Gansu Music: Headwaters of Mt. Long
陇 头 水
陇 头 十 月 天 雨 霜
壮 士 夜 换 绿 沉 枪。
卧 闻 陇 水 思 故 乡
三 更 起 坐 泪 数 行。
我 语 壮 士 勉 自 强
男 儿 堕 地 志 四 方。
里 尸 马 革 固 其 常
岂 若 妇 女 不 下 堂？
生 逢 和 亲 最 可 伤
岁 辇 金 絮 输 胡 羌。
夜 视 太 白 收 光 芒
报 国 欲 死 无 战 场。
Long Tou Shui
Long tou shi yue tian yu shuang
Zhuang shi ye huan lu chen qiang.
Wo wen long shui si gu xiang
San geng qi zuo lei shu hang.
Wo yu zhuang shi mian zi qiang
Nan er duo di zhi di fang.
Li shi ma ge gu qi chang
Qi ruo fu nu bu xia tang?
Sheng feng he qin zui ke shang
Sui nian jin xu shu hu qiang.
Ye shi tai bai shou guang mang
Bao guo yu si wu zhan chang.
Gansu Music: Headwaters of Mt. Long
Mt. Long headwaters have days of rain and frost in the tenth lunar month
Evenings find warrior spear points colored green.
They lie down on riverbanks thinking of their hometowns
Around midnight numerous tears travel in long rows.
My words encourage the warriors to be strong
Real men want to protect all four directions of our lands.
Often their bodies become wrapped in horse hides for burial
Are they not like the women who stay inside main halls?
Best to fight our enemies, rather than send our women to them
Instead, every year they have to escort imperial carriages full of gold for the Xiongnu.
Palace evenings see the North Star too dim to portend a call to war
Warriors expect to fight to the death, but now there are no battle grounds.
Notes:
Mt. Long: Located in the southern part of Gansu Province.
Xiongnu: Tribal confederation of northern nomads encompassing the modern provinces of Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Gansu, as well as three central Asian countries that include Mongolia.
[During these times, the Emperor would often send money and women to the northern invaders to avoid having to meet them on the battlefield.]