Song of Broken Chains
- Poetry of He Zhu

《捣练子·砧面莹》

English Rendering

Regularly the beetle sounds 

As on the anvil stone it pounds.

After washing her warrior's dress,

With ink and tears she writes down his address.

The package goes a thousand miles to the Jade Pass,

But the warrior is stationed farther west,alas!

Song of Broken Chains by He Zhu -
Song of Broken Chains by He Zhu

Original Text (中文原文)

砧面莹,杵声齐,捣就征衣泪墨题。

寄到玉关应万里,戍人犹在玉关西。

Meaning & Analysis

He Zhu (1052-1125)was also a follower of Su Shi.This lyric depicts a washerwoman sending winter garments to her husband stationed in a garrison town farther west than the Jade Pass on the northwestern frontier.

Related Themes

Reader's Companion

The Essence of the Verse

Classical Chinese poetry thrives on Concision and Ambiguity. Without tense or number, the words create a timeless space where the reader becomes the co-creator of the poem's meaning.

Reading Between the Lines

Look for Contrasts: light and shadow, movement and stillness. Don't just translate the words; feel the Yijing (artistic conception) that lingers long after the last character.

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