POEM
出塞Chū SàiOn the Frontier
- Dynasty
- Tang
- Author
- 王昌龄 Wáng Chānglíng (Wang Changling)
- Genre
- 七言绝句
- Lines
- 4
- Era
- c. 8th century
THE POEM — LINE BY LINE
Tap a line for word-by-word gloss.
#1秦时明月汉时关Qín shí míng yuè hàn shí guānThe moon of Qin times, the pass of Han times —word by word
秦qínthe Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)时shítime; era明míngbright月yuèmoon汉hànthe Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220)时shítime; era关guānpass; frontier gate#2万里长征人未还Wàn lǐ cháng zhēng rén wèi huánthe men who marched ten thousand li have still not come home.word by word
万wànten thousand; countless里lǐChinese mile (about 500 m)长chánglong (长征: long march)征zhēngmarch; expedition人rénpeople; men未wèinot yet还huánreturn#3但使龙城飞将在Dàn shǐ lóng chéng fēi jiàng zàiIf only the Winged General of Dragon City were here,word by word
但dànif only; as long as使shǐmake; cause (但使: if only)龙lóngdragon (龙城: Dragon City)城chéngcity飞fēiflying (飞将: the Winged General, Li Guang)将jiànggeneral在zàibe present; alive#4不教胡马度阴山Bù jiào hú mǎ dù yīn shānhe would never let the nomads' horses cross the Yin Mountains.word by word
不bùnot教jiàolet; allow胡húthe Hu — northern nomads马mǎhorse度dùcross阴yīnshady side (阴山: the Yin Mountains)山shānmountain
POEM IN PLAIN ENGLISH
A plain-English guide, not a literary translationThe moon of Qin times, the pass of Han times — the border has been at war for a thousand years, and the men who marched ten thousand li away have still not come home. If only the Winged General of Dragon City were here, he would never let the nomads' horses cross the Yin Mountains. The poem folds all of Chinese frontier history into two lines, then makes its whole point with one sigh in the third line: 'if only'. This is a plain-English guide, not a literary translation.
BACKGROUND & IMAGERY
Wang Changling (698-756) was known in his own time as the 'Poet-Saint of the Seven-Character Quatrain', and 出塞 is the most famous of his frontier poems. The Winged General (飞将) is Li Guang, the Han-dynasty commander the nomads feared; to wish him back is to wish the endless border wars away. 龙城 and 阴山 are both frontier landmarks of the far north, beyond which lay the steppe.
TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
Sources
- 《唐诗三百首》通行本（中华书局点校本）
- 本站飞花令语料 feihualing.db（poem 397024） — 文本以通行本为准，库本仅行级参考（库本与通行本一致）
- Original English paraphrase & gloss — 本站原创学习释义，非文学译本（plain-English guide, not a literary translation）
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