng
Bu shi qi qiang yu gong jian.
Wu he tian bao da zheng bing
Hu you san ding dian yi ding.
Dian de qu jiang he chu qu?
Wu yue wan li yun nan xing.
Wen dao yun nan you lu shui
Jiao hua luo shi zhang yan qi.
Da jun tu she shui ru tang
Wei guo shi ren er san si.
Cun nan cun bei ku sheng ai
Er bie ye niang fu bie qi.
Jie yun qian hou zheng man zhe
Qian wan ren xing wu yi hui.
Shi shi weng nian er shi si
Bing bu die zhong you ming zi.
Ye shen bu gan shi ren zhi
Tou jiang da shi zhong she bi.
Zhang gong bo qi ju bu kan
Cong zi shi mian zheng yun nan.
Gu sui jin shang fei bu ku
Qie tu jian tui gui xiang di.
Bi she lai lai liu shi nian
Yi zhi sui fei yi shen quan.
Zhi jin feng yu yin han ye
Zhi dao tian ming tong bu mian.
Tong bu mian, zhong bu hui
Qie xi lao shen jin du zai.
Bu ran dang shi lu shui tou
Shen si hun fei gu bu shou.
Ying zuo yun nan wang xiang gui
Wan ren zhong shang ku you you.
Lao ren yan, jun ting qu
Jun bu wen kai yuan.
Zai xiang song kai fu
Bu shang bian gong fang du wu?
You bu wen tian bao
Zai xiang yang guo zhong
Yu qiu en xin li bian gong?
Bian gong wei li sheng ren yuan
Qing wen xin feng she bi weng.
Old Man of Xinfeng With a Broken Arm
Xinfeng old man is eighty-eight years old
Temple hair and eyebrows all like snow.
Great-great grandson takes him by the hand, helping him get to the store
Up to the shoulder his left arm is lame, the right one is broken.
I ask the old man how many years he has had this broken arm
As well as what was the reason and cause for his injuries.
The old man replied that his ancestral home is in the county of Xinfeng
And that in his youth there was no need for war.
He listened to musical concerts and opera in the Pear Garden
He did not know how to wield a spear, or a bow and arrow.
But then during the reign of Xuanzong, a big army was drafted
Out of every three households, one male had to serve in the military.
Of those drafted, where did they go?
In May, they had to travel thousands of miles to Yunnan.
Heard the Yunnan highway leads to the Lu River
When the hot pepper flowers fall down, this is the time of rising
miasma mists.
Large army on foot had to wade through those hot waters
Of every ten soldiers, two or three will die.
Villages to the north and south hear the sounds of crying
Fathers left mothers, husbands left wives.
Everyone said that those having to travel to the southern provinces
Millions of troops on the march, without even one returning.
At this time I was only twenty-four years old
Army headquarters had my name on their draftee list.
In the middle of the night when no one was around
With stealth I used a sledgehammer to break my arm.
No longer able to pull a bow or carry a flag
Following this I no longer needed to march to Yunnan.
His arm has been broken for over sixty years
Even though he has a disability, life has been long and complete.
Now when it is cold, dark and rainy
Day and night the pain never ends.
Even though this pain never ends, do not regret what I did
For now I enjoy this lonely old body.
Otherwise I would have marched through the Lu River
Through life and death, my soul would have no gathered bones.
My soul maybe not able to go to my hometown from Yunnan
Wow! They had to make a mass grave for thousands of bodies.
Hear the words carefully from this old man
Do not listen to those talking of the glories of warfare.
The Prime Minister and leader of the Song Dynasty government
Don’t the rewards defile the successes of our military on the frontier?
Also no heavenly treasures for Prime Minister Yang
Who wanted to be sent to the frontier to claim some of our successes?
But frontier successes not achieved, he created the country’s anger
Please ask this broken arm, Xinfeng old man about these things.
Notes:
Xinfeng: Present day county inside the province of Jiangxi
Pear Garden: The capital city of Chang’an’s royal acting, dancing and music academy founded by Emperor Xuanzong during the Tang Dynasty.
Xuanzong: (685-762) Long serving emperor during the Tang Dynasty and reigned from 712-756.
Yunnan: Province located in the far west.
Hot waters: The Lu River, which is in the Jiangxi region
Guangxi: Province located in the southwest
Guangdong: Province located in the south
Song Dynasty: (420-479): One of the four Southern Dynasties during the period from the Jin Dynasty (265-420) and the Sui Dynasty (581-618).
Prime Minister Yang: Yang Guifei’s relative. See the poem Long Song of Remorse on this website.
Miasma: Vapors rising from marshes that were believed to cause malaria.
Commentary:
With a long history of warfare, it should be no surprise that there are so many anti-war Chinese poems from ancient times.