白雪歌送武判官归京 岑参

Snow ( For Chief of Secretarial Staff Wu, who was Being Called Back to the Capital) Cen Shen
北风卷地百草折,The north wind swooped down and the White Grass snapped.
胡天八月即飞雪.Out here, snowfall begins in the month of August.
忽如一夜春风来,It was as if a spring breeze had blown overnight,
千树万树梨花开.Bringing millions of pear blossoms to the bare boughs of trees.
散入珠帘湿罗幕,The moisture seeped through the door and bed curtains:
狐裘不暖锦衾薄.Fur coats and heavy quilts no longer gave warmth.
将军角弓不得控,The general had a hard time opening his horn-rimmed bow;
都护铁衣冷难着.We had a tough job helping put on the governor’s suit of armor.
瀚海阑干百丈冰,The vast desert was criss-crossed with miles of icicles,
愁云惨淡万里凝.And baleful grey clouds filled the leaden sky.
中军置酒饮归客,Food and wine had been laid out for the send-off party.
胡琴琵琶与羌笛.For music there were fiddles, pipa, and the Qiang flute.
纷纷暮雪下辕门,At dusk heavy snowflakes whirled round the camp gateway.
风掣红旗冻不翻.Frozen stiff, the red flags no longer fluttered in gale.
轮台东门送君去,I saw you off at the east gate of Luntai.
去时雪满天山路.Nothing else but snow filled the Tianshan Road.
山回路转不见君,At a turn in the road you disappeared from view.
雪上空留马行处.Only a line of hoof-prints was left in the newly-fallen snow.

Out here: The far north of China; that is, Xinjiang.
Fiddles, pipa, and the Qiang flute: Musical instruments introduced into China proper from the ethnic border peoples.
Luntai: Now Luntai Country in today’s Xinjiang.
Tianshan: Major mountain range in Xinjiang.