Song of the Running Horse River in Farewell to General Feng on His Western Campaign (Cen Shen, Song of the Running Horse River in Farewell to General Feng on His Western Campaign)

Do you not see? The Running-Horse River lies by the Sea of Snow (variant: “...by the Azure Sea”), and the vast desert stretches endlessly, yellow sand rolling into the sky.

At Luntai, in the ninth month, the night wind howls; the river’s stones, huge as pecks, are tumbled and tossed by the gale.

The Xiongnu’s pasture grass has withered, their warhorses are fat; westward of Gold Mountain, dust and smoke rise.

Our Han general leads the army westward; in golden armor he does not remove it even by night.

Marching in darkness, lances and halberds clash; the wind’s edge is like a blade, cutting faces as if slashed.

Horse-hairs are flecked with snow, steam rising from sweat; the linked-coin patterns on the piebald steeds soon freeze into ice.

Drafting the war proclamation in the tent, the inkstone’s water congeals; hearing this, the enemy cavalry should tremble with fear.

We expect they dare not risk close combat; at the west gate of Cheshi, we await the news of victory.