— by Zhang Yanghao [Yuan Dynasty]
Peaks gather like waves,
Torrents rage like anger;
The mountain and the river embrace the Tong Pass.
I gaze toward the Western Capital,
And my heart lingers in sorrow.
I ponder the Qin and Han ruins –
All have turned to fields and soil.
Prosperous, the people suffered;
Ruined, the people suffered.
Note
The Shanpoyang Tune
Shanpoyang (山坡羊, literally “Sheep on the Hillside” or “Sheep on the Slope”) is the name of the tune pattern to which this poem is set. Sanqu poetry (散曲, “free songs” of the Yuan dynasty) was often written to existing musical tunes, much like lyrics in Western songwriting. The Shanpoyang tune was particularly popular for expressing melancholy, historical reflection, and social commentary. Its flexible structure allowed poets like Zhang Yanghao to blend vivid imagery with direct, powerful statement, making it an ideal vehicle for this kind of socially conscious writing.
Zhang Yanghao (张养浩, 1270–1329)
A celebrated statesman and one of the finest sanqu writers. He served as a censor and rose to the position of Minister of Rites, but repeatedly withdrew from office, disillusioned by court politics.
Tong Pass (潼关, Tóngguān)
It is not merely a scenic spot in this poem. For over two thousand years, it was one of the most strategically vital military barriers in Chinese history. Located at the junction of today’s Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan provinces, it guarded the eastern gateway to the Guanzhong Plain – the fertile basin that contains the ancient capital Chang’an. To its south rise the Qinling Mountains; to its north flows the Yellow River. Any army seeking to attack Chang’an from the east had to break through Tong Pass first. The phrase “mountains and rivers, outside and inside” (山河表里) echoes a much older text, the Zuo Commentary (Zuo Zhuan, 左传), which described a similarly impregnable terrain as “mountains and rivers forming the inner and outer defenses”. Zhang Yanghao borrowed this ancient phrase to capture Tong Pass’ layered natural fortifications.
The “Western Capital” (西都)
Refers to Chang’an – today’s Xi’an. During the Han dynasty, the capital was Chang’an; when the Eastern Han moved the capital to Luoyang, Chang’an became known as the “Western Capital” and Luoyang the “Eastern Capital”. Chang’an was also the capital of the Qin and Tang dynasties, making it one of the most enduring political centers in Chinese history. When Zhang Yanghao “gazes toward the Western Capital,” he is looking westward from Tong Pass toward the ruins of a city that once housed the palaces of emperors.
The sight of this once-magnificent city reduced to decay prompts the poet’s meditation on the impermanence of power and glory.
The Context of Composition
In 1329, a catastrophic drought struck the Guanzhong region. Zhang Yanghao, then nearly sixty and living in retirement, was summoned to serve as an official in charge of famine relief. He did not hesitate. According to the History of Yuan, he distributed his own family’s possessions to the poor before leaving, and once in the disaster zone, he slept in government offices rather than his residence, spending his days distributing grain and his nights praying for rain. He died in office after four months, having worked himself to exhaustion.
The Core Insight: “Prosperous, the People Suffered; Ruined, the People Suffered”
This closing couplet is the philosophical heart of the poem and one of the most famous lines in all of Chinese literature. It delivers a devastating critique of imperial power from the perspective of the common people. When a dynasty is “prosperous”, the rulers embark on grand construction projects, wage wars of expansion, and impose heavy taxes – all of which burden the people. When a dynasty is “ruined”, the people suffer the horrors of war, famine, and social collapse. In both cases, it is the ordinary people who bear the cost, while the rulers come and go. This insight was remarkably progressive for its time, shifting the focus from the glory of emperors to the suffering of the masses.
山坡羊·潼关怀古
峰峦如聚，
波涛如怒，
山河表里潼关路。
望西都，意踌躇。
伤心秦汉经行处，
宫阙万间都做了土。
兴，百姓苦；
亡，百姓苦。
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