I Watered My Horse at the Long Wall Caves by Chen Lin

This poem depicts the hardships suffered by laborers who were conscripted to build the Great Wall (also called the Long Wall) during the harsh reign of Qin Shihuangdi, the first emperor of China. Chen Lin lived at the end of the Han dynasty and died in AD217, and although Chen Lin was a literary aristocrat, this poem shows the influence of popular ballads.

Song: I Watered My Horse at the Long Wall Caves By Chen Lin

I watered my horse at the Long Wall caves, water so cold it hurt his bones; I went and spoke to the Long Wall boss: “We're soldiers from Taiyuan- will you keep us here forever?””Public works go according to schedule— swing your hammer, pitch your voice in with the rest!” A man'd be better off to die in battle than eat his heart out building the Long Wall! The Long Wall—how it winds and winds, winds and winds three thousand li; here on the border, so many strong boys; in the houses back home, so many widows and wives. I sent a letter to my wife: “Better remarry than wait any longer— serve your new mother-in-law with care and sometimes remember the husband you once had.” In answer her letter came to the border: “What nonsense do you write me now? Now when you're in the thick of danger, how could I rest by another man's side?”

(He) If you bear a son, don't bring him up! But a daughter - feed her good dried meat. Only you can't see, here by the Long Wall, the bones of the dead men heaped about! (She) I bound up my hair and went to serve you; constant constant was the care of my heart. Too well I know your borderland troubles; and I—can I go on like this much longer?

Source: Burton Watson ed. and trans., The Columbia Book of Chinese Poetry: From Early Times to the Thirteenth Century. New York: Columbia University Press, 1984.1