Chinese poem
Posted: February 14, 2009 | Author: Doug | Filed under: China | Leave a comment »Something random, but cool that I found on Wikipedia. This is an ancient Chinese poem composed by the famous warlord, Cao Cao (曹操, pronounced “tsow-tsow”) of the Three Kingdoms Period. If you played the games as a kid, or even read the novel,* you’ll remember Cao Cao as the power-hungry, ambitious ruler who ultimately overthrew the Han Dynasty and founded the short-lived Kingdom of Wei (or the Wei Dynasty). Cao Cao was a brilliant politician, tactician, as well as a master of the arts.
This is one of his poems (on Wikipedia), which I thought was pretty cool.
《龜雖壽》Though the Tortoise Lives Long
| 神龜雖壽， 猶有竟時 |
Though the tortoise blessed with magic powers lives long, its days have their allotted span; |
| 騰蛇乘霧， 終為土灰。 |
Though winged serpents ride high on the mist, they turn to dust and ashes at the last; |
| 老驥伏櫪， 志在千里； |
An old war-horse may be stabled, yet still it longs to gallop a thousand li;** |
| 烈士暮年， 壯心不已。 |
And a noble-hearted man though advanced in years never abandons his proud aspirations. |
| 盈縮之期， 不但在天； |
Man’s span of life, whether long or short, depends not on Heaven alone; |
| 養怡之福， 可得永年。 |
One who eats well and keeps cheerful can live to a great old age. |
| 幸甚至哉！ 歌以咏志。 |
And so, with joy in my heart, I hum this song. |
I like this poem because it reminds us that life is fleeting, even for those who have immense lifespans, but at the same time, Cao Cao is encouraging us to make the most of each day, and be positive in our outlook.
Enjoy!
* – The novel’s English translation is well over 1,000 pages long, but in spite of that, it really is an awesome, epic book to read. If you want to really delve into a Chinese classic, you can’t go wrong with reading this one. I read this once in my early 20′s, and found that I couldn’t stop reading once I started.
** – A li in Chinese (里) is a classic unit of measurement. Nowadays, it’s considered 500meters (half a kilometer), or about one-third of a mile.
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