--to the tune of chin yuan chun

february 1936

north country scene:

a hundred leagues locked in ice,

a thousand leagues of whirling snow.

both sides of the great wall

one single white immensity.

the yellow river’s swift current

is stilled from end to end.

the mountains dance like silver snakes

and the highlands* charge like wax-hued elephants,

vying with heaven in stature.

on a fine day, the land,

clad in white, adorned in red,

grows more enchanting.

this land so rich in beauty

has made countless heroes bow in homage.

but alas。 chin shih-huang and han wu-ti

were lacking in literary grace,

and tang tai-tsung and sung tai-tsu

had little poetry in their souls;

and genghis khan,

proud son of heaven for a day,

knew only shooting eagles, bow outstretched

all are past and gone。

for truly great men

look to this age alone.

*author’s note:

the highlands are those of shensi and shansi.

沁园春 雪

一九三六年二月

北国风光 千里冰封 万里雪飘 望长城内外 惟余莽莽

大河上下 顿失滔滔 山舞银蛇 原驰蜡象 欲与天公试比高

须晴日 看红装素裹 分外妖娆

江山如此多妖 引无数英雄竞折腰 惜秦皇汉武 略输文采

唐宗宋祖 稍逊风骚 一代天骄 成吉思汗 只识弯弓射大雕

俱往矣 数风流人物 还看今朝