History & Politics
Thoughts of Old Time at West Fort Mountain
Translated by Witter Bynner and Kiang Kang-hu (1929) · From The Jade Mountain (1929)
Since Wang Chün brought his towering ships down from Yi-chou,
The royal ghost has pined in the city of Nan-king.
Ten thousand feet of iron chain were sunk here to the bottom —
And then came the flag of surrender on the Wall of Stone. . . .
Cycles of change have moved into the past,
While still this mountain dignity has commanded the cold river;
And now comes the day of the Chinese world united,
And the old forts fill with ruin and with autumn reeds.
Cite this poem
MLA
Yü-hsi, Liu. “Thoughts of Old Time at West Fort Mountain.” Translated by Witter Bynner and Kiang Kang-hu. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/liu-yu-hsi/6/.
Chicago
Yü-hsi, Liu. “Thoughts of Old Time at West Fort Mountain.” Translated by Witter Bynner and Kiang Kang-hu. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/liu-yu-hsi/6/.
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