11 Seeing Off My Cousin Ya on His Way to His Post as Administrative
Assistant
in Anxi The south wind makes sounds of autumn,1 the atmosphere of destruction presses the blazing heat.
Du Fu - 5
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Unauthenticated Download Date | 10/1/17 7:36 AM Seeing Off Attendant Censor Zhangsun (9) 303 Last autumn the Hu horde rebelled,1 you cannot fail to sweep them away like lightning.
On this journey you will gather the remaining peasants,2 12 and will then revive the customs there.
My great uncle is the high commander,3 his reputation is as a senior of the realm.
The best of my colleagues has been snatched away, 16 swept afar, to inspect a fortress.
This makes me unable to eat, and causes me unpleasant feelings.
Such a man?
s talented thoughts are vast, 20 a dark sea inundating the most remote isles.
In drinking I have lost one of the poets, while the frontier has gotten a jewel of the realm.
August Heaven grieves sending him so far, 24 clouds and rain are white and flooding.
Beacon fires are still on the Eastern Meadow,4 people look gaunt and distressed in court and wilderness.
If even the pillar of the furthest west collapses,5 28 how will it be possible to set aright the vault of sky?
1 The ?
Hu?
here refers to the Tibetans.
2 Presumably the Han Chinese farming population.
3 Du Hongjian.
4 That is, Chang?
an.
5 That is, the fall of much of Wuwei Commandery.
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Unauthenticated Download Date | 10/1/17 7:36 AM Seeing Off My Cousin Ya on His Way to His Post 305 5.
11 Seeing Off My Cousin Ya on His Way to His Post as Administrative Assistant in Anxi The south wind makes sounds of autumn,1 the atmosphere of destruction presses the blazing heat. 2 High summer, the bird of prey strikes, 4 when times are perilous, a rare person arrives. My fine cousin comes from the countryside, graying, you asked to discuss matters. A summons drew you into the palace, 8 where, plying your tongue, you stirred the ruler? s mind. Fifty military treatises find storage in your belly. You answered questions as smoothly as a rolling ball, 12 you explained, giving the gist of the texts. You always said new things about managing affairs, which could set the crown aright. The ancestral temples are still in ashes, 16 ruler and ministers all shed tears. The earth at Kongtong has lost its axis, in Qinghai the heavens are topsy-turvy. 3 The far west suffers the worst wounds, 20 linked mountains darken beacon fires night and day. 1 The south wind is the summer wind. 2 The ? atmosphere of destruction? here is the coming autumn, though it also suggests the violence of the times. 3 Both Mount Kongdong and Qinghai (Kokonor and the surrounding area)�were the territory of the military commissioner of Hexi. Presumably Du Fu is referring to the loss of Tang Central Asia territories to Tibet. Unauthenticated Download Date | 10/1/17 7:36 AM 306 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 24 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 28 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 32 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 36 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 40 ? ? ? ? ? ? Unauthenticated Download Date | 10/1/17 7:36 AM Seeing Off My Cousin Ya on His Way to His Post 307 The Emperor said: ? Great Commoner, We will rely on you to assist the Grand Commander. Soon we will see the drifting sands cleared, 24 for this are you sent on a mission. When you return, the ruler will draw his mat close to listen,1 your going afar is not a series of tests. You must preserve Wuwei Commandery, 28 and make plans for its enduring benefit. ? A lone peak, its rock bears the post route, a mettlesome horse, gold wound around its bridle. Brown wild sheep, not gamey when feasted on, 32 ale with a straw, if much, one still gets drunk. The common man? s instinct is to leap forward, a serious gentleman? s aims require brooding forethought. What opponent can there be in pacifying the border? 36 when right is restored, your plans will be fulfilled. I have heard that in hitching up the imperial drum carriage, it is not right to use a fine steed. The dragon-horse will moan, tuning its head, 40 awaiting to be brought to serve as assistant. 2 1 *Jia Yi. 2 To the emperor. Unauthenticated Download Date | 10/1/17 7:36 AM 308 ? ? ? ? ? ? 5. 12 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 4 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
11 Seeing Off My Cousin Ya on His Way to His Post as Administrative Assistant in Anxi The south wind makes sounds of autumn,1 the atmosphere of destruction presses the blazing heat. 2 High summer, the bird of prey strikes, 4 when times are perilous, a rare person arrives. My fine cousin comes from the countryside, graying, you asked to discuss matters. A summons drew you into the palace, 8 where, plying your tongue, you stirred the ruler? s mind. Fifty military treatises find storage in your belly. You answered questions as smoothly as a rolling ball, 12 you explained, giving the gist of the texts. You always said new things about managing affairs, which could set the crown aright. The ancestral temples are still in ashes, 16 ruler and ministers all shed tears. The earth at Kongtong has lost its axis, in Qinghai the heavens are topsy-turvy. 3 The far west suffers the worst wounds, 20 linked mountains darken beacon fires night and day. 1 The south wind is the summer wind. 2 The ? atmosphere of destruction? here is the coming autumn, though it also suggests the violence of the times. 3 Both Mount Kongdong and Qinghai (Kokonor and the surrounding area)�were the territory of the military commissioner of Hexi. Presumably Du Fu is referring to the loss of Tang Central Asia territories to Tibet. Unauthenticated Download Date | 10/1/17 7:36 AM 306 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 24 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 28 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 32 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 36 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 40 ? ? ? ? ? ? Unauthenticated Download Date | 10/1/17 7:36 AM Seeing Off My Cousin Ya on His Way to His Post 307 The Emperor said: ? Great Commoner, We will rely on you to assist the Grand Commander. Soon we will see the drifting sands cleared, 24 for this are you sent on a mission. When you return, the ruler will draw his mat close to listen,1 your going afar is not a series of tests. You must preserve Wuwei Commandery, 28 and make plans for its enduring benefit. ? A lone peak, its rock bears the post route, a mettlesome horse, gold wound around its bridle. Brown wild sheep, not gamey when feasted on, 32 ale with a straw, if much, one still gets drunk. The common man? s instinct is to leap forward, a serious gentleman? s aims require brooding forethought. What opponent can there be in pacifying the border? 36 when right is restored, your plans will be fulfilled. I have heard that in hitching up the imperial drum carriage, it is not right to use a fine steed. The dragon-horse will moan, tuning its head, 40 awaiting to be brought to serve as assistant. 2 1 *Jia Yi. 2 To the emperor. Unauthenticated Download Date | 10/1/17 7:36 AM 308 ? ? ? ? ? ? 5. 12 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 4 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
