Song of Geshu Han

哥舒歌
Gēshū gē

Geshu’s Poem

北斗七星高
běidǒu qīxīng gāo
The Big Dipper and its seven stars are high

哥舒夜帶刀
Gēshū yè dàidāo
At night Geshu carries his sword

至今窺牧馬
zhìjīn kuī mù mǎ
Even now, when herding horses gather

不敢過臨洮
bù gǎnguò Líntáo
They dare not invade Lintao

西鄙人,Xi Biren, My Lord of the West

Tibet

In the 7th, 8th, and 9th centuries, Tibet was its own kingdom, often at war with China, sometimes allied to the Tang dynasty.

Geshu Han

Geshu Han 哥舒翰 (also, Ge Shuhan). His father was Turkic. Geshu Han defeated several Tibetan armies in and around Lintao County in western Gansu province in the 740s and 50s.

A hero of the wars against Tibet, Geshu Han was forced out of retirement and sent to face the rebel General An Lushan at Tong Pass. Geshu Han died on December 1, 757 in what was then considered an act of sacrifice.

Xi Biren

The author is known as My Lord of the West, Xi Biren.

Xī Bǐ​rén 西鄙人, Xī, west and Bǐ​rén, humble servant. Bǐ​rén also has the added meaning of “I, your humble servant,” referring not only the poet, but Geshu Han, the general himself.

Notes on the Song of Geshu Han

The Title, 哥 舒 歌, Gēshū gē, Song of Geshu.

Line one. 北斗, Běidǒu, Northern Dipper and its seven stars are a symbol of heavenly justice.

Line two, 刀 dāo, translates as a knife or sword. The Chinese character is a homophone with 道 Dào, the philosophy of “The Way”.

Lines two and four. “帶刀 dàidāo” and “臨洮 Líntáo”, a rhyme and play on words. Until recently, Lintao was commonly known as Didao (狄道).

Years later, Geshu was forced into a ill-advised confrontation with Cui Qianyou and the rebel General An Lushan.

A fanjiang in the service of the Tang

Eight feet tall

His eyes are hard and purple as the Amethyst

His hair bristles like the hedgehog

Before his troops and mounted on his sturdy horse

He roars like a tiger

And scatters the enemy like sheep

Geshu Han on the vast Tibetan plain

The seven stars of the Dipper shine down

Like gods they smile or frown

At what they cannot change

At night Geshu Han carries his sword

The year is old, the days are short

The Tibetans have gone south

With their herds of horses and yak

Afraid to venture past Lintao

Tonight, across the valley the campfires grow cold

White tents flap in the breeze

And Geshu Han puts away his feather pen and folds his poem

He places it in his coat next to his heart

They cannot hurt him now

Tomorrow, Geshu Han heads north with 200,000 troops

To confront Cui Qianyou and An Lushan

At Tong Pass