Autumn of the Homeland - Cao Yuxiang / 曹宇翔
Today, you walk into the square of the autumn / It is deep autumn, turning cold, with chrysanthemums blossoming / The wind conveys four dark-blue lakes into the sky / In the sky slowly moves the fleet of shining clouds / In the sky wild geese row their wings of the season /
Cao Yuxiang / 曹宇翔
Autumn of the Homeland
Today, you walk into the square of the autumn
It is deep autumn, turning cold, with chrysanthemums blossoming
The wind conveys four dark-blue lakes into the sky
In the sky slowly moves the fleet of shining clouds
In the sky wild geese row their wings of the season
They greet with songs the rising and falling songs of the earth
In the clear autumn you see all people
Cities, the countryside, waves of the Pacific
Even your childhood far gone, your grandmother
Haystacks, a child shaking a little bell
The fields, rivers, fallen leaves, fruits
Everyday a flag is raised in the square
Everyday a circle of lights grows on the earth
Everything is worth it, happy
You smile, thinking of a dream you once had
Who can stop loving his own homeland
"Homeland," when you gently utter the word
It is as if you are uttering your fate, your loved ones, your hometown
And when you say "autumn" with your eyes
That is time, life, and the distance
(Translated by Qin Liyan)
祖国之秋
今日你徒步走进秋天的广场
深秋了，天已转凉，菊花开放
风把四个湛蓝的湖泊运向空中
空中，缓缓驶过云霞船队
空中，雁翅划动季节的双桨
用歌声迎接大地起伏的歌声
在澄明的秋天你看见所有人民
城市，乡村，太平洋的波浪
甚至看到你远逝的童年，祖母
干草垛，一个孩子摇响铃铛
这原野、河流，这落叶、果实
每天，广场升起一面旗帜
每天，土地长出一轮光芒
一切都是值得的，内心幸福
你笑了，想起曾有的一个梦想
谁能不爱自己的祖国呢
“祖国”，当你轻轻说出这个词
等于说出你的命运，亲人，家乡
而当你用目光说到“秋天”
那就是岁月，人生啊，远方
***
Cao Yuxiang, born in November 1957 in Yanzhou, Shandong, now dwells in Beijing. After graduation from high school, he became a rural teacher. He joined the army in February, 1976. In 1991, he graduated from the Art Academy of PLA, majoring in literature. He has been in the army for years, eventually being a Senior Colonel. He was awarded the Special Stipend for Experts by the Cabinet, and was named a leading talent in the field of journalism and publication by the National Publication and Broadcasting Bureau. His published collections of poems, including: "The Home", "Ballads of Youth", "Pure Sunlight", "Shorter Poems by Cao Yuxiang", "Autumn of the Homeland", "Greetings to the Years", and he also published a collection of essays "The Natural Talent". His awards include, among others: the Second Lu Xun Literature Award (1997-2000), the Second (1984-1988) and Third (1989-1992) Awards for Young Writers by the Youth Press, the First Prize in the 1989 Poetry Award by the Stars Magazine, the 1989 Essay Award by the PLA Journal, the 1991 Lyric Award by the People's Daily, the 1999 Tianwen Award by the Poetry Tides, the 1996 and 1999 New Writings Awards by the PLA, and the 2018 Long March Literature and Art Award.
曹宇翔，1957 年11 月生于山东兖州，居北京。1976 年2 月入伍，1991 年毕业于解放
军艺术学院文学系。曾军旅生涯多年，大校军衔，国务院特殊津贴专家，国家新闻出版广电总局全国新闻出版行业领军人才。著有诗集《家园》《青春歌谣》《纯粹阳光》《曹宇翔短诗选》《祖国之秋》《向岁月致意》，随笔集《天赋》。曾获第二届（1997-2000）鲁迅文学奖、中国青年出版社第二届（1984-1988）和第三届（1989-1992）青年文学奖、《星星》诗刊全国新诗大赛第一名（1989）、《解放军报》散文奖（1989）、《人民日报》抒情诗奖（1991）、《诗潮》天问奖（1999）、全军新作品奖（1996、1999）、长征文艺奖（2018）等奖项。
