The Great Ming Dynasty: 1644

The sun and moon proclaim the Han, across ten thousand miles of rivers and mountains.

The four seas are at peace, the eight wilds united.

Beneath the brilliant stars, a hundred flowers bloom in spring.

Songs and wine intoxicate, while mighty Yan and Huang endure through the ages.

The land of China sinks into ruin. Who is to blame, and who deserves praise?

Iron-clad ranks rise, heaps of bones lie piled.

Young men on the country road, do not laugh at a hero's tears.

Wild geese fly south, while white-haired fishermen and woodcutters sing of gathering ferns.

“I am but an idle man. What can all under Heaven add to me?”

Excerpt from the Veritable Records of Ming Liezu