Du Fu: Army Battle Wagons On the Move
兵 车 行
车 辚 辚 马 萧 萧
行 人 弓 箭 各 在 腰。
耶 娘 妻 子 走 相 送
尘 埃 不 见 咸 阳 桥。
牵 衣 顿 足 拦 道 哭
哭 声 直 上 千 云 霄！
道 旁 过 者 问 行 人
行 人 但 云 点 行 频。
或 从 十 五 北 防 河
便 至 四 十 西 菅 田。
去 时 里 正 与 裹 头
归 来 头 白 还 戍 边。
边 庭 流 血 成 海 水
武 皇 开 边 意 未 已。
君 不 闻 汉 家 山 东 二 百 州
千 村 万 落 生 荆 杞。
纵 有 健 妇 把 锄 犁
禾 生 陇 亩 无 东 西。
况 复 秦 兵 耐 苦 战
被 驱 不 异 犬 与 鸡。
长 者 虽 有 问 役 夫 敢 申 恨？
且 如 今 年 冬
未 休 关 西 卒。
县 官 急 索 租
租 税 从 何 出？
信 知 生 男 恶
反 是 生 奴 好
生 奴 犹 得 嫁 此 邻
生 男 埋 没 随 百 草。
君 不 见 青 海 头
古 来 白 骨 无 人 收。
新 鬼 烦 怨 旧 鬼 哭
天 阴 雨 湿 声 啾 啾！
Bing Che Xing
Che lin lin ma xiao xiao
Xing ren gong jian ming zai yao.
Ye niang qi zi qi xiang song
Chen ai bu jian xian yang qiao
Qian yi dun zu lan dao ku
Ku sheng zhi shang qian yun xiao!
Dao pang guo zhe wen xing ren
Xing ren dan yun dian xing pin.
Huo cong shi wu bei fang he
Bian zhi si shi xi jian tian
Qu shi li zheng yu guo tou
Gui lai tou bai huan shu bian
Bian ting liu xie cheng hai shui
Wu huang kai bian yi wei yi.
Jun bu wen han jia shan dong er bai zhou
Qian cun wan luo sheng jing qi.
Zong you jina fu ba chu li
He sheng long mu wu dong xi.
Kuang fu qin bing nai ku zhan
Bei qu bu yi quan yu ji
Zhang zhe sui you wen yi fu gan shen hen?
Wei xiu guan xi zu.
Xian guan ji suo zu
Zu shui cong he chu?
Xin zhi sheng nan wu
Fan shi sheng nu hao
Sheng nu you dei jia ci lin
Sheng nan mai mo sui bai cao.
Jun bu jian qing hai tou
Gu lai bai gu wu ren shou.
Xin gui fan yuan jiu gui ku
Tain yin yu shi sheng jiu jiu!
Army Battle Wagons On the Move
Carts and wagons rattle, horses neigh
Foot soldiers carrying bows and quivers full of arrows
Young wives and children stay with the march as far as possible in order to send them off
So much dust and dirt, one cannot see the bridges
Crying, they hold onto the soldiers clothing to prevent them from leaving
Their wailing sounds arise straight up into the clouds of heaven!
Onlookers ask the families
They say and make clear that these military campaigns happen repeatedly
This year they go to the region of northern rivers
Over time some forty western garrisons established with permanent pastures
Some so young, they don’t know how to tie their own shoes
They come back home from defending the borders with white hair.
At the borders the blood flows like ocean water
Our emperor’s desire for more and more land has not changed
He cannot hear the suffering of two hundred Han families
One thousand towns, ten thousand plants and trees uncared for
All strong and healthy women work the ploughs and hoes
The millet and grain acreage planted without levees and pathways.
Since the Qin Dynasty, soldiers and the people endure again and again the sufferings of war
They conscript both the dogs and the chickens
Old people have to ask, why do they press into military service those without a voice?
Like this year’s winter, soldiers march through the western mountain passes without stopping
County government officials search for tax revenues
How can they ask for taxes when all the working-age males have left?
Notes:
Northern rivers: Tibet
Han: the ethnic Chinese
Qin Dynasty: 221-206 BC
Blue ocean: current province of Qinghai
Both dogs and chickens: Both the strong and weak