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clearly encroaching upon the literary-cultural construct (wenhuaxing 文 化 型 ) of the frontier in Li Qi's
poem. 44
A gritty and depressing aspect of war on the frontier, a frontier which though framed by a
militarized conceptualization does not even offer a remote chance to prove one's mettle or to have one's
efforts acknowledged, commands the nadiral atmosphere of Gao Shi's “Tribal Song” (“Buluo qu” 部 落
曲 ), a poem which acts as a poignant contrast to the firm resolution which once frequently
accompanied young brave men portrayed as valiantly galloping towards the frontier to repel invading
forces: 45
藩 军 傍 塞 游
代 马 喷 秋 风
老 将 垂 金 甲
阏 支 着 锦 裘
Barbarian 46 troops roam along the frontier,
Dai 47 horses neigh in the autumn wind.
Armour hanging off old generals,
The wife of the Xiongnu chief wears brocaded furs.
雕 戈 蒙 豹 尾 Engraved lances covered by leopard tails, 48
44
Ng, Kam-lung, “Tangdai biansaishi yanjiu”, p. 155. Hong Zan summarizes war-themed poetry of the Early Tang as an
idealistically driven subgenre in which patriotism, a desire to serve those who could offer significant acknowledgement
of one's efforts, and a yearning for honour and fame through frontier service characterizes many works of martial
inclination. See Hong Zan, Tangdai zhanzhengshi yanjiu, pp. 72-74. This attitude can be equated to the way in which
during the early years of the dynasty, “when humiliating defeats and the horror of barbarian sway during the period of
disunity [of the Northern and Southern dynasties] were still vivid memories; patriotic sentiments [would] naturally [be]
strong and the response to frontier levies enthusiastic”. See See Marie Chan, “Kao Shih's 'Yen Ko-Hsing': A Critical
Exegesis” in Ronald Miao ed., Studies in Chinese Poetry and Poetics (San Francisco: Chinese Materials Center, 1978),
p. 228. Even while often following such treatments as noted by Zong, the marked difference in High Tang frontier
poetry of a strong war theme is that it often enlarges the range of responses to war on the frontier without making a clear
and decisive break from literary precedent. Marie Chan again finds a correlation between the historical situation as it had
developed since the early days of the Tang dynasty and the maturation of sentiment in High Tang frontier poetry. It was
in this later period that frontier “campaigns were expanded [into] a hitherto unknown scale. Their motives, too, ceased to
be purely defensive...[and] by the time of An Lu-shan...the consensus of opinion was that the majority of the frontier
expeditions were unnecessary and were conducted mostly for the personal aggrandizement of the commanders”. Chan
further speculates that the “movement from optimism to despair [in attitudes towards frontier war in many High Tang
works] may reflect a historical reality [captured in the poetry, one that] savour[s] both...early enthusiasm [for frontier
war] and...later disillusionment [with it]”.
45
Cao Zhi's “The White Horse” again illustrates the former fervency for frontier service which is called into question in
the High Tang : “To the frontier walls come many alarms/ The nomad horseman are always on the move/Urgent
commands come down from the north/He will urge his horse up the high ridge/To the west he tramples the Xiongnu/To
the east he turns to hold back the Xianbei/He throws himself amid swords and lances/Surely he can't value his life”.
Modified version of Terrence C. Russell, tr., “The Poetry of Ts'ao Chih”, 183. 边 城 多 警 急 , 胡 虏 数 迁 移 . 羽 檄 从 北 来 ,
厉 马 登 高 堤 . 右 驱 踩 匈 奴 , 左 顾 降 鲜 卑 . 寄 身 锋 刃 端 , 性 命 安 可 怀 . YFSJ 63.915.
46
Literally Fan ( 藩 ), non-Chinese peoples of the frontier .
47
Name of an ancient kingdom noted for producing fine horses.
48
Not actual leopard tails but rather leopard pattern pennons tied to the lances.