View/Open - University of Victoria
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View/Open - University of Victoria
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215<br />
使 交 河 群<br />
Mission To Jiaohe Commandery<br />
群 在 火 山 脚 , 其 地 苦 热 无 雨 雪 . 献 封 大 夫<br />
The commandery is located at the foot <strong>of</strong> Fire Mountain. The land there is bitterly hot<br />
and without rain or snow. The poem is to be presented to General Feng Changqing.<br />
奉 使 按 胡 俗 Ordered on a mission to inspect the customs <strong>of</strong> the Hu 17 ,<br />
平 明 发 轮 台<br />
At dawn setting out from Luntai.<br />
暮 投 交 河 城<br />
In the evening staying at Jiaohe,<br />
火 山 赤 崔 嵬<br />
Fire Mountain red and l<strong>of</strong>ty.<br />
九 月 尚 流 汗<br />
In the ninth month and still sweating,<br />
炎 风 吹 沙 埃<br />
Scorching winds blow sand and dust.<br />
何 事 阴 阳 工 Why is it that the workman <strong>of</strong> yin and yang 18<br />
不 遣 雨 雪 来<br />
Not allow rain and snow to arrive?<br />
吾 君 方 忧 边<br />
My lord, worried about the situation on the borders,<br />
分 阃 资 大 才 appoints a man <strong>of</strong> great talent to the position <strong>of</strong> general 19 .<br />
昨 者 新 破 胡<br />
Not long ago the Hu were defeated,<br />
安 西 兵 马 回 and the Anxi military forces returned. 20<br />
铁 关 控 天 涯<br />
From Iron Gate Pass reaching towards the edge <strong>of</strong> the sky,<br />
万 里 何 辽 哉 Ten thousand li – oh how far! 21<br />
烟 尘 不 敢 飞<br />
The smoke <strong>of</strong> battle dares not fly,<br />
白 草 空 皑 皑 Frontier grasses waste their whiteness. 22<br />
军 中 日 无 事<br />
In the army camp days pass with nothing to do,<br />
醉 舞 倾 金 罍<br />
Drunken dancing, pouring wine into golden goblets.<br />
汉 代 李 将 军 General Li <strong>of</strong> the Han dynasty –<br />
23<br />
微 功 今 何 咍 Oh how his small achievements are laughed at today!<br />
17<br />
While on the staff <strong>of</strong> general Feng Changqing, Cen Shen was appointed by the government to the post <strong>of</strong> Investigating<br />
Censor (jiancha yushi 监 察 御 史 ). Investigating Censors were “generally empowered to gather complaints from the<br />
people, to review the handling <strong>of</strong> prisoners, [and] to impeach any <strong>of</strong>ficial for misconduct”. See Charles O. Hucker, A<br />
Dictionary <strong>of</strong> Official Titles in Imperial China, pp. 145-146.<br />
18<br />
An allusion to Jia Yi's 贾 谊 (201-169 BCE) “Rhyme-Prose on the Owl” (“Funiao fu” 鵩 鸟 赋 ).<br />
19<br />
The talented man being Feng Changqing 封 常 清 . See CSJJZ, p. 153.<br />
20<br />
At the time, Feng Changqing was also the Anxi Military Commissioner (Anxi jiedushi 安 西 节 度 使 ). In the fifth month<br />
<strong>of</strong> the fourteenth year <strong>of</strong> Tianbao era ( 天 宝 十 四 载 ), or about 755, Feng Changqing set out on a campaign and the next<br />
month returned after receiving the surrender <strong>of</strong> enemy forces. See Zhang Hui ed., Cen Shen biansaishixuan, p. 79.<br />
21<br />
Feng Changqing's renown has boundlessly spread across the empire. See Zhang Hui, ed., Cen Shen biansaishixuan, p.<br />
79.<br />
22<br />
Without the encroachment <strong>of</strong> nomadic non-Chinese tribes, the white grasses <strong>of</strong> potential frontier pasture land go to seed.<br />
See CSJJZ, p. 153.<br />
23<br />
CSJJZ, p. 152.