Pass By Mt. Li
过 骊 山 作
始 皇 东 游 出 周 鼎
刘 项 纵 观 皆 引 颈。
削 平 天 下 实 辛 勤
却 为 道 旁 穷 百 姓。
黔 首 不 愚 尔 益 愚
千 里 函 关 囚 独 夫。
牧 童 火 入 九 泉 底
烧 作 灰 时 犹 未 枯。
Guo Li Shan Zuo
Shi huang dong you chu zhou ding
Liu xiang zong guan jie yin jing.
Xiao ping tian xia shi xin qin
Que wei dao pang qiong bai xing.
Qian shou bu yu er yi yu
Qian li han guan qiu du fu.
Mu tong huo ru jiu quan di
Shao zuo hui shi you wei ku.
Pass By Mt. Li
Emperor Qing Shihuang traveled to the east to raise up the ancient bronze cooking vessels
Liu and Xiang took a panoramic view with stretched necks.
Restoring a large country required heaven’s help and a lot of hard work
Liu Bang on the edges of obscurity, now there are one hundred surnames in poverty.
The common people had to be made stupid
For three hundred miles, his son in solitary confinement at the Han Gu mountain pass.
One child entered the worker’s burial place and set it on fire
Most were consumed to ashes and dust, some bones became withered residue.
Notes:
Qin Shihuang: (259-210 BC)(r. 247-210 BC) Famous first emperor of a unified China during the Qin Dynasty. Also famous as the man who ordered the terracotta statues of army soldiers and horses. A sight to behold. And smell.
Liu Bang: (256-195 BC) Successful army leader against the Qin Dynasty, and the first emperor of the Han Dynasty.
Xiangyu: (232-202 BC)(r. 208-202 BC) Army general who fought with and against Liu Bang in a power struggle.
Han Gu Guan: Many battles were fought here in ancient times. A mountain pass and military chokepoint between the upper Yellow River and Wei valleys.
Commentary:
This burial site is not too far from the ancient capital city of Chang’an (Xi’an). The tomb appears rising from the ground like a small mountain. This tomb has remained undisturbed for many centuries.
