Eighteen Refrains on Tartar Pipes Cai Yan [Cai Wenji] (ca. 177-?)

3
越汉国兮入胡域，亡家失身兮不如无生。
Leaving Han Kingdom to enter Tartar territory,
Home lost and body violated I’d rather die than be sorry.
毡裘为裳兮骨肉震惊，羯膻为味兮枉遏我情。
Wearing fur blanket scared me to the bone and flesh,
Stinking sheep taste numbed my feelings to clash.
鼙鼓喧兮从夜达明，胡风浩浩兮暗塞营。
Boisterous drum racket lasted from dusk to dawn,
Wintry winds stealthily through outskirt tents were drawn.
伤今感昔兮三拍成，衔悲蓄恨兮何时平？
Third refrain ends with present grief and the past recalled,
When will my repressed sorrows and frustrations be forestalled?

4
无日无夜兮不思我乡土，禀气含生兮莫过我最苦。
All day all night I yearn for my homeland,
Bitterness I endure more than anyone can stand.
天灾国乱兮人无主，独我命薄兮没胡虏。
In disaster and chaos there’s no one to lead,
So ill-fated only I ended up in Tartar hand indeed.
殊俗异兮身难处，嗜欲不同兮谁可与语？
‘Tis hard to fit into foreign customs,
To whom I tell what I can’t accustom?
寻思涉历兮多艰阻，四拍成兮益凄楚。
‘Tis hard recalling my experiences to be told,
On the completion of the fourth refrain my sorrows grow.

5
雁南征兮欲寄边心，雁北归兮欲得汉音，
I wish my yearning to be delivered by south-migrating geese,
And news obtained from home by north-returning geese.
雁飞高兮渺难寻，空断肠兮思愔愔。
But geese fly high and away I could hardly find,
Broken-hearted I’m muted with thoughts deep in mind.
攒眉向月兮抚雅琴，五拍泠泠兮意弥深。
Strumming the zither at the moon I frown,
Sad fifth refrain denotes meanings profound.

6
冰霜凛凛兮身苦寒，饥对肉酪兮不能餐。
In icy and frosty weather I feel bitterly cold and low,
Though hungry dried meat and milk I can’t swallow.
夜闻陇水兮声呜咽，朝见长城兮路杳漫。
I hear Long River murmuring as if sobbing at night,
At morn Great Wall meandering yonder though in sight.
追思往日兮行李难，六拍悲兮欲罢弹。
Reminiscing the hardship of my long journey hither,
At pathetic sixth refrain I wish not to play the zither.