Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough
An iron fist in the velvet glove of poetry
The Song of General Geshu
Your Humble Servant in the West
.
The stars of the plough shine bright
Like Geshu's sword in the night.
No Tibetan forces,
Not spies or wild horses,
Dare ford the Lintao in his sight!
The writer of this poem did not leave their name, only this somewhat mocking pseudonym.
The Tang Empire was constantly at war with Tibet, and General Geshu was a commander in the Tang army known for his aggressive successful campaigns against them. His family was originally from a non-Chinese group living in Xinjiang or Mongolia, but we are not sure what it was originally called. Geshu is the Chinese transcription of the name of his clan. The Lintao is a river on the border of Tibet.
西鄙人 哥舒歌
北斗七星高，哥舒夜带刀。
至今窥牧马，不敢过临洮。