1 Poem by Shengxian Xu

The West Wind

(originally published in Chinese in Frontline Daily October 11, 1940)

Now the west wind is sweeping across the land.

Won't you be astonished by how quickly I've aged!

Oh no, losing youthful innocence so easily?

Still, examine yourself closely.

Twice, in faraway mountains and fields,

I've witnessed the drunken maples in twilight.

Although I possessed this strong heart and vigorous body,

The west wind brought me weariness.

My hair turned grey even before I could grow a beard.

At the same time, isn't that distant longing (which is for you) an element

Woven into the bottom of an anguished heart?

I'm now returning from the mountains and fields, and

The drunken maples will be doing their last dances.

In this mountain town, though, there's no way to appreciate them.

But can the aging of the heart be avoided?

Not unless you become a fool or madman,

or even a dumb figure made of clay.

I am, however, not willing. ...

西风 

徐燊桑 《前线日报》 民国二十九年（1940年）10月11日 第七版

而今是西风卷地了。

你将惊异于我过度的苍老吧，

不， 这么轻易地便丧失了童真么？

然而你也得端详一下自己。

在山野中，我已看过二次枫林醉后的黄昏了，

虽然拥着这门矫健之心与这门矫健之躯的

而西风带来了疲惫。

我是没鬚而白了自己的头发了。

同时辽远的怀念（这属于你的）又不是织成苦涩的心底一种元素吗？

而今是从山野中归来了，

枫林亦将再作醉后的舞姿了，

只是在这山城是无法鉴赏的，

但，能够免掉了心情的苍老吗？

除非你将成为愚蠢或疯狂，

甚至于完全无知的土偶。

我可不愿。......

English Translation by Shifen Fox

Bionote

Shensang Xu, a pen name for Shengxian Xu, was born in Sichuan, China, in 1918, into the rich and powerful Xu clan. Unfortunately, an opium addiction led Shengxian's father to squander the wealth handed down from his ancestors, and the family had fallen deeply into debt when he died. As the full scale of the second Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1937, Shengxian joined tens of thousands of youths in China's Resistance. He graduated from Huangpu Military Academy and became an officer in Chiang Kai-Shek's Nationalist Army. Shengxian's intelligence and abilities brought quick promotions. He rose to battalion commander and was killed by an artillery shell on July 17, 1944 during the Battle of Hengyang. Shengxian Xu was not only a patriotic military officer, but also a poet, writer, and war correspondent. Shortly before Shengxian's death, his good friend Lu wrote to tell him that he was on the division's list for medals and prizes. Shengxian dashed off a reply in a madly cursive style: "I'm not fighting for medals. In this hail of bullets and bombardment, however, I'd like to 'measure' Japan's setting 'sun'!" In Chinese, "measure sun" is pronounced "heng-yang". Lu could hardly believe that under such conditions his friend could still make such a clever play on words. What a literary genius! Xu was intending to write a book about Hengyang Battle after the war ended.

This poem was translated by his daughter, Shifen Fox, who has just finished writing The Battle of Hengyang: Japan's Fateful Siege of World War II. To be released in July by Westholme Publishing, the book is the first English language history of one of the most important battles of the Second World War.