Classical Poetry · LT103

Yuefu Ballads

Narrative folk ballads and musical court songs capturing vivid human experiences.

22works

4dynasties

19authors

Han

202 BCE – 220 CE12 works
  1. Song of White HairZhuo WenjunMay I win a person's steadfast heart, never to part till our hair turns white.
  2. Song of Lament (Zhaojun's Lament)Wang ZhaojunAutumn trees are lush, their leaves wither to yellow. A bird resides in the mountains, resting upon bushy mulberries.
  3. Han Yuefu · Southeast the Peacocks FlyAnonymous (Han Folk Yuefu)You should be as the solid rock, I as the supple reed; the reed is tough as silk, the rock shall never move.
  4. Han Yuefu · Long Song (Time Flees Like Rivers)Anonymous (Han Dynasty)A hundred rivers flow east to the sea, when will they return west? If you strive not in youth, you will grieve in vain in age.
  5. Han Yuefu · Jiangnan (Gathering Lotus)Anonymous (Han Dynasty)Jiangnan is ripe for gathering lotus, how lush are the lily pads! Fish play among the lotus leaves.
  6. Han Yuefu · Mulberries by the PathAnonymous (Han Folk Ballad)The Prefect asked Luofu: 'Would you care to ride with me?' Luofu stepped forward and replied: 'How foolish is my Lord! You have your own wife, and Luofu has her own husband!'
  7. Han Yuefu · At Fifteen Conscripted into the ArmyAnonymous (Han Veteran)Conscripted at fifteen to campaign, at eighty I finally return. On the road I meet a villager: 'Who remains in my household?' 'Look yonder where your home stands—graves beneath pines and cypresses cluster row upon row.'
  8. Han Yuefu · By HeavenAnonymous (Han Woman)By Heaven! I yearn to love you and be your soulmate, for a lifetime without end or waning. When mountains flatten into plains, when great rivers run dry, when winter roars with thunder, when summer falls with snow, when Heaven and Earth unite as one—only then would I dare part from you!
  9. Han Yuefu · One I Yearn ForAnonymous (Han Woman)There is one I yearn for, far beyond the southern sea. What gift shall I send him? A tortoiseshell hairpin with twin pearls, wrapped with fine jade cords. Hearing you have turned your heart to another, I shatter and burn it to ash. Shatter and burn it, casting its ashes into the wind!
  10. Han Yuefu · Battle South of the CityAnonymous (Han Military Yuefu)Battling south of city walls, dying north of ramparts; dying untended in the wilds, for ravens to feast upon. Pray tell the ravens for me: 'Weep first for the fallen traveler! Left unburied in the wilderness, how could my rotten flesh flee from your beak?'
  11. Song of Harmonious AccordZhang HengBy chance meeting in a fleeting hour, binding hair to serve the one I cherish. Joyful love not yet fully unveiled, secluded in the quiet depth of inner rooms. Layered curtains tied with golden ribbons, intersecting blinds woven of cloud-silk. I long to be a pair of flying swallows, bearing mud to build a nest beneath your roof.
  12. Ballad of Resentment · The Round FanLady Ban (Ban Jieyu)Freshly sheared fine white silk from Qi, spotless and pure as frost and snow, tailored into an joined fan shaped round as the full moon. Carried in my lord's sleeves to stir gentle breezes; yet ever fearing the arrival of autumn chill, discarded into the chest when love is severed halfway.

Three Kingdoms

220–2806 works
  1. A Short SongCao CaoMountains never tire of their height, nor seas of their depth. Emulate Duke of Zhou in welcoming talent, and the world will unite.
  2. Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute · Section 1Cai WenjiHeaven is ruthless to rain down turmoil; Earth is cruel to cast my life in such an age.
  3. Gazing Across the Vast SeaCao CaoThe journeys of sun and moon seem to issue from its depths; the brilliant galaxy appears to rise from within.
  4. Song of Yan · Part 1 (Autumn Winds Bleak)Cao PiThe bright moon illuminates my bed, the Milky Way flows west before the night ends. The Cowherd and Weaver gaze from afar: what guilt bars them behind the heavenly stream?
  5. The White HorseCao ZhiA white horse adorned with golden halter, galloping swift toward the northwest. May I ask whose gallant son this is? A knight-errant from You and Bing. Laying down his life for the nation's peril, he looks upon death as merely returning home!
  6. The Fair MaidenCao ZhiA fair maiden lovely and refined, gathering mulberries at the crossroads. Tender boughs sway softly, leaves flutter gently down. The beauty cherishes noble righteousness, yet finding a worthy match is truly hard. In her prime blooming years confined to bedchambers, in the middle of the night she rises with deep sighs.

Northern and Southern

420–5893 works
  1. Han & Northern Yuefu · Ballad of MulanAnonymous (Northern Dynasties)Ten thousand miles marching to war, crossing passes swift as flight. Chill air rings the watch clapper, cold light shines on armor. Generals die in a hundred battles, warriors return after ten years.
  2. Song of the Chile PlainsNorthern Dynasties Folk SongThe Chile Plains beneath Mount Yinshan. The sky is like a grand yurt canopy covering all four wildernesses. The blue heaven is boundless, the vast wilderness unending—the wind blows, grass bends low, and cattle and sheep appear.
  3. Song of the Western IsletSouthern Dynasties Folk SongGathering lotus in South Pond in autumn, lotus blossoms rise taller than human heads. Bending low to play with lotus seeds, seeds as crystal-clear as water. If the south wind knows my heart, blow my dreams across to the Western Islet.

Tang

618–9071 works
  1. Song of the Parting SonMeng JiaoWho could say that the heart of an inch-long blade of grass could ever repay the boundless sunshine of three springs?