Liangzhou Ballad A clear white wine in a cup that glows,The pipa plays — we drink, we ride.Don’t laugh, dear friend, if I fall drunk —Since ages past, who comes back?— Wang Han Rhyming the second and last lines as Wang Han does. A fine white wine, we toast with a cup that glows,The music…
Far From the Madding Crowd
禅院At a Zen Retreat Will you walk with me, with Chang Jian, as we find our way though a bamboo grove to a secluded place and a Zen Retreat? At the Rear of a Ruined Mountain Temple, a Zen RetreatEarly in the morning near the old temple grounds,When the sun first shines on the trees…
It’s a poet’s life for me
A Poet’s Life Disney came up with “It’s a pirate’s life for me,” as an expression of freedom. The problem being that pirates were often either blown out of the water by the king’s warships, or strung up on a gibbet as a result of their lawlessness. No, it’s not a pirate’s life for me….
Meeting a Messenger from the Capital
China, 755-763 The definition of succinct — píng jūn chuányǔ bào píng’ān. “Say that I am safe.“ The period from 755 to 763 was the time of the disastrous An Lushuan Rebellion. The capital of Chang’an fell, the emperor fled. Who was safe, no one knew. Normally, home for Cen Can was either Henan or…
春夜喜雨
China 761 Timing is everything Timing is everything. A good rain knows that. And a good poet knows to stay out of the rain. It’s the best time to write poems. The worst of the An Lushan Rebellion was over. Du Fu had gathered his family, fled the North where the rebellion raged, gone south,…
An Old Air
Time and time again, down through the ages, over and over, it has been said that, “A soldier’s life is a hard life.” An Old AirA soldier’s life is a hard life,When he’s young, he’s a guest in Youyan.Competing with others on horseback,Not wanting to be particularly tall.No one dares move out of line,Better to…
Socks
Socks There is nothing so mundane as a pair of socks. Black or blue, tall or short, rough or smooth. Why, we rarely give a pair of socks a second thought. Wang Fanzhi turned his socks inside out and wore the rough side outside and the smooth side inside. People said this was wrong. But…
Spring Drifting on Ruoye Stream
Spring – Drifting on Ruoye Stream Unending is my yearning for hidden beauty,Onward glides this stream where chance may lead.An evening breeze to drive my drifting boat,Past fragrant flowers to the river’s mouth. Westward to the valley I gazed tonight,O’er mountains where the Southern Dipper glows.Deep within a pool the mist rises and floats,Beyond the…
Climbing Yangzhou Tower
On a clear day, rise and look around you, and, as they say, you can see forever. In the case of Yangzhou Tower, one can see the Earth and Heaven (tiandi) and the China Sea. Climbing Youzhou TowerThose before me are long gone.I’ll never know those to come.Comprehending the vastness of heaven and earth.Alone, sad,…
More Wang Shi
更 . 王適More, Wang Shi Wang Shi, a poet of the early Tang dynasty, a middling official, shuffled off to remote Sichuan province. Three sad poems describing thoughts of love by the river, of failed hopes and ambition, and the isolation of a courtesan in a luxurious palace. Reflections by the River The river runs…
100 Tang Poems