221. The Eightfold Battle Formation | Du Fu
Text
English translation
Original Chinese text
功盖三分国，名成八阵图。
English translation
His achievements towered over the age of the realm divided in three, and his fame was secured by the Eightfold Formation.
The divided realm is the Three Kingdoms of Wei, Shu, and Wu. The Eightfold Formation refers both to Zhuge Liang's military system and to the stone formation traditionally identified beside the river near Kuizhou.
Original Chinese text
江流石不转，遗恨失吞吴。
English translation
The river keeps flowing, yet the formation stones do not shift; the lasting regret is the failed attempt to conquer Wu.
The close is commonly linked with Liu Bei's disastrous campaign against Wu and Zhuge Liang's inability to reverse Shu-Han's course. The regret need not be assigned to Zhuge Liang alone; it also belongs to later remembrance of the outcome.
赏析 · Commentary
前两句论功，后两句见遗迹 · Achievement First, Ruins Second
开头从整个三国时代评价诸葛亮，尺度很大；后半忽然落到江边不动的石头。功业和名声属于历史判断，江流与石阵则是眼前所见。杜甫把两者接在一起，使八阵图既是军事才能的象征，也是盛衰之后仍留在现场的遗迹。
The opening judges Zhuge Liang on the scale of the entire Three Kingdoms era; the second half suddenly lands on stones beside a river. Achievement and fame belong to historical judgment, while river and formation are objects before the eye. Joining them makes the Eightfold Formation both a sign of military ability and a ruin remaining after political fortunes have passed.
石不转，历史已经转了 · The Stones Do Not Move; History Has
“江流石不转”把变化与不变并置：江水一直向前，石阵仍在原处，而蜀汉早已消失。结句没有简单归咎某个人。刘备伐吴破坏联盟，夷陵败后国势受损，诸葛亮此后的北伐也未能完成统一。一个“恨”字收下这段无法改写的结局。
The river flows, the stones do not: the line sets change against endurance. Water moves on, the formation remains, and Shu-Han has vanished. The final line does not reduce the outcome to one person's fault. Liu Bei's war against Wu broke the alliance and weakened his state after defeat at Yiling; Zhuge Liang's later northern campaigns did not achieve reunification. One word, regret, gathers up a history that cannot be rewritten.