Poems on Army Life IV
- Poetry of Wang Changling
Clouds on frontier overshadow mountains clad in snow;
A lonely town afar faces Pass of Jade Gate.
Our golden armor pierced by sand, we fight the foe;
We won't come back till we destroy the hostile State.
Wang Changling lived during the High Tang period, an era of the empire's greatest military strength and most illustrious frontier achievements. From Emperor Taizong to Emperor Xuanzong, the Tang dynasty engaged in a century-long struggle with neighboring peoples like the Tibetans and Turks along the northwestern frontier. The region stretching from Qinghai Lake to the Jade Gate Pass was precisely where fighting was most frequent. Wang Changling traveled extensively in the northwestern frontier regions in his youth, experiencing frontier life firsthand. The seven poems of the "Poems on Army Life" series are the fruit of his frontier experiences. This poem, the fourth in the series, expresses the soldiers' resolve to serve and defend the nation to the death, speaking in their voice.
青海长云暗雪山，孤城遥望玉门关。
黄沙百战穿金甲，不破楼兰终不还。
- 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.
- Poems on Army Life IV
- Poems on Army Life V
- West Palace, Autumn
- Hearing the River-Song
- The Lotus Gatherers
- In a Monk’s Cell