Border-songs III
- Poetry of Lu Lun

English Translation

High in the faint moonlight, wildgeese are soaring.

Tartar chieftains are fleeing through the dark --

And we chase them, with horses lightly burdened

And a burden of snow on our bows and our swords.

Folk-song-styled-verse

This third poem in the series, composed during mid-Tang Dynasty, preserves the heroic spirit of High Tang frontier poetry despite its later era. It captures a tense snowbound night pursuit, sculpting warriors' fearless valor in sparse yet potent strokes, radiating unyielding heroism.

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中文原文( Chinese )

月黑雁飞高，单于夜遁逃。

欲将轻骑逐，大雪满弓刀。

Why Chinese poems is so special?

The most distinctive features of Chinese poetry are: concision- many poems are only four lines, and few are much longer than eight; ambiguity- number, tense and parts of speech are often undetermined, creating particularly rich interpretative possibilities; and structure- most poems follow quite strict formal patterns which have beauty in themselves as well as highlighting meaningful contrasts.

How to read a Chinese poem?

Like an English poem, but more so. Everything is there for a reason, so try to find that reason. Think about all the possible connotations, and be aware of the different possibilities of number and tense. Look for contrasts: within lines, between the lines of each couplet and between successive couplets. Above all, don't worry about what the poet meant- find your meaning.

• Seven Poems on Kaiyuan Era: Dancing Horses
• Midnight Song of the Four Seasons: Summer
• In Reply to Pimei’s Poem Written During Illness
• Ten Odes on Tea Utensils: Tea Vale​ White Lotus
• Spring Thoughts II
• The Arcane Celadon of Yue Kiln
• Lodging by Riverside Tower
• Along the River for Flowers Alone I
• The Cottage by the Stream
• The Lotus-Gathering Song

• The Summit Temple
• <Prelude to Water Melody> Sent to Ziyou on Mid-autumn Festival
• Invitation to Wine
• Question and Answer in the Mountains
• Cold sheet
• Coming Home ( Returning Home )
• At Heron Lodge ( Climbing Stork Tower )
• Thoughts in the Silent Night
• Deer-park Hermitage
• A Song of Changgan