The Poem “赤壁” (“Red
Cliffs”) by Du Mu (杜牧):
折戟沉沙鐵未消,
自將磨洗認前朝。
東風不與周郎便,
銅雀春深鎖二喬。
Please do not expect me to translate this poem per se, as it
is just too hard, if not impossible. Instead I’ll try to narrate the piece of
history that is told in the last two lines.
The first two lines merely
express the poet’s nostalgic feelings that were evoked on a visit of the
his…