Tang Dynasty Quatrains Pi Rixiu
One
Ten thousand dragon boats carrying green silk boats will never return them to Yangzhou①.
It should be that Tianjiao opened Bianshui River②, and there are no mountains in more than a thousand miles.
Second
This river died in the Sui Dynasty, and it still relies on Tongbo for thousands of miles.
If there is no water palace dragon boat incident ③, there will not be much of Yu's theory of merit ④.
Notes:
① Never return it to Yangzhou: Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty was killed by his general Yu Wenji when he visited Yangzhou.
② Bianshui: the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.
③The Water Palace Dragon Boat Incident: Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty mobilized countless human and financial resources when he went to Yangzhou, accelerating the demise of the Sui Dynasty.
④***Yu’s merits: The author here affirms the positive significance of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, which can be compared with Dayu’s achievements in flood control.