敕(chì)勒(lè)歌(ɡē)

乐(yuè)府(fǔ)诗(shī)集(jí)〔南(nán)北(běi)朝(cháo)〕

敕(chì)勒(lè)川(chuān)，阴(yīn)山(shān)下(xià)。

天(tiān)似(sì)穹(qiónɡ)庐(lú)，笼(lónɡ)盖(ɡài)四(sì)野(yě)。

天(tiān)苍(cānɡ)苍(cānɡ)，野(yě)茫(mánɡ)茫(mánɡ)，

风(fēnɡ)吹(chuī)草(cǎo)低(dī)见(jiàn)牛(niú)羊(yánɡ)。

Explanation of Ancient Chinese Poetry

The vast Chile Plain lies at the foot of the Yin Mountains. The sky resembles a felt-made dome, covering the grassland on all sides. The sky is azure, and the grassland is vast and boundless. A gust of wind blows, bending the grass and revealing the cattle and sheep originally hidden among them.

Annotations

  • 敕勒歌 (Chìlè gē): The Chi Le, an ethnic group, lived in Shuozhou (now northern Shanxi Province) during the Northern Qi Dynasty.
  •  敕勒川 (Chìlèchuān): Chuan means plain. The place where the Chi Le tribe lived, in today’s Shanxi and Inner Mongolia regions. During the Northern Wei Dynasty, the area from the Hetao Plain to Tumochuan was called Chi Le Chuan.
  •  阴山 (Yīnshān): In northern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
  •  穹庐 (Qiónglú): A tent made of felt cloth, i.e., a yurt.
  •  笼盖四野 (Lónggài sìyě): To cover; sìyě means the four directions of the grassland.
  •  苍苍 (Cāngcāng): Blue-green. Cang means blue.
  •  天苍苍 (Tiāncāngcāng): The sky is blue.
  •  茫茫 (Mángmáng): Vast and boundless.
  •  见 (Xiàn): Same as “现”, to appear.

Creation Backgrounds

The birth of “The Song of the Chile People” dates to the Northern Dynasties period in Chinese history, specifically the Northern Qi Dynasty. Since the southern part of the Gobi Desert was mainly inhabited by the Chile people, they called the region around it “Chile River”.

The famous “The Song of the Chile People” is a pastoral song in the Xianbei language of the Chile people during the Northern Qi Dynasty, later translated into Chinese.