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On a macro-level, “Song of Yan” can be approached as a complex of responses to frontier
warfare, one which embodies, to differing degrees, major themes found in Gao Shi's frontier poetry: 93
praise for the martial enterprise as it pertains to the nation's defence, 94 criticism of wastrel behaviour by
those with military authority, 95 and sympathy for the common, and all to often suffering, soldier. 96
Following Hu Yong's exegetic division of the poem into four parts, 97 this thematic arrangement
becomes quite apparent and assists in understanding the intricacies of the poem while also questioning
李 将 军 赵 将 李 牧 也 守 边 二 十 年 匈 奴 不 敢 犯 边 . See Tangyin 唐 音 3.31 in SKQS. Hundreds of years later in the Qing 清
dynasty, the choice between Guang Li/Li Mu remained unresolved: “Li Guang loved his troops, so it could be said to be
him. Or it could be Li Mu; that's also possible” 李 广 爱 惜 士 卒 , 故 云 . 或 云 李 牧 , 亦 可 . See Shen Deqian 沈 德 潜
Tangshi biecaiji 唐 诗 别 裁 集 ([ 上 ] Shanghai: Gujichubanshe 古 籍 出 版 社 ), p. 161. Yet when considering that there are
a great number of cases in which frontier poems conclude with an allusion, for different effects, to Li Guang, such as
Cen Shen's “Commissioner of Jiao He Commandery” (“Shijiaohequn” 使 交 河 群 ): “General Li of the Han dynasty/[His]
small successes can today be laughed at” 汉 代 李 将 军 , 微 功 今 可 咍 (See CSJJZ, p. 152) and the first of Wang
Changling's “Beyond the Frontier” (“Chusai ershou” 出 塞 二 首 ): “Were only the Flying General at Longcheng/ The Hu
horses would not be allowed to cross Yin mountain” 但 使 龙 城 飞 将 在 , 不 教 胡 马 度 阴 山 (QTS.143.1444), interpreting
the General Li of “Song of Yan” as Li Guang at least statistically seems safe. In selecting the Han dynasty “Li”, Owen
also comments on the imprecision of meaning in the last line, though not in the Li Guang/Li Mu context: “Gao's closing
may suggest that it is the futile desire to emulate Li Guang which has led to endless campaigns and which results in so
much human suffering. And in the context of the heroic self-sacrifice of the troops, the memory of Li Guang may...serve
yet a third function, a reminder of how poorly the state rewards those who serve it well: the Han general cut his throat in
response to the ingratitude of his superiors. Gao's song was written in response to someone else's 'Song of Yan'...and it is
possible that a reference to Li Guang in the original version, now lost, would have clarified its function here”. See
Stephen Owen, The Great Age of Chinese Poetry, p. 153. Suffice to say, the final line remains wide open.
93
Hong Zan, Tangdai zhanzhengshi yanjiu, p. 85.
94
“Below the Frontier” (“Saixia qu” 塞 下 曲 ) being a strong example.
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Besides the previously cited second “Jimen” (“Jimen ershou” 蓟 门 二 首 ), this frequent theme of Gao Shi's can be
found in the last six lines of “Written in Ji” ( 蓟 中 作 ):“Each time I come to some site of battle/I grieve that the nomads
may return/True, we have plans to still the frontiers/But our generals have rested too long in favour/I am depressed at
this, Sun Wu's vocation/I will go home and alone I will lock my gate” See Stephen Owen, tr., The Great Age of Chinese
Poetry, p. 151. 一 到 征 战 处 , 每 愁 胡 虏 翻 . 岂 无 安 边 书 ? 诸 将 已 承 恩 . 惆 怅 孙 吴 事 , 归 来 独 闭 门 . See GSJJZ, p. 188.
Owen notes that “Sun Wu was an ancient military theoretician, and his 'vocation' is metonymy for warfare. Presumably
the generals of the northwestern frontiers are unwilling to take vigorous action for fear of failing and thereby losing the
favour they enjoy”. See Stephen Owen, tr., The Great Age of Chinese Poetry, p. 151. However, a footnote accompanying
the poem in the GSJJZ reads “ 孙 吴 ”as the often paired military strategists Sun Wu ( 孙 武 ), famed writer of The Art of
War (Sunzi bingfa 孙 子 兵 法 ), and Wu Qi 吴 起 , a general of the from Wei 卫 who served Wei 魏 in defeating the Qin
秦 army. The biographies of Sun Wu and Wu Qi can be found in chapter sixty-five of the Shiji.
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A wrenching example of this particular response to frontier war is the first “Dispatching the Qingyi Troops to Juyong”
(“Shi qingyijun rujuyong sanshou” 使 青 夷 军 入 居 庸 三 首 ): “Our horses have journeyed so long/The road twists so
toilsome/We do not know the frontier is different/We only gasp out that our clothing is thin/The streams are cold, sound
of the springs so bitter/The mountains are empty/leaves of the forest all dried/Do not tell us that at the frontier pass's
end/Rain and snow still stretch on and on”. See Marie Chan, tr., Kao Shih, p. 100. 匹 马 行 将 入 , 征 途 去 转 难 . 不 知 边 地
别 , 只 讶 客 一 但 . 溪 冷 泉 声 苦 , 山 空 木 叶 干 . 莫 言 关 塞 极 , 云 雪 尚 漫 漫 . See GSJJZ, pp. 185-186. An earlier poem by
Cui Hao 催 颢 (d.754), “Written at Liaoxi” (“Liaoxi zuo” 辽 西 作 ), and here excerpted, also makes use of ragged
garments to accentuate the hardship of soldiering: “Hu herd their horses [ie attack south]/ The Han general dispatches
troops/In layers of dew precious swords are glistening/Among desert hills metal bells ring/Winter clothes already worn
thin/Spring clothes – who will make them for us?” 胡 人 正 牧 马 , 汉 将 日 征 兵 . 露 重 宝 刀 淫 , 沙 虚 金 鼓 鸣 . 寒 衣 著 已 尽 ,
春 服 与 谁 成 ? See QTS 130.1328.
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Hu Yong, “Fengci haishi gesong” , passim.