兵 車 行 - 杜 甫
車 轔 轔 , 馬 蕭 蕭 ,行 人 弓 箭 各 在 腰 ，
耶 孃 妻 子 走 相 送 , 塵 埃 不 見 咸 陽 橋 。
牽 衣 頓 足 攔 道 哭 , 哭 聲 直 上 干 雲 霄 。
道 旁 過 者 問 行 人 , 行 人 但 云 點 行 頻 。
或 從 十 五 北 防 河 , 便 至 四 十 西 營 田 。
去 時 里 正 與 裹 頭 , 歸 來 頭 白 還 戍 邊 。
邊 亭 流 血 成 海 水 , 武 皇 開 邊 意 未 已 。
君 不 聞 漢 家 山 東 二 百 州 , 千 村 萬 落 生 荊
緃 有 健 婦 把 鋤 犂 , 禾 生 隴 畝 無 東 西 。
況 復 秦 兵 耐 苦 戰 , 被 驅 不 異 犬 與 雞 。
長 者 雖 有 問 , 役 夫 敢 申 恨 ?
且 如 今 年 冬 , 未 休 關 西 卒 。
縣 官 急 索 租 , 租 稅 從 何 出 ?
信 知 生 男 惡 , 反 是 生 女 好 ；
生 女 猶 得 嫁 比 鄰 , 生 男 埋 沒 隨 百 草 !
君 不 見 青 海 頭 , 古 來 白 骨 無 人 收 。
新 鬼 煩 寃 舊 鬼 哭 , 天 陰 雨 濕 聲 啾 啾 。
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Song of Soldiers and Chariots - Du Fu
Chariots rumbling, horses neighed,
Soldiers had bows and arrows to their waist.
Parents, wives and children came,
To bid a last good-bye.
The march off had dust spreading high,
And the main bridge couldn’t be identified.
Outfits were tugged and fairway blocked, amongst cries,
The wailing could be heard far up in the sky.
Wayfarers were asked by passers-by,
Recurrent conscription was the answer why.
The fifteens are required to guard against Tu-fans’ harm ,
The forties, when not fighting, are garrisoned to farm.
Set off as teens with headbands done for them,
Grey-haired, still guarding in frontier camps.
In the front, soldiers’ blood never stopped to flow,
As a sea turned red would show.
All because of an Emperor eager to expand
His frontiers to gain more land.
Do you not see all counties east of Hua Mountain,
With ten thousand villages in desolation?
Though able-bodied wives take the tiller,
Fields are weeded over, hither and thither.
The Qin soldiers were used to war,
And known for the pains they could take.
But they were being driven in awe,
Like poultry, dog and pig.
Though elders may care to ask what they saw,
Dare conscripts demur and deprecate war?
Take for instance winter this year:
Before front soldiers had any respite there,
Rent is exacted on the soldiers’ share.
Where from can people pay a tax so unfair?
Until then people had no understanding,
Having a son is not exactly a blessing.
It’s better to have a daughter in a family.
Since to a neighbour she can be married,
Whereas, one never knows,
Where one’s own son may be buried.
Do you not see where bare bones lie,
Unattended and unclaimed, by the Lakeside ?
New ghosts are ululating over old ghosts’ cries,
On a gloomy and drizzling day, one could be terrified.
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