mǎ马wéi嵬pō坡

In 755 An Lushan rose in revolt. This was the An–Shi Rebellion. The next year Emperor Xuanzong fled toward Sichuan. At Mawei Slope his soldiers refused to go on and demanded that Consort Yang be put to death. The emperor had to agree. Later Chang'an was won back and Xuanzong returned from Sichuan. Mawei is in today's Xingping, Shaanxi. Zheng Tian lived in the late Tang. This poem gives his view of that history. We do not know exactly when he wrote it.

公元755年，安禄山起兵造反，这就是“安史之乱”。第二年唐玄宗逃往四川，走到马嵬坡时，士兵不肯前进，要求处死杨贵妃，玄宗只好答应。后来长安收复，玄宗从四川回来。马嵬坡在今天陕西兴平。郑畋是晚唐人，这首诗是他借这段历史发表的看法，具体写作时间不详。

Zheng Tian was a minister and poet of the late Tang who served as chancellor. When Huang Chao's rebel army took Chang'an, he gathered troops around Fengxiang to fight back. He lived through the Tang dynasty's troubles himself, so the story of Xuanzong moved him deeply.

郑畋，晚唐大臣、诗人，做过宰相。黄巢起义军攻进长安时，他在凤翔一带组织兵力抵抗。他亲身经历了唐朝的动乱，所以对唐玄宗那段历史很有感触。

Many poems were written about Mawei. Most pity Consort Yang or blame Xuanzong. This one takes another angle. The first two lines say: she died and the love was gone, but the land found peace again. The last two lines compare him with the last ruler of Chen. When his state fell, that ruler could not part with his consorts and hid with them in a well. He lost his country and was captured anyway. Xuanzong was heartbroken, but he gave up Consort Yang and kept the country, so he can still be called a wise emperor. Some readers think there is a touch of irony here: he was only a little better than a ruler who lost everything. As you read, ask yourself whether the poet is praising or sighing.

写马嵬坡的诗很多，大多是同情杨贵妃，或者批评唐玄宗。这首诗角度不一样。前两句说：杨妃死了，爱情没了，可是国家又安定了。后两句拿陈后主来比：亡国的时候，陈后主舍不得妃子，带着她们躲进井里，最后国也亡了，人也被抓。唐玄宗虽然痛苦，却舍弃了杨妃，保住了国家，总算还是“圣明天子”。也有人认为这里带着一点讽刺：只是比亡国之君好一点罢了。读的时候可以想想，作者到底是在夸，还是在叹。