The Wolf Star blazes fiercely over the Chanyu,
The angry lynx defies the mountains at the upper capital.
Beyond the high walls of Songmo, sands stretch ten thousand miles,
Beneath them, the felt tents nurture this northern tribe.
Imperial benevolence matches Heaven, covering the central realm,
The western frontier and northern borders stretch into boundless void.
For seventy years, military affairs have ceased,
Strategists and fierce generals all lie in ruins.
Helmets decay, morale erodes,
Border steeds do not neigh, autumn grasses wither.
Sleeping soundly beneath the Qilian Mountains,
Yearly, gold and silk flow to enrich them.
Scholars grow lax, warriors decline,
The master raises his arm and heaves a long sigh.
Who now can recall the whole story of those times?
In his home lies a loyal minister's solitary record of the Central Plain.
Sucking blood for ink, skin for paper,
Startling winds carried it to the jade steps of the palace.
Sincerity pierced through, awakening moved the Emperor's gaze,
Heaven's warp and earth's weft opened the temple's grand strategy.
Hands seizing divine spears to cut across the Milky Way,
The True Man in mid-heaven firmly holds the tally.
Dragons, serpents, tigers—a myriad cavalry mixed,
From Yong, Shu, Jing, Chu, follow the Wu chariots.
The imperial host like thunder, iron peaks shattered,
The Bian waters surge, the Bian winds sigh.
A foot-long dispatch by night declares the Three Qins pacified,
Invaded fields returned to Lu in a moment.
The former baleful fog that swelled over the North Pole,
Once Xihe shines, clear light spreads.
Tuning the strings, lifting the net, without flaw or gap,
Across ten thousand miles of open land, the imperial map is proclaimed.
Awed by power, repaying virtue, never to rebel,
Commands are issued, merits rewarded, lieutenants all included.
Between the two realms, above and below, all in harmony,
Heaven bestows imperial longevity, matching Heaven's pace.
The flame essence also shines, harmonizing the great potter's wheel,
Heaven aids the imperial enterprise, humbling Tang and Yu.
Metal and stone play together, reporting to the pure temple,
Purple aura over the round altar veils the cosmos.
The vermilion gate proclaims amnesty, spreading through the land,
A million voices of praise flow along the peaceful roads.
At this time, this record is just being inscribed for merit,
The master's concern for the state outshines his own glory.