Tang poem · seven-character old-style poem (yuefu song)唐诗 · 七言古诗（乐府）

gǔ古cóng从jūn军xíng行

lǐ李qí颀Li Qi · Tang唐

An Old Song of Army Life

bái白rì日dēng登shān山wàng望fēng烽huǒ火

huáng黄hūn昏yìn饮mǎ马bàng傍jiāo交hé河

xíng行rén人diāo刁dǒu斗fēng风shā沙àn暗

gōng公zhǔ主pí琵pá琶yōu幽yuàn怨duō多

yě野yún云wàn万lǐ里wú无chéng城guō郭

yǔ雨xuě雪fēn纷fēn纷lián连dà大mò漠

hú胡yàn雁āi哀míng鸣yè夜yè夜fēi飞

hú胡ér儿yǎn眼lèi泪shuāng双shuāng双luò落

wén闻dào道yù玉mén门yóu犹bèi被zhē遮

yīng应jiāng将xìng性mìng命zhú逐qīng轻chē车

nián年nián年zhàn战gǔ骨mái埋huāng荒wài外

kōng空jiàn见pú蒲táo桃rù入hàn汉jiā家

Underlined words have notes: tap one. The Pinyin button below shows or hides all pinyin. 一 and 不 are marked with the tone you actually say.字下有虚线的，点开有注释。下方的“拼音”按钮可以显示或隐藏全部拼音。“一”“不”标的是实际读出来的变调。

The corpus title is a section name of old yuefu songs plus Cong Jun Xing; the common title is Gu Cong Jun Xing, An Old Song of Army Life. In several places the corpus differs from the common text (the order of the word for dusk, a variant character for sand, camps instead of clouds, and a variant spelling of grapes); this page follows the common text. Pú táo here means grapes.

语料库题目作《相和歌辞·从军行》，通行本题作《古从军行》。语料库“昏黄饮马”“风砂”“野营万里”“蒲萄”，通行本作“黄昏饮马”“风沙”“野云万里”“蒲桃”，这里按通行本。“蒲桃”就是葡萄，有的本子写作“蒲萄”。

Line by line逐句翻译

白日登山望烽火By day the soldiers climb the hills to watch for beacon fires.白天，士兵们登上山去瞭望烽火，
黄昏饮马傍交河At dusk they water their horses beside the Jiaohe.黄昏，在交河边上给马喝水。
行人刁斗风沙暗In the dark of wind and sand, only the army pot rings out,风沙漫天，只听见军中刁斗的声音；
公主琵琶幽怨多like the pipa of the princess sent far away, full of sorrow.像当年远嫁的公主弹的琵琶声，满是哀怨。
野云万里无城郭Wild clouds stretch ten thousand li, and not one city wall in sight.野外的云连着万里，看不见一座城池，
雨雪纷纷连大漠Rain and snow fall thick, all the way to the great desert.雨雪纷纷，一直连到大沙漠。
胡雁哀鸣夜夜飞Each night the wild geese of the north cry as they fly by.北方的大雁夜夜悲鸣着飞过，
胡儿眼泪双双落Even the local frontier soldiers shed tears, two by two.连当地的士兵也一对对地落下眼泪。
闻道玉门犹被遮They say the Jade Gate is still blocked, no one may return,听说玉门关还被挡着，不许退回，
应将性命逐轻车so they must risk their lives following the generals' chariots.只能拿性命去跟着将军拼杀。
年年战骨埋荒外Year after year, the bones of the dead are buried in the far wilds,年年都有战死的白骨埋在荒远的边地，
空见蒲桃入汉家and all that comes of it is grapes carried into the emperor's house.换来的只是看着葡萄被送进皇家。

Words字词注释

烽火fēng huǒ: fēng huǒ: beacon fires on the border. When enemies came, soldiers lit fires on the towers to warn others.烽火：边防用来报警的烟火。敌人来了，就在烽火台上点火。
饮马yìn mǎ: yìn mǎ: giving the horses water.饮马：给马喝水。
交河jiāo hé: jiāo hé: an old city near today's Turpan in Xinjiang. Here it stands for a river on the frontier.交河：古城名，在今新疆吐鲁番附近。这里泛指边塞的河。
行人xíng rén: xíng rén: people on the march, the soldiers.行人：出征的人，就是士兵。
刁斗diāo dǒu: diāo dǒu: a bronze army pot, used to cook by day and struck at night to mark the watches.刁斗：军中用的铜锅，白天用来做饭，夜里敲它来巡更报时。
公主琵琶gōng zhǔ pí pá: gōng zhǔ pí pá: the princess's pipa. The Han court married a princess to the king of Wusun in the far west, and had the pipa played on the road to ease her homesickness.公主琵琶：汉朝把公主嫁给西域乌孙国王，让人在路上弹琵琶，替她排解思乡的愁苦。
幽怨yōu yuàn: yōu yuàn: deep, hidden sorrow.幽怨：深藏在心里的哀怨。
城郭chéng guō: chéng guō: city walls. Chéng is the inner wall, guō the outer wall.城郭：城墙。内城叫城，外城叫郭。
大漠dà mò: dà mò: the great desert.大漠：大沙漠。
胡雁hú yàn: hú yàn: wild geese of the northern frontier. Hú was an old word for peoples of the north and west.胡雁：北方边地的大雁。胡，古代对北方和西方民族的称呼。
胡儿hú ér: hú ér: soldiers of the local frontier peoples.胡儿：当地少数民族的士兵。
玉门犹被遮yù mén yóu bèi zhē: yù mén yóu bèi zhē: the Jade Gate is still blocked. When Emperor Wu of Han sent troops against Dayuan and the general wanted to pull back, the emperor had the Jade Gate Pass guarded and said anyone who came back would be killed. It means the soldiers are not allowed home.玉门犹被遮：汉武帝派兵攻打大宛，打得很苦，将军想撤兵，武帝却派人把守住玉门关，说谁敢退回来就杀。这里说退路被挡住，不许回家。
逐轻车zhú qīng chē: zhú qīng chē: to follow the light chariots, that is, follow the general into battle. The Han had a title, General of Light Chariots.逐轻车：跟着将军去拼命。轻车，汉代有“轻车将军”，这里指带兵的将领。
荒外huāng wài: huāng wài: beyond the wild, far-off borderland.荒外：荒远的边地之外。
蒲桃pú táo: pú táo: grapes, brought in from the western regions in Han times.蒲桃：就是葡萄，汉朝时从西域传进来。
汉家hàn jiā: hàn jiā: the Han house, here really meaning the Tang.汉家：汉朝，这里借指唐朝。

How to read it读音

饮yìn: Yìn mǎ means to give the horses water; in this use the character is read yìn.“饮马”是给马喝水，“饮”作使动用法读 yìn。
傍bàng: This character means beside, along, and is read bàng.“傍”是靠近、沿着，读 bàng。
斗dǒu: Diāo dǒu is a kind of bronze pot, so this character is read dǒu, not dòu.“刁斗”是一种铜锅，“斗”读 dǒu，不读 dòu。
雨yǔ: Today this is usually read yǔ xuě, rain and snow. Another view takes the first character as a verb, to fall, read yù, so the phrase means snow falling.“雨雪”现在一般读 yǔ xuě，理解为雨和雪；一说“雨”作动词，是“下（雪）”的意思，读 yù。

Background创作背景

Cong Jun Xing, Song of Army Life, was an old yuefu song title. Adding the word gu, old, says the poem is about the past. All the stories in it come from the Han dynasty: the princess married far away, the blocked Jade Gate, the grapes from the west. But the poet is really using the Han to talk about the Tang. Under Emperor Xuanzong the court often fought on the frontier, and many soldiers died. The poem is usually read as a criticism of throwing away lives to win more land. The year it was written is not known.

《从军行》是乐府旧题，加一个“古”字，表示写的是古代的事。诗里写的都是汉朝的典故：远嫁的公主、被挡住的玉门关、西域传来的葡萄。其实诗人是借汉朝说唐朝。唐玄宗时，朝廷常在边地打仗，死了很多士兵。一般认为，这首诗就是讽刺这种为了开拓疆土、不惜牺牲人命的做法。写作年份不详。

The poet作者

Li Qi was a Tang poet whose birth and death years are not known. He passed the top exam in the Kaiyuan years and held a small post as a county officer in Xinxiang. Later he lived for a long time in retirement at Yingyang, around today's Dengfeng in Henan. He knew Wang Wei, Gao Shi, Wang Changling and other poets. His frontier poems are grand and powerful, and his poems about music are famous too.

李颀，唐代诗人，生卒年不详，开元年间考中进士，做过新乡县尉这样的小官，后来长期隐居在颍阳（今河南登封一带）。他和王维、高适、王昌龄等人都有来往。他的边塞诗气势雄浑，写音乐的诗也很有名。

The mood意境

The first eight lines show how hard frontier life is. By day the soldiers watch for beacons, at dusk they water the horses, wind and sand fill the sky, and the army pot sounds as sad as the princess's pipa. There is no city for ten thousand li. Rain and snow run into the desert. The wild geese cry every night. Even the local people cry, so think how the soldiers far from home must feel. The last four lines turn to criticism. The way home is blocked, so they must fight to the death. Every year more die, and their bones lie in the wild. And what is won? Only some grapes carried into the palace. The last line is calm, yet it hits like a punch. So many lives for so little: was it worth it? The poet does not shout, but the reader already knows the answer.

前八句写边塞的苦。白天看烽火，晚上饮马，风沙遮天，刁斗声和琵琶声一样凄凉。万里看不见城，雨雪连着沙漠，大雁夜夜悲叫，连本地人都哭了，更不用说远离家乡的士兵。后四句一下子转到批评：退路被挡住，只能拿命去拼；年年有人战死，白骨埋在荒野。换来了什么？只是一些葡萄被送进皇宫。最后一句很平静，却像一记重拳：千万条性命，就换来这一点点东西，值得吗？诗人没有直接骂，但读者心里已经有了答案。