Gǔ Yì
古意
An Old-Style Ballad

by 李颀 (Lǐ Qí)

nán ér shì cháng zhēng, shào xiǎo Yōu Yān kè.
男儿事长征，少小幽燕客。
A valiant man devotes himself to distant campaigns, having roamed the lands of You and Yan since his youth.

dǔ shèng mǎ tí xià, yóu lái qīng qī chǐ.
赌胜马蹄下，由来轻七尺。
He stakes victory beneath his horse’s hooves, always holding his own life in little regard.

shā rén mò gǎn qián, xū rú wèi máo zhé.
杀人莫敢前，须如猬毛磔。
After striking down his foes, none dare approach him; his beard bristles like the quills of a hedgehog.

huáng yún Lǒng dǐ bái xuě fēi, wèi dé bào ēn bù néng guī.
黄云陇底白雪飞，未得报恩不能归。
Beneath the yellow clouds of Longxi, white snow swirls; until he has repaid his debt of gratitude, he cannot return home.

Liáo dōng xiǎo fù nián shí wǔ, guàn tán pí pa jiě gē wǔ.
辽东小妇年十五，惯弹琵琶解歌舞。
A young woman from Liaodong, only fifteen years old, is skilled at playing the pipa, singing, and dancing.

jīn wéi Qiāng dí chū sài shēng, shǐ wǒ sān jūn lèi rú yǔ.
今为羌笛出塞声，使我三军泪如雨。
Now the Qiang flute sounds a melody of marching beyond the frontier, bringing tears like rain to the eyes of our entire army.