yàn tái yī qù kè xīn jīng,
jiā gǔ xuān xuān hàn jiāng yíng。
wàn lǐ hán guāng shēng jī xuě,
sān biān shǔ sè dòng wēi jīng。
shā chǎng fēng huǒ lián hú yuè,
hǎi pàn yún shān yōng jì chéng。
shàoxiǎo suī fēi tóu bǐ lì,
lùn gōng hái yù qǐng cháng yīng。
My heart sank when I headed north from Yan Country
To the camps of China echoing ith bugle and drum.
...In an endless cold light of massive snow,
Tall flags on three borders rise up like a dawn.
War-torches invade the barbarian moonlight,
Mountain-clouds like chairmen bear the Great Wall from the sea.
...Though no youthful clerk meant to be a great general,
I throw aside my writing-brush –
Like the student who tossed off cap for a lariat,
I challenge what may come.