This song is an adaptation of "Liangzhou Ci" by Wang Zhihuan of the Tang Dynasty.
Two poems about Liangzhou
The author Wang Zhihuan wrote in the Tang Dynasty
Far above the Yellow River, among the white clouds, there is an isolated city on the Wanren Mountain.
Why should the Qiang flute blame the willows? The spring breeze does not pass through Yumen Pass.
Chanyu looked at Fuyundui in the north, killed horses and went to the altar several times to offer sacrifices.
The emperor of the Han Dynasty is so powerful that he refuses to come back and get married.
Translation:
Looking as far as the eye can see, the Yellow River is getting farther and farther away, as if it is rushing among the white clouds. In the upper reaches of the Yellow River, among the tens of thousands of mountains, an isolated city stands at Yumen Pass. There, it seemed lonely and lonely. Why use the Qiang flute to play the sad willow song to complain that the spring is not coming? It turns out that the spring breeze cannot blow in the Yumenguan area!
The Turkic leader came to the Central Plains to seek peace and marriage. He looked north at his own territory and saw the Fuyundui Shrine north of the border. He recalled that he had killed horses and staged sacrifices here many times in the past, and then raised troops to invade the Tang Dynasty. Quite a bit complacent. But now that the emperor of the Tang Dynasty was extremely powerful and unwilling to make peace with the Turks, this trip to the Central Plains had to be returned without success.
Appreciation:
This is a seven-character quatrain with a desolate and tragic tone. Although it is full of complaints, it is not negative and decadent. It shows the broad and open-minded mind of people in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. The use of contrasting techniques in poetry makes the poetic expression more tense. The language is tactful and precise, and the thoughts and feelings are expressed appropriately.
This poem praises the Tang Dynasty's reasonable and orderly handling of ethnic minority relations from the side. It reflects the strength of the Tang Dynasty through the disappointment of the Turkic leader seeking peace and marriage, and is full of national pride.