Telling My Heart’s Desires (Once, I Rode a Thousand Miles Seeking Military Glory) - Lu You
/诉衷情(当年万里觅封侯) - 陆游/
Where Heroic Ambitions Fade into Autumn Years
【Original Chinese】
诉衷情(当年万里觅封侯)
当年万里觅封侯，
匹马戍梁州。
关河梦断何处？
尘暗旧貂裘。
胡未灭，
鬓先秋，
泪空流。
此身谁料，
心在天山，
身老沧洲。
【Literal English Translation (Line by Line)】
Telling My Heart’s Desires (Once, I Rode a Thousand Miles Seeking Military Glory)
Once, I traveled ten thousand miles in search of a noble title,
Just one horse to guard Liangzhou.
Where have my frontier dreams been shattered?
Dust smothers my worn sable coat.
The northern foe remains unvanquished,
Yet my temples are already touched by autumn’s gray,
My tears flow in vain.
Who could have foreseen?
Though my heart dwells in the Tianshan Mountains,
My aging body lingers by the waterside.
诉衷情(当年万里觅封侯)
当年万里觅封侯，
匹马戍梁州。
关河梦断何处？
尘暗旧貂裘。
胡未灭，
鬓先秋，
泪空流。
此身谁料，
心在天山，
身老沧洲。
【Literal English Translation (Line by Line)】
Telling My Heart’s Desires (Once, I Rode a Thousand Miles Seeking Military Glory)
Once, I traveled ten thousand miles in search of a noble title,
Just one horse to guard Liangzhou.
Where have my frontier dreams been shattered?
Dust smothers my worn sable coat.
The northern foe remains unvanquished,
Yet my temples are already touched by autumn’s gray,
My tears flow in vain.
Who could have foreseen?
Though my heart dwells in the Tianshan Mountains,
My aging body lingers by the waterside.
In “Telling My Heart’s Desires (Once, I Rode a Thousand Miles Seeking Military Glory),” Lu You (1125–1210) fuses wistful memory with patriotic sorrow. During the Southern Song Dynasty, he longed to secure honor on behalf of his homeland—here symbolized by the phrase “万里觅封侯” (traveling thousands of miles to earn heroic rank). Yet political realities thwarted those martial aspirations.
The poem’s first lines recall the poet’s youthful drive to protect the empire’s borders, imagining himself guarding far-off Liangzhou. But the dream dissolves: he stands amidst dusty gear (the “worn sable coat”), questioning where his frontier longings have gone. Subsequent lines underscore his frustration: the enemy remains “未灭” (not yet crushed), even as his hair grays prematurely. Rather than returning triumphant, he faces an unfulfilled cause, his tears reflecting wasted years.
In the closing couplet, Lu You juxtaposes his unyielding heart—still fixed on distant Tianshan peaks and frontiers—with his physical self, now old and confined to peaceful backwaters (“沧洲”). This rift between internal fervor and external circumstances typifies the poet’s enduring conflict: unwavering patriotism weighed against the relentlessness of age and stifling bureaucracy.
Though concise, “Telling My Heart’s Desires” distills the essence of Lu You’s regret and ongoing desire for national redemption. The poem remains a moving portrait of how unfulfilled ambition can echo into one’s twilight years, steadfast even when the body can no longer follow where the heart longs to go.
Key points
• Portrays a soldier-poet’s lifelong yearning for battlefield glory.
• Juxtaposes undimmed patriotism (“心在天山”) with the reality of old age.
• Emphasizes the frustration of seeing unvanquished foes while personal vigor fades.
• Exhibits Lu You’s hallmark style: deep emotion anchored by martial and frontier imagery.
