Old Friend Senior Officer Zhang Weigong Has Gone, People Still Gaze Into the Distance Looking For Him, Zhang’s Battle Plans Still Exist, Now a Season of Evil and Degeneration, Heaven Has Yet to Muster Its Forces
故 少 师 张 魏 公 换 词 三 章
出 昼 民 犹 望
回 军 故 尚 疑。
时 非 不 吾 以
天 未 胜 人 为。
自 别 知 何 恙？
从 谁 话 许 悲！
一 生 长 得 忌
千 载 却 空 思。
手 麾 日 三 舍
身 驭 月 重 轮。
始 是 岷 峨 秀
前 无 社 稷 臣。
向 来 元 “ 破 斧”
何 用 更 洪 钧
只 使 江 淮 草
明 年 不 作 春。
读 易 堂 边 路
曾 闻 赤 舄 声。
心 从 画 前 到
身 在 “ 易 ”中 行。
忧 国 何 缘 寿？
思 亲 岂 欲 生？
不 应 永 州 月
犹 傍 两 窗 明！
Gu Shao Shui Zhang Wei Gong Huan Ci San Zhang
Chu zhou min you wang
Hui jun di shang yi.
Shi fei bu wu yi
Tian wei sheng ren wei.
Zi bie zhi he yang?
Cong shei hua xu bei!
Yi sheng chang de ji
Qian zai que kong si.
Shou hui ri san she
Shen yu yue chong lun.
Shi shi min e xiu
Qian wu she ji chen.
Xiang lai yuan “Po Fu”
He yong geng hong jun
Zhi shi jiang huai cao
Ming nian bu zuo chun.
Du yi tang bian lu
Ceng wen chi xi sheng.
Xin cong hua qian dao
Shen zai “Yi” zhong xing.
You guo he yuan shou?
Si qin qi yu sheng?
Bu ying yong zhou yue
You bang liang chuang ming!
Old Friend Senior Officer Zhang Weigong Has Gone, People Still Gaze Into the Distance Looking For Him, Zhang’s Battle Plans Still Exist, Now a Season of Evil and Degeneration, Heaven Has Yet to Muster Its Forces
After our last departure, did you die from natural ailments?
Whose words did you follow that permitted this melancholy!
Your whole life there have been many to envy you
For one thousand years, think of your plans coming to nothing.
His plans included the sun setting three times in one day
Like the moon, two emperors asked him to be their prime minister.
In early life, he was as handsome and elegant as mountains Ming and Emei
Your thoughts always for the country and its food supplies.
He was always like the Book of Songs story “Po Fu”
And he used the white and natural powers to turn the potter’s wheel.
Used the Huai River grasses to offer asylum to those who would serve the country again
Maybe next year the spring will not sprout these grasses.
He created a main hall off the highway for a place to read aloud the Classics
Once, the king’s shoes heard his many pleas to fight the northern nomads.
His heart-mind followed the Yi Jing diagrams before moving ahead
His life apart of “Yi Zhong Xing”, following the path of least resistance.
How could you have a long life carrying the worries of your nation?
Is it not a shame you had many sorrows for not tending to your mother’s death?
Not often was our time together in Yongzhou ever experienced
The moonlit windows bright only one time!
Notes:
Book of Songs: Noted as the first collection of ancient Chinese poems from the period covering the eleventh to the seventh centuries BC. The 305 poems are considered one of the Five Classics of Confucianism.
Huai River: Major Chinese river flowing from west to east and located between the larger Yellow River and the Changjiang.
Yi Jing: More commonly known as the I Ching outside China, is a collection divination texts and one of the Five Classics of Confucianism.
Yi Zhong Xing: Literally means Amid Easy Travels.
Yongzhou: City located at the confluence of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers in southern Hunan Province.