Li Qi (690?-751?), with an unknown courtesy name and pseudonym, was a Han Chinese from Zhaojun (now Zhaoxian, Hebei) and Yingyang (now Dengfeng, Henan) in Henan. He was a Tang Dynasty poet. He passed the imperial examination in the 23rd year of Kaiyuan and served as the lieutenant of Xinxiang County. Later, he resigned and retired to Dongchuan Villa in Yingyang. Li Qi was good at seven-character songs and frontier poems. His style was bold, generous and sad. He sang with Wang Wei, Gao Shi, Wang Changling and others. His main work is “Collected Works of Li Qi”. This is a poem in imitation of ancient poetry. The first six sentences describe the elegance, bravery and fearlessness of the soldiers guarding the border. “The beard is like a hedgehog’s hair” gives people a vivid impression. The last six sentences describe the feeling of seeing white clouds and hearing the Qiang flute, and suddenly feeling that his hometown is far away, and he can’t help but shed tears of nostalgia, which shows the contradiction between killing the enemy to serve the country and homesickness. The feeling of parting and the pain of fighting are vividly expressed on paper. The language of this poem is implicit and rhythmic, and the blood is flowing, with ups and downs, and rich in emotion. “Ancient meaning” means “imitating the ancient”, but it often uses the ancient to illustrate the present. This is actually a frontier poem. The warriors guarding the border are very brave and do not regard their lives as important, but when they hear the flute of the Liaodong woman, they can’t help but feel sad, showing the complex side of human nature, which is quite ingenious. “Ancient meaning” means “imitating the ancient”, but it often uses the ancient to illustrate the present. This is actually a frontier poem. The warriors guarding the border are very brave and do not regard their lives as important, but when they hear the flute of the Liaodong woman, they can’t help but feel sad, showing the complex side of human nature, which is quite ingenious.
李颀（690？—751？），字、号均不详，汉族，郡望赵郡（今河北赵县），河南颍阳（今河南登封）一带人，唐代诗人。开元二十三年中进士，曾任新乡县尉，后辞官归隐于颍阳之东川别业。李颀擅长七言歌行，边塞诗，风格豪放，慷慨悲凉，与王维、高适、王昌龄等人皆有唱和。主要作品《李颀集》。这是一首拟古诗。首六句写戍边将士的风流潇洒、勇猛刚烈和视死如归。“须如猬毛磔”给人以鲜明生动的印象。后六句写见得白云，闻得羌笛，顿觉故乡渺远，不免怀思落泪，表现了杀敌报国和思乡的矛盾。离别之情，征战之苦，跃然纸上。这首诗语言含蓄顿挫，血脉豁然贯通，跌宕起伏，情韵并茂。“古意”即“拟古”，但多托古喻今，这实际是一首边塞诗。戍边的健儿们非常勇猛，把性命看得并不重要，但一听到辽东小妇的笛声，就不禁都悲伤起来了，表现出人性中复杂的一面，颇具匠心。“古意”即“拟古”，但多托古喻今，这实际是一首边塞诗。戍边的健儿们非常勇猛，把性命看得并不重要，但一听到辽东小妇的笛声，就不禁都悲伤起来了，表现出人性中复杂的一面，颇具匠心。
李颀·《古意》
男儿事长征，少小幽燕客。
赌胜马蹄下，由来轻七尺。
杀人莫敢前，鬚如蝟毛磔。
黄云陇底白云飞，未得报恩不得归。
辽东小妇年十五，惯弹琵琶能歌舞。
今为羌笛出塞声，使我三军泪如雨。
A Warrior and a Singer
Li Qi
As a boy, he went in for long-distance hikes.
While young, he travelled in Hebei and Liaoning.
In a tourney, hoofs almost trampled him down.
Henceforth, life and limb to him was a small thing.
When he showed fight, with the intention to kill,
To step forward to challenge him, none would dare.
After the fashion of porcupine bristles,
His whiskers stuck out with a defiant air.
Yellow clouds are hanging low about Longshan.
White clouds are rising-flying-in a mad race.
Until he repays the favors given him,
He could never return to his native place.
In Liaodong is a young woman aged fifteen.
She plays the lute and sings so well one rarely hears.
As she sings her set of Qiang frontier songs,
The three Armies burst into torrential tears.
