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兵车行

Dù Fǔ / 杜 甫
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Altra traduzione inglese da Chinese Poems.‎
BĪNG CHĒ XÍNGSONG OF THE WAGONS (or BALLAD OF THE ARMY CARTS)
  
chē lín línThe wagons rumble and roll,
mǎ xiāo xiāoThe horses whinny and neigh,
xíng rén gōng jiàn gè zài yāoThe conscripts each have bows and arrows at their waists.
yē niáng qī zǐ zǒu xiāng sòngTheir parents, wives and children run to see them off,
chén āi bú jiàn xián yáng qiáoSo much dust's stirred up, it hides the Xianyang bridge.
qiān yī dùn zú lán dào kūThey pull clothes, stamp their feet and, weeping, bar the way,
kū shēng zhí shàng gān yún xiāoThe weeping voices rise straight up and strike the clouds.
dào páng guò zhě wèn xíng rénA passer-by at the roadside asks a conscript why,
xíng rén dàn yún diǎn xíng pínThe conscript answers only that drafting happens often.
huò cóng shí wǔ běi fáng hé"At fifteen, many were sent north to guard the river,
biàn zhì sì shí xī yíng tiánEven at forty, they had to till fields in the west.
qù shí lǐ zhèng yǔ guǒ tóuWhen we went away, the elders bound our heads,
guī lái tóu bái huán shù biānReturning with heads white, we're sent back off to the frontier.
biān tíng liú xuè chéng hǎi shuǐAt the border posts, shed blood becomes a sea,
wǔ huáng kāi biān yì wèi yǐThe martial emperor's dream of expansion has no end.
jūn bù wén hàn jiā shān dōng èr bǎi zhōuHave you not seen the two hundred districts east of the mountains,
qiān cūn wàn luò shēng jīng qǐWhere thorns and brambles grow in countless villages and hamlets?
zòng yǒu jiàn fù bǎ chú líAlthough there are strong women to grasp the hoe and the plough,
hé shēng lǒng mǔ wú dōng xīThey grow some crops, but there's no order in the fields.
kuàng fù qín bīng nài kǔ zhànWhat's more, we soldiers of Qin withstand the bitterest fighting,
bèi qū bú yì quǎn yǔ jīWe're always driven onwards just like dogs and chickens.
zhǎng zhě suī yǒu wènAlthough an elder can ask me this,
yì fū gǎn shēn hènHow can a soldier dare to complain?
qiě rú jīn nián dōngEven in this winter time,
wèi xiū guān xī zúSoldiers from west of the pass keep moving.
xiàn guān jí suǒ zūThe magistrate is eager for taxes,
zū shuì cóng hé chūBut how can we afford to pay?
xìn zhī shēng nán èWe know now having boys is bad,
fǎn shì shēng nǚ hǎoWhile having girls is for the best;
shēng nǚ yóu dé jià bǐ línOur girls can still be married to the neighbours,
shēng nán mái mò suí bǎi cǎoOur sons are merely buried amid the grass.
jūn bú jiàn qīng hǎi tóuHave you not seen on the border of Qinghai,
gǔ lái bái gǔ wú rén shōuThe ancient bleached bones no man's gathered in?
xīn guǐ fán yuàn jiù guǐ kūThe new ghosts are angered by injustice, the old ghosts weep,
tiān yīn yǔ shī shēng jiū jiūMoistening rain falls from dark heaven on the voices' screeching."


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