A rainstorm sweeps down on this northern land,

Who is dancing with theserainbow colours in the sky?Air after rain, slanting sun:mountains and passes turning bluein each changing moment.Fierce battles that year:bullet holes in village walls.These mountains so decorated,look even more beautiful today.

The Five Ridges wind like gentle ripplesAnd the majestic Wumeng roll by, globules of clay.Warm the steep cliffs lapped by the waters of Golden Sand,Cold the iron chains spanning the Tatu River.Minshan’s thousand li of snow joyously crossed,The three Armies march on, each face glowing.

I turn my head startled,The sky is three foot three above me!Mountains!Like great waves surging in a crashing sea,Like a thousand stallionsIn full gallop in the heat of battle.Mountains!Piercing the blue of heaven, your barbs unblunted!The skies would fallBut for your strength supporting.

A thousand leagues of whirling snow.Both sides of the Great WallOne single white immensity.The Yellow River’s swift currentIs stilled from end to end.The mountains dance like silver snakesAnd 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 beautyHas…

Blurred in the thick haze of the misty rainTortoise and Snake hold the great river locked.The yellow crane is gone, who knows whither?Only this tower remains a haunt for visitors.I pledge my wine to the surging torrent,The tide of my heart swells with the waves.

Once they speckled the bamboos with their profuse tears,Now they are robed in rose-red clouds.Tungting Lake’s snow-topped waves surge skyward;The long isle reverberates with earth-shaking song.And I am lost in dreams, untrammelled dreamsOf the land of hibiscus glowing in the morning sun.