Yuan Dynasty
鹦鹉曲·赤壁怀古
冯子振
茅庐诸葛亲曾住，早赚出抱膝梁父。
笑谈间汉鼎三分，不记得南阳耕雨。
叹西风卷尽豪华，往事大江东去。
彻如今话说渔樵，算也是英雄了处。
Translation
Zhuge Liang once lived in his thatched cottage, until he was drawn out from the life of chanting “Liangfu” with folded knees. In casual talk, the Han realm was divided into three; people forgot the rains of Nanyang where he once farmed. Alas, the west wind has swept away all splendor, and past events have gone eastward with the great river. Today they survive only in the talk of fishermen and woodcutters — perhaps this, too, is where heroes finally come to rest.
Analysis
Although titled “Remembering the Past at Red Cliff,” the piece focuses on Zhuge Liang’s passage from reclusion to history. The poem compresses immense political change into the phrase “the Han tripod divided in casual talk.” The second half shifts from heroic action to historical erasure: splendor is swept away, events flow east with the river, and heroes become tales told by fishermen and woodcutters. The result is not triumphal nostalgia but a cool meditation on fame, history, and impermanence.
About the Author
Feng Zizhen was a learned Yuan dynasty sanqu writer. His work often blends historical allusion with the lively idiom of song, turning compact pieces into reflections on history, reclusion, and human fate.