A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems/A Protest in the Sixth Year of Ch'ien Fu

A PROTEST IN THE SIXTH YEAR OF
CH'IEN FU [A. D. 879]

By Ts'ao Sung [flourished circa A. D. 870–920]

The hills and rivers of the lowland country
You have made our battle-ground.
How do you suppose the people who live there
will procure "firewood and hay"?^[1]
Do not let me hear you talking together
About titles and promotions;
For a single general's reputation
Is made out of ten thousand corpses.

 

1. The necessaries of life.