The cavalry in front of them were all holding bows and arrows, and discerning horses were chewing gold.
An archer, chest up, through the clouds, smiling.
-"Ai Jiangtou" (Tang Du Fu)
Poetry translation
The female official in the palace in front of the car carries a bow and arrow, and the white horse is covered with a golden bridle with a chew. Turn over and shoot at the clouds in the sky, and the birds that took off one by one fell to the ground with a smile.
Full text of original poem
Aijiangtou
(Don Du Fu)
Shaoling night swallowed and began to cry. I quietly descended along the winding river like a shadow of spring.
There are thousands of palaces on the shore and new branches of willows. Who are you green for? ?
I remember the colorful flags floating from the South Garden, which was full of colors.
The first lady of the kingdom, from the Sun Palace, waited on the emperor's royal chariot.
The cavalry in front of them were all holding bows and arrows, and discerning horses were chewing gold.
An archer, chest up, through the clouds, smiling.
Where are those perfect eyes and those pearly teeth? A blood-stained soul has no home and nowhere to go.
A clear wave flowed eastward, crossing the Diaolou Mountain Path, and there was no news.
Compassionate people shed tears and hoped that she would be as eternal as rivers and flowers!
Tatars on horseback, in the dim twilight, covered the town with dust. I fled to the south, but I was still staring at the throne in the north.
Poetic background
Ai Jiang Tou is the work of Du Fu, a great poet in the Tang Dynasty. The first half of this poem recalls the grand occasion of Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei's visit to Qujiang, and the second half mourns the death of Guifei and Xuanzong's escape, laments the ups and downs of Qujiang in the past, depicts the desolate scene of Chang 'an City after being looted by Anshi rebels, and expresses the poet's sincere patriotic feelings and deep sorrow for the country's demise.