Night in the Pavilion
Year dusk yin yang hurry short light Heaven end frost snow clear cold night Fifth watch drum horn sound mournful mighty Third gorge star river shadow move tremor Country cry thousand homes hear fighting Foreign songs several places rise fisher woodcutter Sleeping dragon leaping horse end yellow earth Human affairs hear letter in vain melancholy
At year's end, yin and yang hurry the shortened day, At sky's end, frost and snow clear the frozen night. Fifth watch: the drum and horn sound out mournful and strong, Three gorges: the river of stars casts its trembling shadow. Countryside cries from a thousand homes hearing news of the fighting, Barbaric songs here and there rise from fishers and woodsmen. Sleeping Dragon and Leaping Horse both ended in yellow dirt; Waiting for news of worldly affairs brings me useless grief.