Yan Gexing Gao Shi's original translation is as follows:
Original:
Yan Gexing (combined order)
Gao Shi [Tang Dynasty]
In the twenty-sixth year of Kaiyuan, some guests returned from Yuanrong, and wrote Yan Gexing as a sign, which was suitable for the defense, so it was harmonious.
the northeastern border of China was dark with smoke and dust, to repel the savage invaders, our generals, leaving their families.
strode forth together, looking as heroes should look, and having received from the Emperor his most gracious favour.
_ Golden Cutting Drum Xiayuguan, they circled the Stone Tablet with a line of waving flags.
till their captains over the Sea of Sand were twanging feathered orders, the Tartar chieftain's hunting-fires glimmered along Wolf Mountain.
and heights and rivers were cold and bleak there at the outer border, but soon the barbarians' horses were plunging through wind and rain.
half of our men at the front were killed, but the other half are living, and still at the camp beautiful girls dance for them and sing.
The desert is full of grass in autumn, the few surviving watchers by the lonely wall at sunset.
serving in a good cause, hold life and the foeman lightly, and yet, for all that they have done, Elm Pass is still unsafe. (Always underestimate the enemy: always underestimate the enemy)
still at the front, iron armour is worn and battered thin, Yumo should say goodbye.
still in this southern city young wives' hearts are breaking, while soldiers at the northern border vainly look toward home.
floating in the side court _ that's measurable, and there's nothing in the boundless realm. (gone with the wind _ a work: swaying; Do nothing: what)
three times a day a cloud of slaughter rises over the camp, and all night long the hour-drums shake their chilly booming.
until white swords can be seen again, spattered with red blood, when death becomes a duty, who stops to think of fame!
yet in speaking of the rigours of warfare on the desert, we name to this day Li, the great General, who lived long ago.
Translation:
In the 26th year of the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, a man who came back from a fortress with his head coach wrote me a poem "Yan Ge Xing". I was deeply impressed by the frontier defense, so I wrote this song "Yan Ge Xing" to meet him.
The northeast border war broke out again in the Tang Dynasty, and the general left home to conquer the bandits.
The soldiers were invincible on the battlefield, and the emperor gave them a generous reward.
The troops beat the golden drums and marched out of Shanhaiguan, with banners flying in the Jieshi Mountains.
A captain urgently handed out a feather book and flew across the vast sea of sand. The Xiongnu Khan held a hunting fire and came to my Langshan Mountain.
The mountains and rivers are barren and depressed, and they are desolate to the border. The Hu cavalry is fierce, like wind and rain.
the soldiers were killed in the front line, and they could not distinguish between life and death; The generals are still enjoying the beauty's songs and dances in the camp!
In late autumn, the vegetation withers in the desert outside the Great Wall; At sunset, the border town is lonely and dangerous, and the number of soldiers is getting less and less
The Lord is favored by the imperial court and often underestimates the enemy, but the soldiers are exhausted and still can't understand the encirclement of the mountain.
I don't know how many years the recruiter in armor has been guarding the frontier. The homesick woman in that family should have been crying and crying since her husband was taken away.
The homesick wife is alone in her hometown, and the husband looks back at her hometown in the frontier.
where can you easily return from the turbulent battlefield of the frontier fortress? The faraway land is even more desolate and barren.
In the morning, afternoon and evening, the murderous battle clouds were gathering, and all night long, only the sound of the patrol was heard.
The soldiers looked at each other, and the discerning combat knives were stained with blood stains. Stick to moral integrity and die for the country, is it for personal fame and fortune?
You don't see how hard it is to fight in the battlefield. You are still thinking about General Li, who is brave and resourceful.