A Poem Thrown at Martial Duke Pei, An Armored Ghost
Wednesday, 14 September 2022 07:42In 741, the army of Martial Duke Pei had stopped for the night. In front of his tent, the martial duke saw an armored figure, who threw him a single sheet of paper and left. The martial duke took it and saw it was merely a four-couplet poem. Greatly displeased, he immediately dropped the paper (into the fire) to become ashes, knowing full well that it was by a ghost. When he sent out his troops, (the battle) went unfavorably and the martial duke was shot under the breast, and after a little more than a month he succumbed to his injury.
We whipped and whipped lean horses through the jumbled mountain ranges.
The gathered mists reflected sunlight—daytime looked like evening.
We drove the long bridge, through the narrow pass to heavenly Han—
The perilous mountain plankway passed through lofty cloud-touching peaks.
We still recall Huaiyin—your futile “fitting stratagem.”
Again we sigh, us loyal troops, not worthy of being heard.
We rose and fell, expended on front lines, countless lives,
So don’t you boast! —the heroes here are your courageous soldiers.
掷裴武公诗
作者:介胄鬼
〈开元末,裴武公军夜宿。武公帐前,见一介胄者,掷一纸书而去。武公取视,乃四韵诗。大不悦,纸随手落为烬,信知鬼物所制也。出师大不利,武公射中臆下,病月馀薨。〉
屡策羸骖历乱峋,
丛岚映日昼如曛。
长桥驾险浮天汉,
危栈通岐触岫云。
却念淮阴空得计,
又嗟忠武不堪闻。
废兴尽系前生数,
休衒英雄勇冠军。
A ghost poem from CTP ch865, though this ghost writes with a more literary style than I’d expect from a typical conscript. There are no pronouns in the poem, so it’s just as easy to read “I” instead of “we.” The general’s title probably has a traditional/official translation, but I haven’t found it. Translation convention: I always silently convert all regnal era years to Common Era.
Tang ghost poems are the best, y’all. They get thrown at people as a “you suck!” gesture.
(Would this make a good Yuletide fandom? Yes—yes, it would.)
---L.