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country. A forthright example of such an attitude is found in the final couplet of Yang Jiong's 杨 炯
(650-692) “In the Army” (“Congjun xing” 从 军 行 ) where the poetic stance of preferring martial
enterprise over scholastic study in the pursuit of establishing one's credentials is made quite plain:
宁 为 百 夫 长
I'd rather be the commander of a hundred-soldier troop;
15
胜 作 一 书 生 It surpasses a lifetime as a scholar. 16
(lines 7-8)
Gao Shi's 高 适 (706-765) “Below the Frontier” (“Saixia qu” 塞 下 曲 ) 17 adopts a more acerbic voice to
demean complete adherence to scholarly pursuits while praising military feats as a preferred means of
establishing one's merits:
结 束 浮 云 骏 Fitting the saddle and bridle of the nimble 18 steeds,
翩 翩 出 从 戎 Light and quick they set out to join the army.
且 凭 王 子 怒 Trusting in the emperor's fury,
复 依 将 军 雄 As well as the general's power and prestige.
万 鼓 雷 殷 地 The thunder of ten thousand drums shakes the earth,
千 旗 火 生 风 The fire of a thousand scarlet flags gives rise to a wind.
日 轮 驻 霜 戈 The sun halts on spears sharp as frost,
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月 魄 悬 琱 弓 The crescent moon hangs like a carved bow.
青 海 阵 云 匝 Battlefield clouds arrayed at Qing Hai, 20
黑 山 兵 气 冲 A martial spirit rushes at Hei Shan. 21
战 酣 太 白 高 At the battle's height, Venus 22 rises high;
战 罢 旄 头 空 As the battle ends, Mao Tou 23 is gone.
15 Quan Tang Shi 全 唐 诗 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju chuban 中 华 书 局 出 版 , 1960), 50.611. Hereafter abbreviated as QTS
16 Unless otherwise stated, translations of poems, in full or as excerpts, are my own.
17 Written around 753 when Gao Shi served as Chief Secretary (Zhangshu ji 掌 书 记 ) in the field office (Mufu 幕 府 ) of
Military Commissioner (Jiedushi 节 度 使 ) Geshu Han ( 哥 舒 翰 ).
18 Lit. “floating cloud” in the original.
19 Sun Qinshan 孙 钦 善 ed., Gaoshi ji jiaozhu 高 适 集 校 注 (Shanghai: Guji chubanshe 古 籍 出 版 社 , 1979) (hereafter
abbreviated as GSJJZ) has 丝 (si, silk) as opposed to 悬 . I'm following the QTS reading of 悬 (xuan, to hang) in order
to have a verb parallel with the preceding line's “halt” (zhu, 驻 ). See QTS 221.2189.
20 Name of a lake in the northeastern Qinghai 青 海 province. During the Tang period, the area was at the northeastern
border of Tu Bo 吐 蕃 kingdom.
21 Lit. “Black Mountain”. The mountain lies southeast of Hohhot 呼 和 浩 特 in Inner Mongolia. During the Tang, “Black
Mountain” , among other places, stood for the northern frontier.
22 Venus (Jinxing 金 星 ,Taibaixing 太 白 星 ) was an omen portending war. When the star was in ascension, fortune in battle
was more assured than misfortune; when in declension, the star prognosticated the opposite (‘[ 太 白 ] 出 高 , 用 兵 深 吉 , 浅
凶 ; 庳 , 浅 吉 , 深 凶 . See Shiji . Tianguan shu 史 记 . 天 官 书 (Beijing: Zhonggua shuju, 1959), p. 1324.
23 The Pleiades. Here their disappearance indicates defeat for the enemy.