My Boat Passes By the Yangzi Bridge With Distant Vistas
舟 过 扬 予 桥 远 望
此 日 淮 堧 号 北 边
旧 时 南 服 纪 淮 堧。
平 芜 尽 处 浑 无 壁
远 树 梢 头 便 是 天。
今 古 战 场 谁 胜 负
华 夷 险 要 岂 山 川？
六 朝 未 可 轻 嘲 谤
王 谢 诸 贤 不 偶 然！
Zhou Guo Yang Yu Qiao Yuan Wang
Ci ri huai ruan hao bei bian
Jiu shi nan fu ji huai ruan.
Ping wu jin chu hun wu bi
Yuan shu shao tou bian shi tian.
Jin gu zhan chang shei sheng fu
Hua yi xian yao qi shan chuan?
Liu zhao wei ke qing chao bang
Wang xie zhu xian bu ou ran!
My Boat Passes By the Yangzi Bridge With Distant Vistas
This day we see the edges of the Huai River riverbanks
Southern banks are part of our defensive perimeter.
Miles of level overgrown weeds without seeing a single mud wall
Twig tips of distant trees easily blend in with the sky.
This place a site of many battles, both in ancient and modern times
Isn’t this level plain more dangerous than mountains and rivers to defend?
Not yet can I comfortably ridicule and slander our military efforts
Having the likes and abilities of Wang and Xie do not arise by accident!
Notes:
Wang: Wang Dao (276-339) Politician, prime minister and important advisor during the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
Xie: Xie Xuan (343-388) Famous army general whose forces repelled the Qin army at the Battle of Fei River, and thereby kept the Jin Dynasty intact.