凉州词

Full translation: "Grape-wine fills the luminous jade cup; To drink, but the pipa on horseback calls us to rise. Laugh not if we lie drunk on the battlefield; Since olden days, how many warriors return from war?" Rooted in the Tang Dynasty’s frequent frontier conflicts, this poem depicts a bittersweet moment before battle: warriors gather to savor fine wine, only to be urged by the pipa’s urgent melody to march into combat. The final line’s blunt question reveals soldiers’ stoic acceptance of death, blending festive camaraderie with the tragic reality of war. This contrast creates a profound, enduring image of heroism tinged with melancholy.

About the Poet

王

王翰

Wáng Hàn

Wang Han (c. 687–726) was a distinguished poet of the Tang Dynasty’s prosperous Kaiyuan-Tianbao era. Renowned for his bold and unrestrained frontier-themed works, he captured the grandeur, camaraderie, and inherent tragedy of military life with vivid imagery and a heroic yet poignant tone. His poems stand out for their ability to balance the bravado of warriors with the quiet melancholy of uncertain fates, making him one of the most memorable frontier poets of Tang China.

Cultural & Historical Context

Historical Background: Liangzhou, a strategic northwest frontier region in the Tang Dynasty, was a key military outpost defending against nomadic tribal incursions, making it a frequent setting for poems about military life. Cultural Background: "Liangzhou Ci" is a classic Yuefu folk song form, traditionally linked to frontier themes, allowing poets to explore the tension between duty, glory, and mortality. Social Background: The Kaiyuan-Tianbao era was marked by both imperial prosperity and constant frontier wars; soldiers faced long, perilous campaigns, a shared experience that resonated with Tang readers. Personal Experience: Wang Han, a scholar-official with indirect exposure to frontier military culture, drew on such collective narratives to craft his works. Artistic Features: The poem uses vivid sensory imagery (luminous cups, grape wine, pipa sounds) to immerse readers, while the conversational final line shifts from celebration to stark realism. Its purpose is to humanize warriors, capturing their fleeting joy and inevitable fate with bold, unflinching honesty, balancing heroic bravado with tragic depth.