[updated September 2022]
Send Off Guo the Eighth to Join the Army
送 告 八 篵 军
男 兒 一 片 氣
何 必 五 车 書。
好 勇 方 过 我
多 才 便 起 予。
运 筹 將 入 暮
养 拙 就 闲 居。
正 待 功 名 遂
从 君 继 两 疏。
Song Gao Ba Cong Jun
Nan er yi pian qi
He bi wu chi shu.
Hao yong fang guo wo
Duo cai bian qi yu.
Yun chou jiang ru mu
Yang zhuo jiu xian ju.
Zheng dai gong ming sui
Cong jun ji liang shu.
Send Off Guo the Eighth to Join the Army
These men like you with nerve and mettle
Not like me, a reader with five cartloads of books.
You are easily brave and courageous, not like me
Your many talents, easily inspires ideas for me.
For Army deployment plans, you can support and enter the general’s tent
I will stay home unoccupied.
Maybe with an official rank, I too can succeed with you
Follow you to excel like the two Shus.
Notes:
Two Shus: Ancient story of two men: Shu Guan and Shu Shou. Both of them served a prince. One of them taught the prince how to fight, and the other taught him how to write. Title and subject of one of Tao Yuanming’s poems. Both can be found on this website.
Five cartloads of books: Literary allusion referring to a literati, also used inside a poem by Wang Wei.