Listen to this articleLate Autumn, Climb the City Walls Near the Northern Gate
秋 晚 瞪 城 北 门
幅 巾 藜 杖 北 城 头
卷 地 西 风 满 眼 愁。
一 点 烽 传 散 关 信
两 行 雁 带 杜 陵 秋。
山 河 兴 废 供 搔 首
身 世 安 危 入 倚 楼。
横 槊 赋 非 复 昔
梦 魂 犹 绕 古 梁 州。
Qiu Wan Deng Cheng Bei Men
Fu jin li zhang cheng tou
Juan di xi feng man yan chou.
Yi dian feng chuan shu guan xin
Liang hang yan dai du ling qiu.
Shan he xing fei gong sao shou
Shen shi an wei ru yi lou.
Heng shuo fu fei fu xi
Meng hun you rao gu liang zhou.
Late Autumn, Climb the City Walls Near the Northern Gate
Wearing a wide lamb’s quarters head wrap, carry a cane atop the northern city wall
Western winds swirl along the land, eyes filled with melancholy everywhere.
Mountain pass stronghold, messages passed on from small beacon fires
Autumn in a Duling cemetery, two rows of wild geese overhead.
Our mountains and rivers abandoned like the scratched hairs on my head
Perhaps my destiny to enter these ramparts to calm my fears of danger.
Like Su Dongpo, long ancient spear will not again achieve past abilities
Spirit dreams emerge and disappear around ancient Liangzhou.
Notes:
[Written in September 1177 AD, Lu is still in Chengdu. By now he had been in Sichuan Province for over eight years.]
Duling: Area outside of the capital city of Chang’an.
Su Dongpo: Famous Song Dynasty poet. His poem and biographical information can also be found on this website.
Liangzhou: City located near the capital city of Chang’an, in western Shaanxi Province.
