Lyrics · LT202

Mid-Length Lyrics

Medium-length lyrics balancing rhythmic fluidity with evocative emotion.

67works

3dynasties

38authors

Masters & Authors

24 authors

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

7 works

907–979

  1. Ganzhou Suite · Spring Is Fair, the Young Lord Rides OutMao WenxiThe beauties sing, raising the Ganzhou tune, drunk in the red towers.
  2. Ganzhou Suite · Autumn Wind on the FrontierMao WenxiThe iron armour is cold and the warhorses' hooves are wet with blood.
  3. Hailing the Bright Court · First Meeting among the FlowersOuyang JiongHe envies the paired swallows of spring, flying to the jade tower to meet morning and evening.
  4. Hailing the Bright Court · Red Beans Tossed in SecretOuyang JiongYouthful looks will not last, yet all for that one she keeps growing thin in secret.
  5. Immortal by the River · Blue-Dyed Sky, a Pool like a MirrorGu XiongRecalling the laughter of former days, all she has gained now is sorrow.
  6. He Manzi · The Fragrant Season Slips ByMao XizhenA longing that will not cease, and sorrow growing all the long day.
  7. He Manzi · Silent, Her Makeup FadedMao XizhenLeaning alone at the vermilion door, with a deep feeling no one knows.

Song

58 works

960–1279

  1. A Spray of Plum Blossoms · Lotus Blossoms FadeLi QingzhaoThis feeling cannot be dispelled: no sooner does it leave the brow than it leaps into the heart.
  2. Treading on Grass (Hostel in Chenzhou)Qin GuanMist swallows high towers, moonlight veils river crossings. Gazing longing toward Peach Blossom Spring, nowhere can it be found. How can I endure being locked in solitary hostel amid spring chill, beneath crying cuckoos in slanted twilight sunset.
  3. Su Mu Zhe (Burning Aloeswood Incense)Zhou BangyanUpon lotus leaves early morning sun dries last night's rain; resting clear and round upon water, one by one the lotus blossoms sway upright in breeze.
  4. Calming the Waves (Listen Not to Rain Pelting Leaves)Su ShiBamboo staff and straw sandals are lighter than horses—who fears? A straw cloak in misty rain suffices for a whole life. Looking back at the bleak storm-beaten place, returning home: there is neither wind and rain, nor fair sunshine.
  5. Jiang Cheng Zi (Dream on the Night of the 20th of the 1st Month)Su ShiTen years of life and death boundless apart; not intentionally brooding, yet impossible to forget. A solitary mound ten thousand leagues away, with nowhere to confide desolation. Looking at each other speechless, only a thousand streams of tears.
  6. Jiang Cheng Zi (Hunting at Mizhou)Su ShiThis old fellow for a while unleashes youthful wildness: left hand leashing yellow hound, right arm holding green hawk. Someday I shall draw the carved bow full like a round moon, looking northwestward to shoot down the Sirius star!
  7. Breaking the Battle Array (Composed for Chen Tongfu)Xin QijiDrunk, I trim the lamp wick to look at my sword; in dreams I return to battle horns blaring across connected encampments. Distributing roasted beef among warrior ranks, fifty zither strings play frontier songs. Autumn inspection on the battlefield. Fulfilling the sovereign's sacred charge to reclaim the realm, winning enduring renown before and after death. Alas, white hair grows on my head!
  8. Tune: Nanxiang Zi — Thoughts on Climbing Beigu Pavilion at JingkouXin QijiAmong the world's heroes, who was his match? Cao and Liu. A son should be like Sun Zhongmou.
  9. Fisherman's Pride · Autumn ThoughtsFan Zhongyanunder long smoke and the setting sun, the lone walled town shuts its gates
  10. Su Mu Zhe · Remembering HomeFan ZhongyanBlue clouds in the sky, yellow leaves on the ground
  11. Walking the Imperial Street · Leaves Drift onto Fragrant StepsFan ZhongyanAll of this, on my brows and in my heart, there is no way to escape.
  12. A Thousand Autumns · A Few Calls of the ShrikeZhang XianHeaven does not grow old, and love cannot be severed; the heart is like a double-threaded net, with a thousand, thousand knots in it.
  13. A Cluster of Flowers · Grieving on the Heights for One Far AwayZhang XianBrooding deep on my grief, I am worse off than peach and apricot, which still know how to marry the east wind.
  14. Butterflies Love Flowers · Where Has the Drifting Cloud GoneOuyang Xiu (traditionally attributed)My tangled spring sorrow is like willow down; drifting, I cannot find him even in dreams.
  15. Green Jade Cup · How Much of Spring Is LeftOuyang Xiu (traditionally attributed)Longing cannot be told, dreams cannot be trusted; only going home will do.
  16. Butterflies Love Flowers · Leaning on a High Tower in a Light BreezeLiu YongMy sash grows ever looser, yet I never regret it; for her I am willing to waste away.
  17. Thousand Autumns Prelude · Cold Washing-Stones at a LodgeWang AnshiHelpless, bound by a little fame and profit; helpless, held back by love.
  18. Butterflies Love Flowers · Dreaming down the Misty Southern RoadsYan JidaoI sing of parting to slack strings; heartbroken, I shift the zither bridges till they break.
  19. Butterflies Love Flowers · Drunk at Parting in the West TowerYan JidaoThe red candle pities itself, with no way out; in the cold night it weeps in vain for me.
  20. Walking the Imperial Street · Green Trees South of the StreetYan JidaoThe fallen flowers remain, the fragrant screen stands closed; where is her face now?
  21. Immortal by the River · Drinking by Night at the Eastern SlopeSu Shi (Su Dongpo)I have long regretted that this body is not my own; when will I forget all this busy striving?
  22. Eight-Six Song · Leaning on a High PavilionQin GuanA curtain of quiet dreams under the night moon, ten li of tenderness in the spring wind.
  23. Butterflies Love Flowers · Too Cold Yet to Shed the Silk RobeZhao LingzhiThe swallows again bring no word of his return; on the little screen, only the West River road.
  24. Butterflies Love Flowers · Willow Down Rolls on the WindZhao LingzhiNew wine on top of old wine's weariness; this spring's sorrow is no less than last spring's.
  25. Immortal by the River · Drinking by the West PoolChao ChongzhiWell I know: once spring has gone, will anyone care for the fallen flowers?
  26. Fisherman's Pride · Fine Rain and a Gentle WindZhu FuLet me drink till I am drunk, for today's pleasures are the tears of years to come.
  27. Spring at Xie's Pool · The Last of the Cold Melts AwayLi ZhiyiWhen we are apart I long for you; when we meet it is still the same. How can meeting often compare with staying together for good?
  28. Butterflies Love Flowers · Crows Startled by the Bright MoonZhou BangyanThe Dipper's handle over the tower rail; cold dew, the traveller gone, cocks answering cocks.
  29. Green Jade Cup · She Never Came Past Hengtang RoadHe ZhuA whole river of misty grass, a city full of wind-blown willow down, rain when the plums turn yellow.
  30. Someone Crosses South · Orchids and Angelica Fill the IsletsHe ZhuPlums half yellow, and toward evening a curtain of thin rain.
  31. Butterflies Love Flowers · Spring Grieved Over and Ending AgainHe ZhuThe wind holds back a few drops of rain; a hazy pale moon comes and goes with the clouds.
  32. Immortal by the River · Chanting the Songs of Chu on the Double FifthChen YuyiPomegranates, less red than dancing skirts; no one knows; the song done, wind fills the blind.
  33. Crossing the Mountain Stream · Plum BlossomCao ZuA single spray leans beyond the bamboo, like a fair lady in the cold at dusk.
  34. Zhu Yingtai, Short Measure · The Parted HairpinXin QijiIt was spring that brought the sorrow; now spring has gone, where to? And yet it did not think to take the sorrow with it.
  35. River Town · Curtains Rolled Up to a New Clear DayLu ZugaoCarrying wine and buying flowers belonged to youth; my heart is nothing like it was.
  36. Wind Through the Pines · Hearing Wind and Rain Past QingmingWu WenyingYellow bees keep striking at the swing ropes, where the fragrance of her slender hands still clings.
  37. Tangduo Tune · Where Is Sorrow Made?Wu WenyingWhere is sorrow made? From autumn upon a parting heart.
  38. Green Jade Cup · Every Year on the Village Festival DayHuang GongshaoThere is no one to wear the flowers, no one to urge me to drink, and when I am drunk, no one to care.
  39. Brocade-Wrapped Road · A Spring Outing: Swallows TwitteringSong QiI ask a herd boy; he points far off to a lone village: deep among the apricot blossoms, that is where you will find a house.
  40. Swallows at the Parting Pavilion · Thoughts on the Past: River and Hills Like a PaintingZhang ShengSo many rises and falls of the Six Dynasties have all passed into the idle talk of fishermen and woodcutters.
  41. Immortal by the River · At a Singing-Girl Banquet: Light Thunder beyond the WillowsOuyang XiuBeside the pair of crystal pillows, a fallen hairpin still lies where it dropped.
  42. The Heavenly Immortal · Seeing Spring Off: Wine and the Water MelodyZhang XianThe clouds break, the moon comes, and flowers play with their shadows.
  43. Song of the Cave Immortal · A Summer Night: Skin of Ice, Bones of JadeSu Shi I only count on my fingers when the west wind will come, and do not notice how the flowing years are being changed in secret.
  44. Butterflies Love Flowers · Spring Scene: Laughter beyond the WallSu Shi On the branches the willow down is blown thinner still; where under heaven is there no fragrant grass?
  45. Crossing the Mountain Stream · Parting Thoughts: Mandarin Ducks and KingfishersHuang TingjianWillows of the parting pavilion, do you know? A thousand miles on, I still look back.
  46. River Tale · For a Singing Girl: Sorrowful Brows, Tipsy EyesQin GuanIt wastes me to the bone, and Heaven does not care.
  47. A Thousand Autumns · Summer Scene: Chinaberry Blossoms on the StepsXie YiWhen everyone has gone: a hook of new moon, and a sky as clear as water.
  48. A Spray of Plum Blossoms · Spring Thoughts: A Stretch of Spring SorrowJiang JieFlowing time so easily leaves us behind: it has reddened the cherries and greened the plantains.
  49. Green Jade Cup · Three Years of Dreaming of the Road to WuSu Shi My spring robe is still the one Xiaoman stitched, once soaked in West Lake rain.
  50. Song of the Cave Immortal · Where the Blue Mist SpreadsChao BuzhiCarry a folding chair up the south tower to see the world turned to jade in pale autumn light.
  51. Immortal by the River · Drinking Long Ago on Noon BridgeChen YuyiThe moon flowed away down the long channel without a sound; among the sparse shadows of apricot blossoms we played the flute until dawn.
  52. Pale Yellow Willows · Dawn Horns in an Empty CityJiang KuiThe swallows fly back and ask where spring is; only the pond stays green on its own.
  53. Tangduo Tune · Reed Leaves Cover the IsletsLiu GuoI would buy cassia flowers and take wine along, but in the end it is not like the roaming of youth.
  54. Zhu Yingtai, Short Measure · Gathering Hidden FragranceWu WenyingGrey at both temples, another Cold Food Day comes and again he is deep among cloudy hills.
  55. Zhu Yingtai, Short Measure · Cutting Red Feeling, Trimming GreenWu WenyingA thousand flecks of frost in his hair that never melt, facing plum petals falling like rain.
  56. He Manzi · Autumn Lament: Gazing Sadly at a Floating LifeSun Zhu If heaven had feelings, heaven too would grow old; this restless hidden grief is hard to bear.
  57. Song of the Cave Immortal · The Snow Clouds Have ScatteredLi YuanyingThe best of the year's spring lies not in heavy blossom: small, sparse, faintly fragrant flowers are the loveliest.
  58. Wind Through the Pines · All Spring Spent Buying FlowersYu GuobaoPipes and drums amid the scent of red apricots; swings in the shade of green willows.

Qing

2 works

1636–1912

  1. Immortal by the River · Planting Begonias the Day Before QingmingGu TaiqingAll worldly affairs drift away with wind and rain—let them cease, let them cease. Ancient traces south of Xima Terrace, overgrown mounds amidst partridge cries. Where are the wild poets of bygone years? Caressing carved railings in vain: when begonias bloom, do you remember ancient Jiangnan?
  2. Untying the Pendant · Inscribed on My Own Ci Collection: Ten Years Honing a SwordZhu YizunI do not follow Qin the Seventh, I do not follow Huang the Ninth; in setting new tunes I come closest to Yutian.