Through the Dynasties · LH14

Ming

Maritime expeditions and commercial restoration

59works

8forms

30authors

Classical Poetry

3 works

Orthodox classical Chinese poetry spanning archaic ballads to Tang regulated verse.

  1. Chant of the LimeYu Qian · Regulated QuatrainsExtracted from deep mountains after a thousand hammer blows and chisels, roaring blazing fires are treated as nothing unusual. Unafraid even of having body shattered and bones ground to powder, resolved only to leave pure unblemished integrity to the mortal world.
  2. Poem Inscribed on Ink GrapesXu Wei · Regulated QuatrainsHalf a life of destitution has turned me into an old man, standing alone in my study whistling to the evening gale. The luminous pearls beneath my brush find nowhere to sell, casually tossed and scattered among wild tangled vines.
  3. Song to Awaken the World · Red Dust and White WavesHanshan Deqing · Old-Style SongsRed dust and white waves, both a boundless blur; forbearance and gentleness are the wondrous cure.

Ci Lyrics

2 works

Pinnacle of lyric verse and musical poetry spanning delicate grace and heroic grandeur.

  1. The Surging Yangtze River Rolls EastYang Shen · Short LyricsThe surging Yangtze River rolls endlessly to the east, its billowing waves washing away all heroes of old. Right and wrong, triumph and defeat, turn to void in the blink of an eye. Green mountains remain unchanged as ever; how many crimson sunsets have they seen? White-haired fishermen and woodcutters on the river shoals are accustomed to watching autumn moons and spring breezes. Over a flagon of cloudy wine, we rejoice in reunion: how many deeds of past and present dissolve into cheerful laughter!
  2. Jinming Chi · Chanting the Winter WillowLiu Rushi · Long LyricsI grieve at the cold tide and the heartless evening glow: this is the bleak southern shore of parting.

Classical Prose

19 works

Authoritative classical prose from Pre-Qin philosophers to Tang-Song prose masters.

  1. Preface Presenting to Student Ma of DongyangSong Lian · Letters & PrefacesIn the bitter cold, when the inkstone froze hard and my fingers could not bend or straighten, I did not slacken.
  2. Discourse on Deep ForesightFang Xiaoru · Essays & MemorialsYet calamity always breaks out in what was neglected, and disorder always arises from matters thought unworthy of suspicion.
  3. Epitaph for a Dead TravelerWang Yangming · Epitaphs & ElegiesYou and I are just like them!
  4. Record of the Xiangji StudioGui Youguang · Informal EssaysIn the courtyard there is a loquat tree that my wife planted with her own hands in the year she died. Now it stands tall and spreads like a canopy.
  5. Biographical Sketch of My Late MotherGui Youguang · Epitaphs & ElegiesThat there should be people in this world without a mother! O Heaven! What anguish!
  6. Reply to Master LiuZong Chen · Letters & PrefacesThis is what the world calls superiors and inferiors in mutual trust. Do you, sir, think I could manage it?
  7. Record of a Tour to ManjingYuan Hongdao · Travel WritingOnly then did I realize that outside the suburbs spring had never been absent, though city dwellers were unaware of it. To not neglect duty through excursions, while wandering carefree among mountains, rocks, and trees—such is the joy of this humble official.
  8. Record of an Evening Tour on Six Bridges Awaiting the MoonYuan Hongdao · Travel WritingFrom the Broken Bridge to the Su Causeway, a green mist and a red haze spread for more than twenty li.
  9. Preface to the Poetry of XiaoxiuYuan Hongdao · Letters & PrefacesExpressing one's innate spirit and authentic sensibility, unconstrained by rigid stylistic molds; refusing to put brush to paper unless flowing straight from one's own heart. When emotion meets circumstance, a thousand words flow in an instant like waters rushing east, captivating the soul.
  10. Record of a Journey to TaoyuanYuan Zhongdao · Travel WritingThe Three Gorges are majestic and astonishing; the Flower Spring is graceful and secluded.
  11. Record of Wushigang RidgeTan Yuanchun · Travel WritingThe stones were jet black, ancient, rugged, and precipitous. Climbing to the summit and overlooking the great river, sails and masts appeared and vanished amid misty hazes as if wandering inside a painted scroll.
  12. Watching Snow at the Mid-Lake PavilionZhang Dai · Informal EssaysMist and frost coalesced into boundless haze; sky, clouds, hills, and waters were pure white above and below. Shadows on the lake were merely one line of long dike, one dot of Mid-Lake Pavilion, one blade of grass for my skiff, and two or three mustard seeds for the passengers aboard.
  13. West Lake on the Fifteenth of the Seventh MonthZhang Dai · Informal EssaysOn West Lake at the mid-month of the seventh month there is nothing at all to see; one can only look at the people of the seventh-month festival.
  14. Liu Jingting the StorytellerZhang Dai · Informal EssaysWhen Wu Song reached the inn to buy wine and found no one there, he gave a sudden roar, and all the empty vats and jars in the inn hummed and rang.
  15. Letter in Reply to Li YuanshanYuan Hongdao · Letters & PrefacesWith syntax, diction and cadence all flowing from one's own breast—that is true novelty.
  16. Instructions for Practical LivingWang Yangming · Pre-Qin MastersKnowing is the beginning of acting; acting is the completion of knowing.
  17. Compendium of Materia MedicaLi Shizhen · NotebooksBroad yet not cluttered, detailed yet to the point, thoroughly examined to the end: it looks straight into the depths of the sea.
  18. The Travel Diaries of Xu XiakeXu Xiake (Xu Hongzu) · Travel WritingOn the last day of the third month of the guichou year, I left Ninghai by the west gate. The clouds scattered and the sun shone bright; the mood of men and the light on the hills alike wore a look of joy.
  19. Inscription for the Tomb of the Five MenZhang Pu · Epitaphs & ElegiesThose who, stirred by righteousness, died.

Classical Fiction

6 works

Narrative masterworks from Six Dynasties strange tales to epic Ming-Qing novels.

  1. Stories to Caution the WorldFeng Menglong · Vernacular StoriesThrough the voice of the marketplace storyteller, it lays bare human nature and the ways of the world, to warn and awaken its readers.
  2. New Tales Told by LamplightQu You · Tang–Song TalesA double-peony lantern on Lantern Festival night leads into a strange romance of the living and the dead: the crown of early Ming tales.
  3. Slapping the Table in Amazement, First Collection (Chuke Pai'an Jingqi)Ling Mengchu · Vernacular StoriesWithin the everyday world before our eyes and ears, there is much that is strange beyond ordinary reckoning.
  4. Romance of the Three KingdomsLuo Guanzhong · Chapter NovelsOn and on the Long River flows east; its waves have washed away the heroes. Right and wrong, success and failure — all empty at a turn of the head; the green hills remain as before, and how many times has the sunset glowed red.
  5. Water MarginShi Nai'an (traditionally attributed) · Chapter NovelsThe red sun blazes like a fire; in the fields the rice is half scorched dry. The farmer's heart boils as if in a pot, while young lords and princes wave their fans.
  6. Journey to the WestWu Cheng'en (traditionally attributed) · Chapter NovelsBefore chaos was divided, Heaven and Earth were in disorder, vast and dim, seen by no one.

Fables & Lore

3 works

Philosophical fables, historical allusion narratives, and primordial mythology.

  1. Seeking a Steed by Its PictureYang Shen · Satirical ParablesFollowing the book without regard for reality turns a toad into a thoroughbred.
  2. Making a Big Essay of a Small TopicAnonymous · Satirical ParablesTreating trivial matters as grave ones only adds needless burden.
  3. The Legend of the White SnakeAnonymous · Folk LegendsWhen West Lake runs dry, when river and lake rise no more, when Leifeng Pagoda falls, the White Snake shall come forth.

Sayings & Idioms

24 works

Living Chinese linguistic heritage comprising idioms, proverbs, aphorisms, and couplets.

  1. Unity of Knowledge and ActionWang Yangming · IdiomsWang Yangming's teaching that knowing and doing are inseparable; true knowledge shows itself in action.
  2. Wielding Broad AxesShi Nai'an (traditionally attributed) · IdiomsActing boldly and decisively, sweeping aside obstacles with great resolve.
  3. Tearing Down the Bridge After CrossingSong Lian et al. · IdiomsAbandoning those who helped you once you have got what you wanted.
  4. A Thousand Pieces All AlikeWang Shizhen · IdiomsMany works or things following one pattern; monotonous and lacking variety.
  5. A Sudden Surge of the HeartXu Zhonglin (traditionally attributed) · IdiomsA sudden impulse or whim that springs to mind.
  6. Hanging Lanterns and FestoonsShi Nai'an (traditionally attributed) · IdiomsLanterns hung and silk festoons tied; describes the lively, joyful decorations of a festival or celebration.
  7. Neither Servile nor ArrogantZhu Zhiyu · IdiomsNeither humble nor haughty; poised and appropriately dignified in manner.
  8. Clinging to the Last BreathMa Zhongxi · IdiomsBarely hanging on to life; struggling to survive a little longer.
  9. Expanded Words of WisdomAnonymous · Common SayingsA long road shows a horse's strength; long days reveal a person's heart.
  10. Holding the Emperor to Command the LordsLuo Guanzhong · IdiomsCao Cao now commands a host of a million and holds the Son of Heaven in his grip to give orders to the lords; truly, he cannot be challenged head-on.
  11. Land of AbundanceLuo Guanzhong · IdiomsYi Province is guarded by strong passes and has a thousand li of fertile plain; it is a land of natural abundance, and on it the founding emperor of Han built his imperial cause.
  12. Weeds Suddenly Cleared from the MindLuo Guanzhong · IdiomsXuande, hearing this, rose from his mat, clasped his hands and thanked him: "Your words have suddenly cleared the weeds from my mind; it is as if clouds and mist were swept away and I could see the blue sky;
  13. Thirsting for TalentLuo Guanzhong · IdiomsGeneral, you are a descendant of the imperial house, famed for good faith throughout the land; you gather heroes about you and long for worthy men as the thirsty long for water. If you hold both Jing and Yi, guard their natural defenses, make peace with the Rong in the west, pacify the Yi and Yue in the south, ally with Sun Quan abroad and set your government in order at home;
  14. Brilliant Purples and Lovely RedsTang Xianzu · Idioms[To the tune Zaoluopao] So everywhere brilliant purples and lovely reds are in bloom, and all of it given over to broken wells and crumbling walls.
  15. Fiery Eyes and Golden PupilsWu Cheng'en (traditionally attributed) · IdiomsOnly the wind stirred up smoke that smoked his pair of eyes red, leaving him with a chronic eye ailment; hence he was called 'Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils.'
  16. Like Thunder in the EarsLuo Guanzhong · IdiomsA distant scion of the Han house and a simple man of Zhuo, I have long heard your great name; it rings in my ears like thunder.
  17. A Shake and a TransformationWu Cheng'en (traditionally attributed) · IdiomsSeeing the thunder generals' swords, spears, halberds, whips, maces, hammers, axes and other weapons pressing in hard, he shook himself and transformed: he became three heads and six arms;
  18. Beaming with SmilesLuo Guanzhong · IdiomsIndeed he saw Kongming sitting in the tower above the city, his face full of smiles, burning incense and playing the zither.
  19. Three Heads and Six ArmsWu Cheng'en (traditionally attributed) · IdiomsSeeing the thunder generals pressing hard with swords, spears, halberds, whips, maces, axes, golden melons and crescent spades, he shook himself and changed: he became three heads and six arms;
  20. Divine Plans and Marvelous CalculationsLuo Guanzhong · IdiomsZhou Yu was astonished and sighed with feeling: "Kongming's plans are divine and his calculations marvelous; I am not his equal!
  21. A Fine Hour and a Lovely SceneTang Xianzu · IdiomsA fine hour, a lovely scene, under a helpless sky; whose courtyard holds the joy of a happy heart!
  22. Tugging Ears and Scratching CheeksWu Cheng'en (traditionally attributed) · IdiomsThe timid ones each craned their necks and shrank back, tugging their ears and scratching their cheeks, shouting loudly; after hanging back a while, they too all went in.
  23. Baskets of Rice and Pots of DrinkLuo Guanzhong · IdiomsWhen you yourself lead the forces of Yi Province out toward the Qin river valley, will any of the common people fail to bring baskets of rice and pots of drink to welcome you?
  24. A Person Without Good FaithWu Cheng'en (traditionally attributed) · AphorismsThe stone monkey sat upright on high and said: "Friends, 'a person without good faith, who knows how they can get by.'