Yuan Dynasty
蟾宫曲 · 邺下怀古
卢挚
笑征衣伏枥悲吟，
才鼎足功成，
铜爵春深。
软动歌残，
无愁梦断，
明月西沉。
算只有韩家昼锦，
对家山辉映来今。
乔木空林，
几度西风，
憾慨登临。
Translation
How laughable: the man in campaign robes, like an old steed in the stable, still chants his sorrowful ambition. No sooner was the tripartite power achieved than spring had deepened over Bronze Sparrow Terrace. Soft songs and dances are nearly spent; the dream of carefree pleasure is broken; the bright moon sinks westward. It seems that only the Han family's Hall of Daylight Brocade still shines against the mountains of home down to the present. Tall trees, empty woods — how many times has the west wind passed? To climb and gaze here is to be filled with regret and reflection.
Analysis
Moon Palace Tune · Meditating on the Past at Yexia is one of Lu Zhi's historical reflection songs. Yexia, associated with Cao Cao and Bronze Sparrow Terrace, evokes the political and cultural world of the Three Kingdoms. But Lu Zhi also brings in Han Qi, the Northern Song statesman from the same broader region, creating a contrast between imperial ambition and lasting moral reputation. The opening alludes to Cao Cao's famous line about an old steed still aspiring to a thousand miles. Lu Zhi begins with "laughable," not merely to mock Cao Cao personally, but to look back from the perspective of history. Great ambition, once placed in the furnace of time, becomes a relic. "The tripartite power" refers to the Three Kingdoms order, while "Bronze Sparrow Terrace" recalls Cao Cao's famous structure at Ye. "Spring had deepened" is beautiful but ominous: spring at its height is already moving toward decline. The lines about fading songs, broken dreams, and the sinking moon dissolve the old magnificence of the terrace. Political power and sensual pleasure alike become remnants of a vanished night. The turn to "the Han family's Hall of Daylight Brocade" points to Han Qi, a major Northern Song statesman who built the Zhoujin Hall in his hometown. Unlike Cao Cao's power and the pleasures of Bronze Sparrow Terrace, Han Qi's moral and local legacy continues to shine. The ending returns to the present landscape: tall trees, empty woods, repeated west winds. Time has passed over the site again and again. What remains is not the old grandeur, but the reflective emotion of the person who climbs there. The song is not only nostalgia. It judges history. Military ambition and pleasure-palaces fade; moral achievement and hometown memory endure longer.
About the Author
Lu Zhi, courtesy name Chudao, also known as Xinlao, and literary name Shuzhai, was a Yuan dynasty writer and sanqu poet from Zhuojun. He served in high literary office, including as Hanlin Academician-in-Chief, and was one of the important literati of the early Yuan. He was associated with figures such as Bai Pu, Ma Zhiyuan, and Zhu Lianxiu. His sanqu are numerous and cover landscape, historical reflection, object poems, reclusion, lamentation, and farewell. His style is clear, elegant, and open, combining literati refinement with the natural movement of Yuan song.