A Call to Arms Written on Behalf of Li Jingye..........Luo Binwang

代李敬业传檄天下文

骆宾王

伪临朝武氏者，性非和顺，地实寒微。昔充太宗下陈，曾以更衣入侍。洎乎晚节，秽乱春宫。潜隐先帝之私，阴图后房之嬖。入门见嫉，蛾眉不肯让人；掩袖工谗，狐媚偏能惑主。践元后于翚翟，陷吾君于聚麀。加以虺蜴为心，豺狼成性，近狎邪僻，残害忠良，杀姊屠兄，弑君鸩母。人神之所同嫉，天地之所不容。犹复包藏祸心，窥窃神器。君之爱子，幽之于别宫；贼之宗盟，委之以重任。呜呼！霍子孟之不作，朱虚侯之已亡。燕啄皇孙，知汉祚之将尽；龙漦帝后，识夏庭之遽衰。

敬业皇唐旧臣，公侯冢子。奉先帝之成业，荷本朝之厚恩。宋微子之兴悲，良有以也；袁君山之流涕，岂徒然哉！是用气愤风云，志安社稷。因天下之失望，顺宇内之推心，爰举义旗，以清妖孽。南连百越，北尽三河，铁骑成群，玉轴相接。海陵红粟，仓储之积靡穷；江浦黄旗，匡复之功何远？班声动而北风起，剑气冲而南斗平。喑呜则山岳崩颓，叱吒则风云变色。以此制敌，何敌不摧；以此图功，何功不克！

公等或家传汉爵，或地协周亲，或膺重寄于爪牙，或受顾命于宣室。言犹在耳，忠岂忘心？一抔之土未干，六尺之孤何托？倘能转祸为福，送往事居，共立勤王之勋，无废旧君之命，凡诸爵赏，同指山河。若其眷恋穷城，徘徊歧路，坐昧先几之兆，必贻后至之诛。请看今日之域中，竟是谁家之天下！移檄州郡，咸使知闻。

A Call to Arms Written on Behalf of Li Jingye

Luo Binwang

That woman née Wu, who is now illegally controlling the imperial court, is no amiable and kind-hearted person; in fact she originally came from a humble family. She was at first one of the concubines of Emperor Taizong and served him taking advantage of the Emperor’s time to change clothes. Later, ignoring the ethics, she developed an ambiguous relationship with the crown prince (Emperor Gaozong). She concealed the Late Emperor’s favor to her, and sought to obtain the exclusive favor in the imperial palace. She was jealous of every one of the newly-selected beautiful concubines. She was shamelessly coquettish, charming the Emperor like a seductress. She finally succeeded in ascending the throne of Empress wearing a gorgeous dress, and pushed the Emperor into an ugly situation of incest. In addition to the above, she was as venomous as a viper, as ferocious as a jackal and a wolf, keeping close to crafty sycophants, slaughtering loyal and honest courtiers, killing her sister and brother, murdering the monarch and poisoning her own mother. She is hated by both mortals and immortals, and not tolerated by heaven and earth. She also harbors evil designs to seize the throne. She put the Emperor’s beloved son into a cold palace of limbo; whereas her own relatives and henchmen are given important positions. Alas! Such an imperial high-ranking official as Huo Guang is never to be found again; powerful families like Liu Zhang have also died out. By the song “Swallows Are Pecking at the Emperor’s Grandson”, people knew that the imperial power of the Han Dynasty would soon end. The saliva of dragon that flowed in the emperor’s palace indicated that the Xia Dynasty was declining fast.

  I, Li Jingye, being a senior courtier of the Tang Dynasty and the eldest grandson of Grand Duke Ying, always follow the instructions left by the Late Emperor and enjoy the generous bounty of the current reign. It was justifiable for Wei Zi of the State of Song to mourn the fall of his old state. Yuan Junshan did not shed tears in vain for losing his title and salary! Now I have risen with indignation and decided to stabilize the Tang Dynasty. To extricate the country from the hopeless situation and in compliance with the wish of the entire people, we raise the banners of justice and vow to eliminate the evil and wicked. From Baiyue in the South to Sanhe in the North, iron-clad cavalry teams are deployed for military operations, and chariots are lined up hub to hub for fight. So much grain in Hailing is reddened owing to fermentation; the stock in the warehouses is truly inexhaustible; yellow flags and banners flutter along the riverbanks, and will success of the great cause of restoration be far away? The battle steeds neigh in the northern wind, and the breath of swords comes up to the southern constellation. The warriors’ roar causes the mountains to collapse, and the fighters’ shouting makes the sky change color. On the strength of these, what enemy cannot be conquered? And by virtue of these, what merit cannot be attained?

  Some of Your Excellencies have been entitled to the honor of nobility for generations; some are imperial in-laws, and some are military generals bearing important duties, or ministers who have accepted the testamentary edict in the consulting room of the Late Emperor. The voice of the Late Emperor is still in our ears, and how can we neglect our loyalty? The earth on the grave of our Late Emperor is not yet dry; whom can our young master rely on? If we can turn the current calamity into a blessing, send away our Late Lord with propriety to faithfully serve the succeeding monarch, thus jointly attaining the eminent merit of rescuing the monarch and living up to the Late Emperor’s entrustment, then we will be granted ranks and rewards that are as long-lasting as Mount Taishan and the Yellow River. If anyone lingers on the vested interests and hesitates at the critical moment without taking notice of the omen, he will surely be severely punished in the end. See what is the situation like in the territory today, and to whom does this country belong in the last analysis! This call to arms is proclaimed to every prefecture and county, so that all the people will be well informed of it.

Translated by Jin Deming