Eight Arrays is a poem dedicated to Zhuge Liang written by Du Fu, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, when he arrived in Kuizhou.
Full text:
During the Three Kingdoms period, you made unparalleled achievements, and you gained a permanent reputation by invading.
This river won't divert the stones from your disposal, and you will always regret that you will destroy Wu's unwise.
Translation:
Among the three countries, Kong Ming's exploits are the most outstanding, and his eight diagrams are even more famous throughout the ages.
Despite the impact of the river, the stone remained intact. The thousand-year regret lies in Liu Bei's blunder in swallowing Wu.
Extended data:
Creative background and appreciation:
In the summer of the first year of Dali in Tang Daizong (766), Du Fu moved to Kuizhou. There is Wuhou Temple in Kuizhou, and there is an eight-array map by the river. It is said that Zhuge Liang set it on the beach in Kuizhou during the Three Kingdoms period. Du Fu, who has always admired Zhuge Liang, used a lot of pen and ink to record the monument and express his feelings. Eight arrays diagram is one of them.
"The Three Kingdoms, divided, have been praised by his greatness and eight fortresses are built on his reputation". The first sentence is written from the general aspect, saying that Zhuge Liang made the most outstanding achievements in the process of establishing the situation that Wei Shuwu was divided into three parts.
Of course, there are many factors for the coexistence of the three countries, and Zhuge Liang's assistance to Liu Bei in establishing the foundation of Shu from scratch should be said to be one of the important reasons. Du Fu's highly generalized praise objectively reflected the historical truth of the Three Kingdoms period.
"Next to this ever-changing river, there stands a stone, which is his sadness that he failed to conquer the State of Wu." These two sentences express their feelings about the site of "Eight Arrays". The site of "Eight Arrays Map" is located on the flat sand in front of Yong 'an Palace in southwest Kuizhou.
According to Liu Yuxi's "Jingzhou Painting Vice" and "Jia", the eight arrays here are all piled up with fine stones, five feet high and sixty yards around, arranged in sixty-four piles, which remain unchanged. Even if it is flooded in summer, everything will be lost in winter, but the eight stone piles will remain unchanged for 600 years.