Poetry · LT104

Old-Style Songs

Flexible-meter ancient verse and sweeping lyrical song ballads.

275works

9dynasties

86authors

Masters & Authors

24 authors

Northern and Southern

24 works

420–589

  1. Pounding Cloth · Autumn Garments for the Cold FrontierXiao YanFor whom should I adorn myself? Thinking of you wrings my heart.
  2. Imitating 'Green, Green Grass by the River' · A Dream Cut ShortXiao YanHalf asleep I felt you had come; awake, there was no form at all.
  3. In Place of the Wife of Su Wu, Lord of the Dependent StatesXiao YanI have not finished reading the silk letter, and tears run down my cheeks like threads.
  4. Old Meaning · The Vine on the Pine and the Plant of ForgettingXiao YanHave you not seen the vine on the pine? Its leaves fall, but its roots do not move.
  5. Purple Orchids Beginning to SproutXiao YanTheir fragrance comes out with the season; gracefully they grow to meet it.
  6. The Weaving WifeXiao YanMy husband is ten thousand li away; with whom could I finish a bolt, or make a pair?
  7. The Seventh Night · Orchid Oil Burning Toward DawnXiao YanThis wondrous meeting is no ordinary festival; the tryst is a good year's gift.
  8. In Jest · Goddesses and the Belles of Yan and ZhaoXiao YanLong sleeves are sure to detain a guest, and clear song winds all about the beams.
  9. The Newly Built Palace of Peace and JoyXiao GangPearl blinds let in the morning sun; golden blossoms brush the night wind.
  10. Twin Parasol Trees by the Empty WellXiao GangLate leaves hide the roosting phoenix; morning blossoms brush the crows at dawn.
  11. The Lotus Boat Buys Its PassageXiao GangTo know where the boat is passing, watch where the lotus leaves part.
  12. Watching a Hairpin Fall in the StreamXiao GangThe current sways and breaks our painted reflections; a hairpin falls and leaves my hair bare.
  13. A Spring Night · Coloured Paper Folded in VainXiao GangThe sound of the wind follows the music of the bamboo; the moon's colour is the pond's.
  14. A Winter Dawn · Why Rouge So EarlyXiao GangSince there is no one to see, what use is rouge so early?
  15. In Jest, in the Manner of Xie Huilian · Thirteen RhymesXiao GangPeach blossoms red as dots of paint; willow leaves tangled like silken threads.
  16. The Singing Girl's Resentment · Twelve RhymesXiao GangThe wanderer sends no word; her red lips are fragrant in vain.
  17. Matching Recorder Xu: Watching His Wife Make BeddingXiao GangCut in joy-uniting pleats, its pattern joins the mandarin ducks in pairs.
  18. Teasing Two Beauties with a PoemXiao GangShy, she has not yet stepped onto the stairs; smiling faintly, she comes out along the gallery.
  19. Autumn Boudoir, Night ThoughtsXiao GangIf you would know why I cannot sleep, hear the cloth being pounded beyond the city.
  20. Matching the Prince of Xiangdong · A Man of Note Delights in a Peerless BeautyXiao GangHer dressing window is screened by the green of willows; the well water mirrors the pink of the peach.
  21. Back in the City from a Halt on the MarchXiao GangThe sun warms the heart of the reeds; the wind carries the scent of plum buds.
  22. On a Discarded ConcubineXiao GangA lone swan gives up halfway; a lone luan-bird dies before the mirror.
  23. Writing in Play, Brush in HandXiao GangOn jade tables, peaches of the Queen Mother of the West; in gourd cups, pomegranate wine.
  24. The Seventh Night · The Heavenly Shuttle StopsXiao GangThe heavenly shuttle has long been weaving; only tonight does it stop to meet.

Tang

42 works

618–907

  1. Song of Everlasting RegretBai JuyiTurning with a single smile, a hundred charms arose; all the beauties of the palace faded without color.
  2. The Bailiff at ShihaoDu FuThe living merely eke out their days; the dead are gone for evermore!
  3. Song on Ascending the Youzhou TerraceChen Zi'angBefore me I see not the ancients; behind me I see not those to come. Pondering the boundless infinity of heaven and earth, alone in grief my tears stream down!
  4. Song of White Snow in Farewell to Assistant Magistrate Wu Returning to the CapitalCen ShenAs if overnight a spring breeze had arrived, thousands of trees blossom with pear flowers.
  5. The Hard Road to ShuLi BaiThe road to Shu is harder than climbing to the cerulean blue sky!
  6. The Hard RoadLi BaiA time will come to ride the winds and cleave the waves; I shall hoist cloud-high sails straight across the azure sea!
  7. Song of My Thatched Cottage Wrecked by Autumn GaleDu FuHow could I secure ten thousand grand mansions, to shelter all destitute scholars under heaven in beaming smiles!
  8. Song of the PipaBai JuyiWe both are drifted wanderers cast to heaven's far corners; meeting like this, what need is there for prior acquaintance!
  9. Upon the Lofty Mountain PeakHanshan (Cold Mountain)In the spring there is really no moon; the moon is itself in the blue sky.
  10. People Ask for the Way to Cold MountainHanshan (Cold Mountain)How does anyone come to arrive here as I have? Your heart is not the same as mine. If your heart were like mine, you would reach the very place.
  11. Remote and Dim, the Cold Mountain RoadHanshan (Cold Mountain)Morning after morning I do not see the sun; year after year I do not know spring.
  12. Freedom from Anger Is the PreceptShideTo be free of anger is itself the precept; a pure mind is itself leaving home.
  13. Song of Tea Drinking Teasing Governor Cui ShiJiaoran (Monk Jiaoran)The first cup washes away dullness and drowsiness; my spirits rise, bright and clear, filling heaven and earth. The second cup clears my mind, like flying rain sprinkling away light dust. With the third cup I attain the Way; why labour painfully to break through vexations?
  14. Song of ChangganLi BaiYou came riding a bamboo horse, circling the well-rail, playing with green plums.
  15. A Dream Journey to Mount Tianmu: A Song of FarewellLi BaiHow could I lower my brows and bend my waist to serve the mighty and noble, and never again show a happy face?
  16. Drinking Alone Under the Moon, No. 1Li BaiRaising my cup, I invite the bright moon; with my shadow, we make a party of three.
  17. A Moonlit Night on the Spring RiverZhang RuoxuWho on the riverbank first saw this moon? In what year did the river moon first shine on a person?
  18. Farewell to Collator Shuyun at Xie Tiao's Tower in XuanzhouLi BaiDraw a blade to cut the water, and the water flows on; raise a cup to drown sorrow, and sorrow grows deeper.
  19. Ballad of the Army CartsDu FuNow we truly know that bearing a son is bad, and bearing a daughter is better.
  20. Song of the Governor of YanmenLi HeBlack clouds press on the city, as if to crush it; armour glints toward the sun, like golden scales opening.
  21. Bring in the WineLi BaiHeaven made my talents, and they must have their use; scatter a thousand in gold and it will all come back again.
  22. The Old Charcoal SellerBai JuyiPitiful: the clothes on his back are thin, yet fearing charcoal will sell cheap, he wishes the weather colder!
  23. Expressing My FeelingsWei ZhengIn life one is moved by loyalty and spirit; who still talks of fame and merit?
  24. Ballad of the Fair LadiesDu FuOn the third day of the third month the air is fresh; by the waters of Chang'an walk many fair ladies.
  25. Spring LongingLi BaiSpring wind, you are no friend of mine: why do you come into my silk bed curtains?
  26. For Wei Ba, a Scholar Living in RetirementDu FuIn life, friends who do not meet are like the stars Shen and Shang, never in the sky together.
  27. The Beauty in the Empty ValleyDu FuHe sees only the new one smile; how would he hear the old one weep?
  28. FarewellWang WeiGo, then; I will ask no more: the white clouds there have no end.
  29. Midnight Songs of Wu · SpringLi BaiMy silkworms are hungry and I must go; you of the five horses, do not linger.
  30. Song of the Faithful WifeMeng JiaoI vow that no wave shall ever rise: my heart is the water of an old well.
  31. Song Beyond the FrontierWang ChanglingThe bold men of You and Bing have always grown old together with the dust and sand.
  32. Parting at a Wine Shop in JinlingLi BaiAsk, I beg you, of the river flowing east: which is longer, it or the feeling of parting?
  33. Living by the StreamLiu ZongyuanComing and going I meet no one; I sing long songs to the blue sky of Chu.
  34. Setting Out from Yangzi: To Collator Yuan the EldestWei YingwuA man rowing home to Luoyang; the last bell tolls among the trees of Guangling.
  35. The Old FishermanLiu ZongyuanThe mist melts, the sun comes out, and he is nowhere to be seen; one creak of the oar, and the hills and waters are green.
  36. Thinking of Xin the Eldest at the South Pavilion on a Summer DayMeng HaoranThe wind over the lotuses sends their fragrance; dew drips from the bamboo with a clear sound.
  37. Enjoying the Moon in the South Study with My Cousin, Remembering Sheriff Cui of ShanyinWang ChanglingA thousand li apart, what can be done? A light breeze stirs the orchids and wild ginger.
  38. Farm Households by the Wei RiverWang WeiThe setting sun shines on the village; down the narrow lanes the cattle and sheep come home.
  39. Climbing Orchid Mountain in Autumn: To Zhang the FifthMeng HaoranTrees at the sky's edge look like shepherd's purse; a boat by the river is like the moon.
  40. Moved by What I Meet, No. 4Zhang JiulingFine clothes draw people's pointing fingers; high and bright places invite the hatred of the gods.
  41. Song of Returning to Lumen at NightMeng HaoranMoonlight on Lumen opens the misty trees; suddenly I reach the place where Master Pang lived in seclusion.
  42. The Moon over the Mountain PassesLi BaiThe bright moon rises over the Tianshan, amid a vast and boundless sea of clouds.

Song

4 works

960–1279

  1. Canglang PavilionOuyang XiuThe clear breeze and bright moon are by nature priceless; what a pity they were sold for only forty thousand cash.
  2. Song of the Upright SpiritWen TianxiangWhen times are desperate, integrity shows itself, and one by one these deeds are handed down in the histories.
  3. Exhortation to StudyZhao Heng (traditionally attributed)to live in peace you need not build a lofty hall: in books there is a house of gold;
  4. Words for the Kitchen God OfferingFan ChengdaWe send you, drunk and well fed, up to Heaven's gate: say nothing of our long ladles and short ladles, and beg good fortune to bring back and share.

Qing

4 works

1636–1912

  1. Song of YuanyuanWu WeiyeThe six armies wailed, all clad in mourning white; but the rage that lifted his cap was for a rosy-cheeked beauty.
  2. Song on the Origin of the Way for Saving the WorldHong XiuquanThe Heavenly Father, God on High, belongs to every person alike; that all under heaven is one family has been handed down from of old.
  3. Song of the Yonghe PalaceWu WeiyeMoon over Yangzhou, flowers of Duling: along the road fragrant dust welcomes a Lihua.
  4. Song of Mandarin Duck LakeWu WeiyeOn the bank of Mandarin Duck Lake the grass clings to the sky; in the second month, deep in spring, it is good to let the boat drift.