千锤万凿出深山，烈火焚烧若等闲。

粉骨碎身浑不怕，要留清白在人间。

Lime

Yu Qian

Hacked and hammered a thousand times,

From the depth of the mountains it comes.

Through hectic heat and frantic flame,

Unperturbed it stays the same.

Flesh and bone to smithereens crushed,

It still is unafraid, unflushed.

For all it desires from its birth,

Is leaving whiteness to this earth.

（王知还 译）

Limestone Song

Yu Qian

It was digging

         chiseling

                cutting

That led me into the world.

What can heating

                burning

                   boiling

Do to hurt me, now?

Reduce me to dust, to powder,

I’m not afraid

So long as I remain stainless, and pure.

（丁祖馨 译）

Song of the Lime

Yu Qian

You come out of deep mountains after hammer blows;

Under fire and water tortures you’re not in woes.

Though broken into pieces, you will have no fright;

You’ll purify the world by washing it e’er white.

（许渊冲 译）

Song of the Limestone

Yu Qian

Thou, having suffer’d countless strikes, come’st out from mountain deep;

Undaunted in the face of falmes which do around thee leap.

Though destin’d to be pulveriz’d thou show’st no sign of fright,

For ‘tis thy wish to leave with th’ world a lily white!

（卓振英、刘筱华 译）