618–907
Tang Dynasty — Page 5
唐
Tang Dynasty — page 5 of 8.
Poems in this hub
Li Shangyin Jia Yi 賈生 An emperor leans forward to question a gifted adviser. Discover how the final line turns apparent recognition into a criticism of misplaced curiosity. Du Fu Presented to Hua Qing 贈花卿 Music in Chengdu seems divided between river wind and clouds, too rare for ordinary earthly hearing. Read the Chinese, pinyin, word meanings, and original English translation. Wang Changling Army Song: The Vow at Qinghai 從軍行七首（其四） Clouded mountains and armor worn through by battle lead to an uncompromising vow in Wang Changling’s fourth army song. Li Shangyin Because There Is Such Beauty 為有 A woman finds that marriage to a high official brings lonely nights. Read how his prestigious rank becomes a rival to intimacy when morning court calls. Du Fu The Eight Formations 八陣圖 A riverside formation associated with Zhuge Liang becomes a meditation on achievement and failure. Read the Chinese, pinyin, word meanings, and original English translation. Wang Changling Army Song: The Report Arrives 從軍行七首（其五） Wang Changling begins with troops moving into dust, then lets an earlier battle arrive as a report before the march is complete. Wen Tingyun Early Departure from Shang Mountain 商山早行 A traveler leaves an inn before sunrise. Read the famous sequence of rooster, moon, footprints, and frost, then follow its turn toward a dream of home. Du Fu Welcome Rain on a Spring Night 春夜喜雨 Du Fu’s Welcome Rain on a Spring Night, with pinyin and English notes on timely growth, one boat light, and the wet flowers imagined for dawn in Chengdu. Wen Tingyun Lament of the Jade Zither 瑤瑟怨 A luxurious bed offers no rest beneath a clear night sky. Follow the movement from indoor cold to passing geese and moonlight beyond the sleepless room. Wang Changling Regret in the Chamber 閨怨 A young wife’s spring outing becomes regret for the ambition that sent her husband away in Wang Changling’s sudden-turn quatrain. Wang Wei Remembering My Brothers on the Double Ninth 九月九日憶山東兄弟 Wang Wei’s Double Ninth poem in Chinese, pinyin, and English: an imagined family gathering turns the distant speaker into the person missing from the group. Wang Wei Bird Calls in the Ravine 鳥鳴澗 Wang Wei’s Bird Calls in the Ravine, with pinyin and English notes on spring gui blossoms, moonrise, and the intermittent calls that make stillness audible. Wen Tingyun Dreaming of the South: Washed and Combed 夢江南·梳洗罷 After dressing, a woman waits beside the river as sails pass without stopping. Watch a whole day of expectation contract into the lyric's final image. Cen Shen Meeting a Messenger Bound for the Capital 逢入京使 A chance meeting on horseback lets Cen Shen send home a spoken reassurance when no paper or brush is available. Wen Tingyun Dreaming of the South: Countless Regrets 夢江南·千萬恨 Sleepless regret meets an indifferent moon and wind. Read how a brief song uses repeated phrases to make longing continue beyond its few lines. Cen Shen In the Stony Desert 磧中作 Two full moons measure Cen Shen’s westward journey, but the desert gives no answer to where he will sleep tonight. Wang Wei Magnolia Hollow 辛夷塢 Magnolia blossoms open and fall in a ravine without an audience. Read the Chinese, pinyin, word meanings, and original English translation. Wang Wei In the Mountains 山中 A rainless mountain path seems to wet the traveler through the density of its green. Read the Chinese, pinyin, word meanings, and original English translation. Wen Tingyun Nan Ge Zi: A Golden Parrot in Her Hand 南歌子·手裏金鸚鵡 Bird ornaments become a playful wish for companionship. Follow this short lyric from hands and clothing to an imagined pair of mandarin ducks. Cen Shen Spring at the Mountain Room: Open to the Season 山房春事二首（其一） Bees, butterflies, willow branches, and falling blossoms cross into Cen Shen’s room on a warm spring day. Wang Wei A Question about the Plum Tree 雜詩三首·其二 All the news of home narrows to one question about blossoms beside a window. Read the Chinese, pinyin, word meanings, and original English translation. Wen Tingyun Crossing the Watershed 過分水嶺 A stream has accompanied a traveler for three days through the mountains. Read how its sound through the night becomes a voice at their parting. Cen Shen Spring at the Mountain Room: Liang Garden 山房春事二首（其二） Cen Shen’s trees repeat their flowering in Liang Garden without knowing that the people are gone, in a text with a consequential variant. Wang Wei Autumn Night Song 秋夜曲 A musician keeps playing in the cold because returning to an empty room is harder. Read the Chinese, pinyin, word meanings, and original English translation.