The Temple Of Zhuge Liang

Zhu-ge's great name

    hangs over the whole world;

the revered statesman's portrait

    awes with its sublimity.

The empire carved into thirds

    hindered his designs,

yet he soars through the ages,

    a lone feather in the sky.

He is brother to such greats

    as Yi Yin and Lu Shang;*

if he had established control,

    Xiao and Cao would be forgotten.

But the cycle had passed; Han fortunes

    could not be restored.

His military strategy a failure,

    his hopes dashed, his body perished.