Ouyang Xiu

Works

1. Literature · Prose383
   1. Record of the Old Drunkard PavilionSongOuyang Xiu's landscape record from Chuzhou: hills, wine and joy shared with the people
   2. On Political FactionsSongOuyang Xiu's essay from the Qingli reforms on true factions of gentlemen and false ones
   3. Preface to the Biographies of the Actor-Courtiers in the History of the Five DynastiesSongOuyang Xiu's preface on Later Tang Zhuangzong, who won an empire by toil and lost it to actors
   4. Letter to Remonstrator GaoSongOuyang Xiu's letter denouncing the censor Gao Ruona for failing to defend Fan Zhongyan
   5. New Book of TangSongNorthern Song history of the Tang by Ouyang Xiu and Song Qi, fuller in fact and terser in style
   6. +25 more

      1. New History of the Five DynastiesSongOuyang Xiu's private history of the Five Dynasties, judging in the manner of the Annals
      2. On the Release of Condemned PrisonersSongOuyang Xiu argues that Tang Taizong's release of condemned prisoners was a bid for fame
      3. Preface to the Poems of the Monk MiyanSongOuyang Xiu prefaces the monk Miyan's poems, recalling Shi Manqing and lamenting decline
      4. Preface to the Collected Poems of Mei ShengyuSongOuyang Xiu's preface to Mei Shengyu's poems: hardship does not ruin poets, it perfects them
      5. Preface Seeing Off Yang ZhiSongOuyang Xiu sends a friend to a distant post with a discourse on how the qin cured his gloom
      6. Essay on the Eunuchs from the History of the Five DynastiesSongOuyang Xiu's verdict on eunuch power: a danger more deeply rooted than any favourite at court
      7. Record of the Hall of Daytime Brocade at XiangzhouSongOuyang Xiu praises a chief minister who built a hall at home yet scorned the glory of wealth
      8. Record of the Pavilion of Abundance and JoySongOuyang Xiu builds a pavilion by a spring at Chuzhou and shares a year of plenty with its people
      9. Offering to Shi ManqingSongOuyang Xiu's offering at Shi Manqing's grave: an undying name, and a tomb lost to weeds
      10. Grave Marker at ShuanggangSongOuyang Xiu's marker at his father's grave, retelling the lessons his widowed mother passed on
      11. On the Difficulty of Being a Ruler, Part OneSongOuyang Xiu on rulers who trust one adviser against all others, from Fu Jian to the Later Tang
      12. On the Difficulty of Being a Ruler, Part TwoSongOuyang Xiu on judging advice: Zhao Kuo talked well and lost, Wang Jian asked much and won
      13. Preface to the Bibliographic Treatise of the Tang HistorySongOuyang Xiu's preface to the Tang bibliography: how books came down and how they were lost
      14. Preface to the Treatise on Administrative Geography in the History of the Five DynastiesSongOuyang Xiu traces how the realm split, from late Tang garrisons to the Five Dynasties map
      15. Preface to the Biographies of Men of Singular Conduct in the History of the Five DynastiesSongOuyang Xiu searches the shameless Five Dynasties for men of integrity and finds only five
      16. Preface to the Catalogue of the Collected Records of AntiquitySongOuyang Xiu on why he gathered ancient inscriptions into his Collected Records of Antiquity
      17. Preface to the Collected Writings of Su ZimeiSongOuyang Xiu prefaces his late friend Su Zimei, an ancient-style pioneer ruined by one banquet
      18. Preface to the Collected Writings of Jiang LinjiSongLate in life Ouyang Xiu prefaces a dead friend's writings and mourns a vanished circle
      19. Preface to the Collected Writings of the Monk WeiyanSongOuyang Xiu portrays Weiyan, an aloof monk, friend of Shi Manqing, who still cared for the realm
      20. Preface Seeing Off Xu Wudang on His Return SouthSongOuyang Xiu warns a gifted pupil that virtue and deeds outlast words, and warns himself too
      21. Spirit-Way Stele for Lord Wang Wenzheng, Grand CommandantSongOuyang Xiu's stele by imperial order for Wang Dan, Zhenzong's steady and forgiving minister
      22. Grave Marker for Mr Zhang, Recorder of Henan PrefectureSongAt a friend's reburial, Ouyang Xiu recalls the brilliant Luoyang staff of his youth, now gone
      23. Grave Marker for Master HuSongOuyang Xiu's marker for Hu Yuan, whose Huzhou teaching method became the University's law
      24. Grave Marker for Lian the Retired ScholarSongA commoner who never held office, yet twenty years on his county still takes him as its model
      25. Grave Marker for Mr Zhou, Erudite of the Court of Imperial SacrificesSongOuyang Xiu holds up Zhou Yaoqing's true mourning against an age that has lost the rites
   7. Open all works→
2. Literature · Sayings15
   1. The Path Winds Round the PeaksSongIdiom from Ouyang Xiu's Old Drunkard Pavilion: a winding path, or a turn after twists
   2. Practice Makes PerfectSongIdiom from Ouyang Xiu's Guitian Lu: practice makes perfect
   3. Showing No SignSongIdiom from an Ouyang Xiu essay: composed, betraying nothing
   4. Head and Shoulders Above OthersSongIdiom from Ouyang Xiu's praise of Su Shi: rising head and shoulders above others
   5. The Old Drunkard's Mind Is Not on the WineSongIdiom from Ouyang Xiu's Old Drunkard Pavilion: having an ulterior aim
   6. +10 more

      1. Cups and Tallies CrisscrossingSongIdiom from Ouyang Xiu's Old Drunkard Pavilion: cups clinking at a lively feast
      2. A Ruler Sharing His Pleasures With the PeopleSongIdiom from the Mencius: a king whose pleasures his people share has their hearts
      3. Scattered Red Petals Flying Past the SwingSongLine from Ouyang Xiu's Butterflies Love Flowers: petals fly past the swing as spring ends
      4. A Tryst Set for After DuskSongIdiom from Ouyang Xiu's Lantern Festival lyric: lovers meeting after dusk under the moon
      5. Gentlemen Who Share the Way Become FriendsSongFamous line from Ouyang Xiu's On Factions: gentlemen bond through shared principle, not gain
      6. Deep, Deep the Courtyard LiesSongAphorism from Ouyang Xiu's Butterflies Love Flowers: a lonely, secluded courtyard
      7. The Moon Rising Over the Willow TipsSongFamous line from Lantern Festival Night: lovers meeting as the moon tops the willows
      8. Asking the Flowers Through TearsSongFamous line from Ouyang Xiu's Butterflies Love Flowers: tears for the passing spring
      9. Rosy Cheeks Turned to Withered WoodSongFamous line from Ouyang Xiu's Rhapsody on the Sound of Autumn: youth worn away by care
      10. The Clear Breeze and Bright Moon Were Never for SaleSongFamous line from Ouyang Xiu's poem Canglang Pavilion: nature's beauty is priceless
3. Literature · Lyrics12
   1. Butterflies Lingering over Flowers (How Deep the Courtyard)SongOuyang Xiu's boudoir ci of a secluded woman in late spring, her tears unanswered by the flowers
   2. Sheng Cha Zi (Lantern Festival)SongOuyang Xiu's Lantern Festival lyric setting this year against last, the lover now gone
   3. Gathering Mulberry Leaves · West Lake After the Flowers Are GoneSongOuyang Xiu's short ci finding quiet beauty at West Lake after the blossoms and crowds are gone
   4. Telling My Heart · At Dawn the Curtain Rolls Up on Light FrostSongOuyang Xiu's short ci of a singing girl at her dawn make-up, unable to force a smile
   5. Treading the Grass · Plum Blossom Fades at the Wayside InnSongOuyang Xiu's short ci of parting from both sides: the rider on the road, the woman in the tower
   6. +7 more

      1. Butterflies Love Flowers · Where Has the Drifting Cloud GoneSongCi usually credited to Ouyang Xiu: a woman in her tower waiting for a wanderer who stays away
      2. Magnolia Blossom · Not Knowing How Far You AreSongOuyang Xiu's short ci of a lover cut off from all news, sleepless on an autumn night
      3. Waves Washing the Sand · Raising My Cup to the East WindSongOuyang Xiu's short ci of the lanes east of Luoyang, where meetings and partings come too fast
      4. Green Jade Cup · How Much of Spring Is LeftSongA ci usually credited to Ouyang Xiu: a traveller in the capital, homesick as spring runs out
      5. Master Ruan Returns · Walking on the Green: Mid-Spring in the Southern GardenSongOuyang Xiu's short ci of mid-spring outings, long days and a girl tired from the swing
      6. Song of the South · Boudoir Feelings: A Phoenix ChignonSongOuyang Xiu's short ci of a young woman at her mirror and brush, teasing and fond
      7. Immortal by the River · At a Singing-Girl Banquet: Light Thunder beyond the WillowsSongOuyang Xiu's mid-length ci of summer rain on lotus leaves, a rising moon and a fallen hairpin
4. Literature · Poetry2
   1. Canglang PavilionSongOuyang Xiu's poem for Su Shunqin's garden pavilion in Suzhou, built after his dismissal
   2. In Reply to Ding YuanzhenSongOuyang Xiu answers a friend, writing of a late spring in a hill town and consoling himself
5. Literature · Rhapsodies2
   1. Rhapsody on the Sounds of AutumnSongOuyang Xiu's prose-poem that hears autumn in the night wind and turns to human cares
   2. Rhapsody on the Singing CicadaSongOuyang Xiu's rhapsody on a cicada heard while praying for fair skies, from insect song to words
6. Literature · Fables1
   1. The Oil Seller's SkillSongOuyang Xiu's anecdote of an old oil seller who pours through a coin's hole to humble an archer