A Poem to Yuan Danqui Like Mona Lisa, whose face was made immortal by Leonardo da Vinci, Yuan Danqui, even though little is known about him, achieves immortality in the verse of the Chinese poet Li Bai (李白, 701–762) 元 丹 丘 歌Yuán Dānqiū GēA Poem to Yuan Danqui 元 丹 丘，爱 神 仙。Yuán Dānqiū,…
Category: Li Bai
Spring Thoughts
Chūn sī, 春思Spring Thoughts by Li Bai (701-762) Chinese poet, Tang dynasty A wife yearns for her husband. As she rests in her bedroom, the curtain is stirred by a gentle spring breeze. Who is this stranger? 春思Chūn sīSpring Thoughts… 燕草如碧丝Yàn cǎo rú bì sīThe grass in Yan is like the bluest strands of silk…
Four Four Line Poems
Four for Four Four line poems of the Tang dynasty are my favorites. Short, to the point, just enough to keep one wanting. A message in a bottle from 1,500 years ago. Messages that have kept well.Here are four of my favorites. Let’s begin early with Meng Haoran (孟浩然, ca. 689-740) and thoughts of Spring….
Parting at a Nanjing Wineshop
Spring of 726 Nanjing, at a Wineshop In his mid-twenties, about 725, Li Bai left his home in Sichuan province, sailed down the Yangtze and made his way to Nanjing, on the East China Sea. He made some friends and left the following Spring as the Willow trees were in blossom. 金陵酒肆留别Jīnlíng jiǔsì liúbiéNanjing Wineshop…
Note to Self
On the Yangtze, going southZi Qian, Note to Self758-759 Condemned to death, reprieved, and sent into exile. A few years shy of sixty, Li Bai made a lonely journey by boat down the Yangtze River. He was heading to Jiangnan (southern China) with no schedule, no time frame. Along the way, he wrote this note…
Resentment
Who’s to Blame? A beautiful woman, sitting alone, fresh tears on her face. Yuan qing 怨情— Feeling resentment, so who is to blame? A lovely woman, a curtain rolled upSitting forever, frowning, her beautiful eyesI see her cheeks wet with tears,I can’t see her heart so who does she hate? Li Bai, 712–770 怨情 美人卷珠帘，深坐颦蛾眉。…
Three Five Seven
I first looked at Li Bai’s poem Autumn Wind four years ago. I am changing the title to Three Five Seven, which is used in most Chinese sources. It is October again, a cold wind is expected to bring on the first freeze. Has anything changed? Three Five Seven Words autumn winds gone still; an…
A Gift to Wan Lun
Peach Blossom Pool (Taohuatan) is located in Anhui province. Wan Lun was a local magistrate. He entertained Li Bai while visiting, and when it was time for Li Bai to leave, sang a song as the boat sailed away. Li Bai hurriedly wrote this poem. A Gift to Wan Lun Li Bai was about to…
Memo to Self
A lonely poet does his best drinking at night. A cherry blossom party lasts late. Everyone else has gone home and you are drunk and can’t sleep. The falling blossoms cover your clothes. It’s time to go home. Memo to SelfIt was dark and the wine kept me awake,My clothes were covered in blossoms.Along the…
Drinking Together
Just the two of us, Liang ren. Before and after leaving Chang’an, the capital of the Tang dynasty, Li Bai spent much of his time traveling down rivers and also living in the mountains. In the mountains, he could be found meditating, listening to music, or more often drinking alone and with friends. Just the…
100 Tang Poems 