INDIGNATION

Lu You

(1125-1210, Southern Song Dynasty)

How could I know the hard times in my early days?

Looking north, I heave up and down like mountain ways.

Warships crossed Melon Ferry on a snowy night;

Armored steeds ran in autumn breeze to border height.

In vain I'd be a "Great Wall" to bar the foe's way;

Before its time my hair in the mirror turns grey.

The premier's fame is widespread even on frontiers.

Who can boast to equal him for a thousand years?

书愤

[南宋]陆游

早岁那知世事艰,中原北望气如山。

楼船夜雪瓜洲渡,铁马秋风大散关。

塞上长城空自许,镜中衰鬓已先斑。

出师一表真名世,千载谁堪伯仲间！

About the poet 

Lu You, a Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) poet, was born to a family of culture and wealth. He showed talent in writing poems ever since he was little, and continued pursuing his literati dreams after growing up.   

About the translator 

Xu Yuanchong (1921-2021) was born in Nanchang in East China's Jiangxi Province. He was a professor of literary translation at Peking University.

About the book 

Golden Treasury of Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Poetry/ Translated by Xu Yuanchong and Xu Ming Published by China Intercontinental Press