Dream Galaxy

Diary & poem of record · Nature & weather

Armoured horses on frozen rivers

Shanyin (Shaoxing, Zhejiang), China · 4th day of the 11th lunar month, 1192

僵臥孤村不自哀，尚思為國戍輪臺。夜闌臥聽風吹雨，鐵馬冰河入夢來。

Original text — Storm on the Fourth Day of the Eleventh Month, II, Lu You

Lying stiff in a lonely village, I do not grieve for myself; I still think of guarding the frontier for my country. Late at night I lie listening to wind driving the rain — armoured horses and frozen rivers come into my dreams.

Translation · Editorial translation (draft)

Open this dream in the galaxy →

Source
Storm on the Fourth Day of the Eleventh Month, II — Lu You, 1192
Rights
Public domain (ancient text)
Record type
Diary & poem of record
Place
Shanyin (Shaoxing, Zhejiang), China · Chinese
Date
4th day of the 11th lunar month, 1192
Uncertainty
Low — Written by the 67-year-old poet in retirement.
Imagery
Horse · River · Snow & ice · Storm · War
Feelings
Longing · Loneliness

How traditions have read this kind of dream

Psychological

Storms, mountains and gardens in dreams are often traced to the day’s impressions or the sleeper’s physical state — Ellis connected a dreamed cyclone to a windy night.

Ellis (1911), ch. IV

Mythological

Sacred mountains and world-trees connect earth and sky in many traditions, from Olympus to Yggdrasil to Mount Kunlun.

Comparative mythology

Chinese traditions

Landscape — mountains, rivers, mist — is the setting of countless Chinese dream journeys, where the dreamer’s wandering mirrors the shan-shui painting tradition.

Li Bai, Dreaming of Tianmu

These are cultural lenses, not a diagnosis.

Dreams that share its images