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173<br />
In addition to these visual perceptions, nostalgia for home was also triggered in both Tang and pre-<br />
Tang frontier poetry by aural elements <strong>of</strong> the borderland setting, such as the sounds <strong>of</strong> non-Chinese<br />
music:<br />
胡 笳 落 泪 曲<br />
10<br />
羌 笛 断 肠 歌<br />
Tunes from Hu pipes cause tears to fall,<br />
Songs from Qiang flutes break one's heart.<br />
(Yu Xin, “Imitation: Singing My Feelings”, seven <strong>of</strong> twenty-seven, lines 3-4)<br />
秦 中 花 鸟 已 应 阑 In Qin the season <strong>of</strong> birds and flowers is surely over now,<br />
塞 外 风 沙 犹 自 寒 Here past the frontier the wind and sand are still<br />
bitterly cold.<br />
夜 听 胡 笳 折 杨 柳 By night we listen to Hu flutes play 'Snapping the Willow<br />
Branch' 11 ,<br />
12<br />
教 人 气 尽 忆 长 安 It makes a man's bold spirit fail and think <strong>of</strong> Chang'an. 13<br />
(Wang Han, “Song <strong>of</strong> Liangzhou”, lines 5-8)<br />
酒 泉 太 守 能 剑 舞<br />
高 堂 置 酒 夜 击 鼓<br />
胡 笳 一 曲 断 人 肠<br />
15<br />
座 上 相 看 泪 如 雨<br />
The Prefect <strong>of</strong> Jiuquan 14 is able to do the sword dance,<br />
In the main hall cups <strong>of</strong> wine are set out and drums are<br />
played throughout the night.<br />
As soon as Hu pipes play a tune everyone's heart breaks;<br />
Seated down and looking at one another, tears fall like rain.<br />
(Cen Shen, “Written After Getting Drunk at a Banquet Held by the Prefect <strong>of</strong> Jiuquan”)<br />
Aside from nostalgia inducing northern winds, desolate deserts and lachrymose music,<br />
homesickness in frontier poetry could also be transmitted by less imagistic means, such as letters from<br />
home. Although more practical than later sentimental usages, the exchange <strong>of</strong> letters in Chen Lin's<br />
10<br />
“Ni Yonghuai” 拟 咏 怀 by Yu Xin 庾 信 (513-581). See Yu Zishan ji 庾 子 山 集 3.42 in SKQS.<br />
11<br />
“Snapping the Willow” (“Zheyangliu” 折 杨 柳 ) is a yuefu title. The snapping and presentation <strong>of</strong> a willow branch was a<br />
gesture made at parting. See chapter three <strong>of</strong> this thesis for another example <strong>of</strong> the title's usage.<br />
12<br />
“Liangzhou ci ershou” 凉 州 词 二 首 by Wang Han 王 翰 (687-726). See Guoxiu ji 国 秀 集 [ 上 ], p. 9 in SKQS.<br />
13<br />
A slight modification <strong>of</strong> Stephen Owen, tr., The Great Age <strong>of</strong> Chinese Poetry, p. 13.<br />
14<br />
Name <strong>of</strong> a Tang dynasty commandery. The local seat <strong>of</strong> government was at today's Jiuquan county 酒 泉 县 , Gansu<br />
province.<br />
15<br />
“Jiuquan taishou xi shang zuihou zuo” 酒 泉 太 守 席 上 醉 后 作 by Cen Shen. See CSJJZ, p. 188. See also chapter two<br />
and three <strong>of</strong> this thesis for comments on the poem.