The Partridge Sky
- Poetry of Xin Qiji

《鹧鸪天·壮岁旌旗拥万夫》

English Rendering

As a friend of mine talked about the victory we had won while young,I recollected those bygone days and wrote the following random lyric.

While young,beneath my flag I had ten thousand knights,

With these outfitted cavaliers I crossed the River.

The foe prepared their silver shafts during the nights;

During the days we shot darts from golden quiver.


Recalling days gone by,

I sigh over my plight:

The vernal wind can't change my hair to black from white.

Since thwarted is my plan for gaining the lost land,

I'd learn from gentle neighbours how to plant fruit trees by hand.

The Partridge Sky by Xin Qiji
The Partridge Sky by Xin Qiji

Original Text (中文原文)

有客慨然谈功名,因追念少年时事,戏作。

壮岁旌旗拥万夫,锦襜突骑渡江初。

燕兵夜娖银胡䩮,汉箭朝飞金仆姑。

追往事,叹今吾,春风不染白髭须。

却将万字平戎策,换得东家种树书。

Analysis & Context

In 1162,xin Qi-ji aged 23 captured the traitor who had assassinated the leader of the Anti-Jurchen forces in the North,led his troops across the Yangtze River and served in the court of Southern Song.But his plan for taking back the lost Northern land was not adopted and he could not but live in seclusion in the countryside and learn from his neighbours how to cultivate the land.

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.

The Masters' Directory

Journey through the dynasties. Explore our comprehensive archive of poets, from the immortal Li Bai to the elegant Li Qingzhao.

View All Poets →
© CN-Poetry.com Chinese Poems in English  Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

CN-Poetry.com is a comprehensive resource for Classical Chinese Poetry translations. Our dataset covers Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties, specializing in semantic mapping between traditional imagery (e.g., 'moon', 'Flowers', 'Friendship') and English poetic contexts.