Yuan Dynasty
拨不断·布衣中（二）
马致远
布衣中，问英雄，
王图霸业成何用！
禾黍高低六代宫，
楸梧远近千官冢。
一场恶梦。
Translation
Among common men, ask the heroes: what use was all your kingly ambition and imperial power? The palaces of six dynasties are now overgrown with millet, high and low. Near and far, beneath catalpa and parasol trees, lie the graves of countless officials. It was all a bad dream.
Analysis
This short song speaks from the position of the commoner rather than the hero. It asks what remains of imperial ambition after history has passed. The palaces of the Six Dynasties have become fields of millet; officials now lie in graves under trees. Ma Zhiyuan’s tone is not merely melancholy but sharply ironic. The final phrase—“a bad dream”—collapses worldly greatness into nightmare. The piece is compact, severe, and deeply historical.