Poems on Army Life V
- Poetry of Wang Changling
The wind and sand in the desert have dimmed sunlight;
With red flags half unfurled we go through the camp gate.
North of River Tao, after nocturnal fight,
Our vanguards have captured the chief of hostile State.
Wang Changling lived during the High Tang period, an era of illustrious frontier achievements and soldiers devoted to duty. From Emperor Taizong to Emperor Xuanzong, the Tang dynasty engaged in a protracted tug-of-war spanning a century with peoples like the Tibetans and Turks along the northwestern frontier. The region around the Tao River (in present-day Gansu) was precisely the frontline of contention between Tang and Tibetan forces. Wang Changling traveled extensively in the northwestern frontier regions in his youth, experiencing frontier life firsthand.
大漠风尘日色昏，红旗半卷出辕门。
前军夜战洮河北，已报生擒吐谷浑。
- 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 V
- West Palace, Autumn
- Hearing the River-Song
- The Lotus Gatherers
- In a Monk’s Cell
- Gazing at Lake Dongting