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A Song of Geshu, Western Person (Tang Shi #252)
Sunday, 16 June 2019 12:16The Northern Dipper rises high,
Geshu wears his sword at night.
Today they spy upon our horses
But don’t dare cross into Lintao.
哥舒歌
北斗七星高，
哥舒夜带刀。
至今窥牧马，
不敢过临洮。
This is presented as a folk song from the northwest frontier in what’s now Gansu Province, where Lintao County is, but the simple content has been polished to formal exactness. Geshu Han was one of Emperor Xuanzong’s top generals. What the northern nomads or Tibetan raiders (commentaries disagree on who to understand here, as Geshu fought both in his career) daren’t cross would be the Tao River, though it’s worth noting that the western end the old Great Wall also passed through the county. And yes, the most common name in Chinese for Ursa Major has dipper/ladle (斗) at its root. “Rises” is padding to fill the meter and “today” loosely translates “up till now.”
—L.
Geshu wears his sword at night.
Today they spy upon our horses
But don’t dare cross into Lintao.
哥舒歌
北斗七星高，
哥舒夜带刀。
至今窥牧马，
不敢过临洮。
This is presented as a folk song from the northwest frontier in what’s now Gansu Province, where Lintao County is, but the simple content has been polished to formal exactness. Geshu Han was one of Emperor Xuanzong’s top generals. What the northern nomads or Tibetan raiders (commentaries disagree on who to understand here, as Geshu fought both in his career) daren’t cross would be the Tao River, though it’s worth noting that the western end the old Great Wall also passed through the county. And yes, the most common name in Chinese for Ursa Major has dipper/ladle (斗) at its root. “Rises” is padding to fill the meter and “today” loosely translates “up till now.”
—L.