Mawei Slope

On Mawei Slope, outside Chang’an, the most beautiful woman in all of China is buried alone. Mawei Slope As horses from Jizhou and well-armored soldiers shake the earth, A beautiful lady is buried alone, and alone she turns to ash. Had our lord and king known she could crush a dynasty, Would his jade carriage…

Too Late

“Don’t rush. If the time is right, it’ll happen.” –Buddha The ancient Leyou Temple and accompanying Garden is located just a stone throw, south of Chang’an, the Tang dynasty capital. It sits on a hill with a glorious view of the sunset over the mountains. You can get there by sunset if you hurry, but…

Ghosts and Gods

Scholarly Jia View Li Shangyin’s (李商隐, 813–858) poem as a criticism of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty who sought Ji’s guidance but did not know what to ask and how to use it. Ghosts and GodsOnce exiled, a wise man now sought by the emperorScholarly Jia’s advice was calm and uncommonSo, at midnight, he…

Moon Goddess, Li Shangyin

Moon GoddessThe candlelight is flickering on my stone screen，The Milky Way is fading, the Morning Star is falling from the sky。Moon Goddess, are you not sorry you stole our immortal potion, Over the blue sea and sky — seeing my lonely heart every night. Li Shangyin, 9th c. 嫦 娥云母 屏风 烛影 深， 长河 渐…

瑤 池 Yaochi

Jade Lake Why would King Mu of Zhou give up the gift of immortality? This is the unanswered question in Li Shangyin’s poem, 瑤池, Yaochi, literally, Jade Lake. Yaochi, Jade LakeIn Yoachi, the Queen Mother of Beauty opens her window,The Yellow Bamboo sounds its pitiful song.If eight steeds can gallop to the ends of the…

To One Unnamed 3, 无题之三

Time was, long before I met her, but longer still, since we parted, The east wind is powerless, for it has come and a hundred flowers are gone, And the silk-worms of spring will spin until they die And every night candles will weep their wicks away. In the morning mirror she sees her temple…

Untitled (1) – Li Shangyin

Untitled (One), by Li Shangyin. The Chinese poet Li Shangyin stayed up all night writing this love letter. The moon is setting, it’s early morning, the candle is half spent. He is thinking of his love, so far, far away. Note. Liu Lang, Young Liu, possibly Liu Sheng, died 113 BC. He was the son…

Not to be underestimated

Do not underestimate the little things in life is the simple message of this poem. To one who is weary and wet, a shack in the rain is more valuable than a palace far, far away, and coarse grain and diluted wine a feast. Not to Be Underestimated Traveling, on foot with a broken-down horse…

Cold Thoughts

In middle earth (Kansas), the temperature is minus 12 degrees Celsius. The sun is rising in the east, but clouds overhead make for a grey and cold day. The night before was clear and the Milky Way hung low in the sky, making a pathway for my thoughts to rise to the heavens. A good…

Night Rain on Ba Mountain

Ye Yu Ji Bei Jun wen gui qi wei you qi Ba shan ye yu zhang qui chi He dang gong jian xi chuang zhu Que hua ba shan ui ye shi Night rain, sent north Lord, you ask when I’m coming home, I do not know Ba Mountain, night rains swell autumn ponds. When…