Chapter 13 Selected Poems of Ai Qing-Snow Falls on the Land of China

Snow falls on the land of China. The cold is blocking China... wind, Like a very sad old woman. follow closely stretch out cold fingers Pulling the skirt of the pedestrian. with as old as the earth Non-stop nagging... that came out of the woods, driving a carriage you Chinese farmer, wearing a fur hat, braved the snow Where are you going? Tell you I am also a descendant of farmers -- because of your A face wrinkled with pain, i can so deeply understood people who live on the grasslands The hardships of the years. but me I'm not happier than you Lying on the river of time one by one

waves of misery has engulfed me and rolled me up several times vagrancy and imprisonment I have lost the most precious days of my youth, my life also like your life Same haggard. Snow falls on the land of China, The cold is blocking China... Along the snowy night river, A small oil lamp is moving slowly, In that tattered bird canopy With the light on, head down Who is sitting? one by one, you The shaggy little woman, Yes or no your home - the nest of happiness and warmth - violent enemy Is it burnt? Yes or no and nights like this, lost the protection of men, in the terror of death

Have you been teased by the enemy's bayonet? Cough, on such a cold night, countless our elderly mother, all curled up in homes that are not their own, like a stranger I don't know the wheels of tomorrow What kind of journey do you want to roll on? one by one and China's road so rough, It's so muddy. Snow falls on the land of China. The cold is blocking China... Through the grassland of the snowy night Those areas gnawed by the flames of war, Countless, cultivators of the land lost their poultry lost their fertile fields crowded in In the hopeless alleys of life;

land of opportunity Bright to the dark sky outstretched Trembling arms. Pain and Disaster in China As wide and long as this snowy night! Snow falls on the land of China The cold is blocking China... China, mine at night without lights feeble verse written Can I give you some warmth? December 28, 1937