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62<br />
捷 书 先 傍 未 央 宫 A swift dispatch first reaches Weiyang palace. 59<br />
天 子 预 开 麟 阁 待 The emperor prepares to open the Unicorn pavilion 60<br />
to receive him,<br />
61<br />
只 今 谁 数 贰 师 功 These days who counts the successes <strong>of</strong> Ershi. 62<br />
Aside from coupling loyalty and patriotic fervour with support for resisting enemy incursions<br />
into the Tang frontier region, the poet-narrator in Cen Shen's verse was also apt to follow the well-worn<br />
path <strong>of</strong> associating frontier military service with the attainment <strong>of</strong> success and recognition otherwise<br />
thwarted through traditional scholarly pursuits. While en route to Anxi for his initial frontier<br />
assignment, 63 the poet-narrator <strong>of</strong> Cen Shen's “West Inn <strong>of</strong> Yin Mountain” (“Yinshanji xiguan” 银 山 碛<br />
西 馆 ) first presents the common trope <strong>of</strong> a doleful response to being far from home and facing a harsh<br />
and unfamiliar frontier landscape before penning the familiar perturbation <strong>of</strong> having yet attained an<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficial name for oneself. The questioning in the final couplet <strong>of</strong> clerical activities suggests a resolve to<br />
put down the writing brush and establish one's credentials by confronting the hostile north-west region<br />
with action not necessarily compatible with scholarly activities:<br />
银 山 峡<br />
64<br />
口 风 似 刀<br />
The wind at the narrows <strong>of</strong> Yin mountain 65 is like a dagger<br />
59<br />
Name <strong>of</strong> a Han dynasty palace; in the poem's context it stands for a palace in Tang dynasty Chang'an.<br />
60<br />
See footnote to same entity in Gao Shi's “Below the Frontier” (“Saixia qu” 塞 下 曲 ).<br />
61<br />
CSJJZ, p. 153.<br />
62<br />
“Ershi” was the name bestowed upon Han dynasty general Li Guangli 李 广 利 by Emperor Wu Di. Li was famous for<br />
having successfully attacked Dawan 大 宛 , a country west <strong>of</strong> Han China, and capturing several thousand <strong>of</strong> their fine<br />
steeds. One example <strong>of</strong> an earlier implementation <strong>of</strong> the allusion begins Xiao Gang's 萧 纲 (Emperor Jian Wendi <strong>of</strong><br />
Liang, 南 朝 梁 简 文 帝 (503-551)) “In the Army” (“Congjun xing” 从 军 行 ): “Ershi loves fine horses/Loulan [country<br />
west <strong>of</strong> Han China] hankers for Han riches” 贰 师 惜 善 马 , 楼 兰 贪 汉 财 . YFSJ 32.478. See the final two lines <strong>of</strong> Cen<br />
Shen's “Song <strong>of</strong> Luntai: Presented When Sending Off General Feng With His Troops on a Western Campaign”<br />
(“Luntaige fengsong Fengdafuchushixizheng” 轮 台 歌 奉 送 封 大 夫 出 师 西 征 ) for another instance <strong>of</strong> delicately belittling<br />
the past to emphasize the greatness <strong>of</strong> the present. Here an allusion is made not to a specific historical figure, such as Li<br />
Guangli, but instead to the past in general in order to show how the successes and concomitant fame <strong>of</strong> Feng Changqing<br />
are so great that they exceed the recorded deeds <strong>of</strong> history's noted figures: “Who has not seen the annals <strong>of</strong> history [lit.<br />
Bamboo slips on which history is recorded]/The fame and success seen today [ie Feng Changqing's merits] exceeds the<br />
ancients” 古 来 青 史 谁 不 见 , 今 见 功 名 胜 古 人 . CSJJZ , p. 146.<br />
63<br />
CSJJZ , p. 80.<br />
64<br />
The QTS has 碛 for 峡 . See QTS 198.2056.<br />
65<br />
Mountain near Turpan 吐 鲁 番 in modern day Xinjiang Autonomous Region.