Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice, a poem by the Chinese poet Du Fu. Dongzhi, a traditional winter holiday in China. The winter solstice, December 21st or 22nd, the shortest day, the longest night of the year, when the North Pole tilts the furthest away from the sun, and much of the Northern Hemisphere is thrown into perpetual darkness….

Lotus Flower Peak, Huashan Mountain

In January of 756, General An Lushan and his barbarian forces captured Luoyang, the eastern Tang capital. An Lushan proclaimed himself emperor. The capital of Chang’an was threatened. China was in an uproar. Nearby, Li Bai, from his lofty platform on Lotus Mountain, watched the advancing death and destruction. On Lotus Mountain’s western peakFar and…

Give Me Meat to Eat

November, 2021, Happy Thanksgiving! “Dear Li Bai, Give me meat to eat, or at least green rice to put some color in my cheeks.” — an excerpt from a short ditty written by Du Fu to Li Bai, the Tang dynasty’s two best known poets. … 野人對羶腥, 蔬食常不飽豈無青精飯, 使我顏色好… A savage rightly likes fish and…

Stopping by Su Duan in the Rain

Rain and mud, a walking stick, Lord Su, a feast of dates and pears, fine wine makes good talk. 雨過蘇端杜甫 雞鳴風雨交，久旱雨亦好杖藜入春泥, 無食起我早諸家憶所歷，一飯跡便掃蘇侯得數過，歡喜每傾倒也復可憐人，呼兒具梨棗濁醪必在眼，盡醉攄懷抱紅稠屋角花，碧委牆隅草親賓縱談謔，喧鬧慰衰老況蒙霈澤垂，糧粒或自保妻孥隔軍壘，撥棄不擬道 Stopping By to See Su Duan in the RainDu Fu, 757-759 In wind and rain, a rooster crows. And after a long drought, rain is good.A walking stick, in Spring it’s muddy, I…

The Returning Thief is the Official, Yuan Jie

764 This poem was written in 764. It is the second year of the reign of Emperor Daizong, 代宗. The rebel forces of General An Lushan Rebellion have been turned back, but now the armies of the Tang Dynasty face Tibetan forces on the west, about to invade China and capture the capital of Chang’an….

Spring Night, Happy Rain

Good rain knows the right timeTo fall when spring comesAnd follows the wind in the nightSilently, moistening every thing A wild path black and cloudyA riverboat fire alone and brightDawn has the look that is red and wetIn Brocade City, Guancheng* Spring Night, Happy Rain by Du Fu, written in Chengdu, 759 – 763, during…

Spring Morning,

It’s Spring, I lie awake as morning breaks.While everywhere are birds who cry,Who heard last night the sound of rain and wind —So do you know how many flowers fell? 春晓 春眠不觉晓处处闻啼鸟夜来风雨声花落知多少 Meng Haoran, 孟浩然 I tossed in bed this morning, I could not sleep. I heard the birds cry. It rained, it howled last…

Facing the Snow

In the battle’s aftermath, many spirits cry,Alone, an old man hums his worrisome chant.Confusion sets in amid the clouds at dusk,A violent snow dances in the swirling wind There lies an abandoned ladle and an empty green jug,But the stove still looks fiery red.With bad news from many placesI sit in grief, but cannot read…

Gazing at Mount Lu’s Waterfall, by Li Bai

Sunlight shines on Lushan, in a purple haze, From afar, like a veil, a waterfall hangs. Water cascading three thousand feet from the sky,Is the Celestial River falling from heaven on high? 756, Awaiting My Fate Li Bai’s diary, had he kept one, might have gone something like this. “In the 12th month of the…

Summer Palace

In an ancient summer palace now deserted Save a few palace flowers, very lonely and quite red Attended by a white-haired lady Who sits and talks of Xuanzong Bygone Days Let us speak of bygone days in ancient summer palaces, of the brilliant emperor Xuanzong and his lovely lady Yang Guifei. The rebellion of General…