Classic Poem

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.