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Niàn Nú Jiāo Chì Bì Huái GǔRemembering the Past at Red Cliff 念奴娇·赤壁怀古

Su Shi (苏轼, also known as Su Dongpo, Su Tung-p'o)｜Northern Song｜ci (song lyric) to the tune "Niannujiao"

Su Shi on the Yangtze, the Three Kingdoms and the brevity of life.

Original Chinese text with pinyin

大江东去
dà jiāng dōng qù

浪淘尽，千古风流人物
làng táo jìn, qiān gǔ fēng liú rén wù

故垒西边，人道是，三国周郎赤壁
gù lěi xī biān, rén dào shì, sān guó zhōu láng chì bì

乱石穿空，惊涛拍岸，卷起千堆雪
luàn shí chuān kōng, jīng tāo pāi àn, juǎn qǐ qiān duī xuě

江山如画，一时多少豪杰
jiāng shān rú huà, yī shí duō shǎo háo jié

……

人生如梦，一尊还酹江月
rén shēng rú mèng, yī zūn huán lèi jiāng yuè

Simplified characters; traditional title: 念奴嬌·赤壁懷古. This is a long poem; only the best-known lines are shown, and “……” marks omitted passages.

English translation

The great river eastward flows;

Its waves have washed away heroes of ancient days.

West of the old fort, they say, is Zhou Yu's Red Cliff of the Three Kingdoms.

Ragged rocks pierce the sky; startled waves slash the shore, rolling up a thousand drifts of snow.

Rivers and hills like a picture—how many heroes then!

(…)

Life is but a dream; I pour a cup to the river moon.

Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.

Line by line

大江东去 · dà jiāng dōng qù — The great river eastward flows;

浪淘尽，千古风流人物 · làng táo jìn, qiān gǔ fēng liú rén wù — Its waves have washed away heroes of ancient days.

故垒西边，人道是，三国周郎赤壁 · gù lěi xī biān, rén dào shì, sān guó zhōu láng chì bì — West of the old fort, they say, is Zhou Yu's Red Cliff of the Three Kingdoms.

乱石穿空，惊涛拍岸，卷起千堆雪 · luàn shí chuān kōng, jīng tāo pāi àn, juǎn qǐ qiān duī xuě — Ragged rocks pierce the sky; startled waves slash the shore, rolling up a thousand drifts of snow.

江山如画，一时多少豪杰 · jiāng shān rú huà, yī shí duō shǎo háo jié — Rivers and hills like a picture—how many heroes then!

人生如梦，一尊还酹江月 · rén shēng rú mèng, yī zūn huán lèi jiāng yuè — Life is but a dream; I pour a cup to the river moon.

Meaning and imagery

The opening is one of the grandest in the ci form: the Yangtze, flowing east, has carried away all the heroes of history. The scene of rocks and foaming waves "like snow" is pure energy. In the omitted middle, Su Shi pictures Zhou Yu at the height of his glory, then laughs at his own grey hair. The ending is calm and philosophical: life is a dream, so he offers wine to the moon on the river.

Background

Written in 1082 during Su Shi's exile in Huangzhou, at a cliff he took to be the site of the battle of Red Cliff (208), where the young general Zhou Yu defeated Cao Cao. Only the opening and the last line are shown.

Key words

大江 dà jiāng: the great river (the Yangtze)
风流人物 fēng liú rén wù: great, gallant figures
周郎 Zhōu Láng: young Zhou (Zhou Yu)
酹 lèi: to pour wine as an offering

About the poet: Su Shi

Su Shi, better known as Su Dongpo, was a poet, essayist, painter, calligrapher and official — the great all-rounder of the Song dynasty. Repeatedly exiled, he met hardship with humor and philosophy, and made the ci (song lyric) a vehicle for grand themes.

Lifetime: 1037–1101. Other famous works: Prelude to Water Melody (When Will the Moon Be Clear?) (水调歌头); Spring Night (春夜); Remembering the Past at Red Cliff (念奴娇·赤壁怀古); Written on the Wall at West Forest Temple (题西林壁); Drinking at West Lake: First Sun, Then Rain (饮湖上初晴后雨); Red Cliff Rhapsody (赤壁赋).