Pass By Huaiyin and the Hanxin Shrine: Two Poems: No. 1
过 淮 阴 县 题 韩 信 庙； 前 用 唐 律， 后 用 进 退 格： 二 首
来 时 月 黑 过 淮 阴
归 路 天 花 舞 故 城。
一 剑 光 寒 千 古 泪
三 家 市 出 万 人 英。
少 年 胯 下 安 无 忤
老 父 圮 边 愕 不 平。
人 物 若 非 观 岁 暮
淮 阴 可 必 减 文 成！
Guo Huai Yin Xian Ti Han Xin Miao; Qian Yong Tang Lu, Hou Yong Jin Tui Ge: Er Shou
Lai shi yue hei guo huai yin
Gui lu tian hua wu gu cheng.
Yi jian guang han qian gu lei
San jia shi chu wan ren ying.
Shao nian kua xia an wu wu
Lao fu pi bian e bu ping.
Ren wu ruo fei guan sui mu
Huai yin ke bi jian wen cheng!
Pass By Huaiyin and the Hanxin Shrine: Two Poems: No. 1
Arrived here at dusk with a seasonal moon in Huaiyin
Returned with snowflakes on the wind and the old city walls.
One bright and cold sword of Hanxin turned into one thousand tears
In his hometown village marketplace he was a single blossom among thousands of people.
Early youth he was verbally threatened, his response was to calmly walk away
When Zhangliang was a young man, he helped an old man to retrieve his shoe.
People and society like these two ancient men
One died violently by his own sword, and the second lived well and cultured until his end!
Notes:
Huaiyin: Ancient name for a city in central Jiangsu Province. Today known as “Huai’an”. Located on the Huai River, connected to the Grand Canal. The river is considered the border between northern and southern China.
Hanxin: Shrine for Han Xin (231-196 BC) army general and politician who served Liu Bang. He is considered one of the “Three Heroes of the Han Dynasty”.
Zhangliang: (ca. 251-189 BC) Military strategist during the early Western Han Dynasty. Also one of the “Three Heroes of the Han Dynasty”.