How to cut wood? It’s hard without an axe. How to find a wife? It’s hard without a go-between. Cutting wood… cutting wood… The rule’s pretty clear: To find a girl You need a lot of gifts. Original Chinese Traditional Simplified Pronunciation 伐柯 伐柯 fá …
Read MoreForever Flawless Jade
Two children in a boat, Drifting with the scenery. How I wish to speak to them, The dear ones I reared. Two children in a boat, Drifting, they’ve passed away. How I wish to speak to them, Forever flawless jade. Translated from the Chinese of …
Read MoreDaodejing #13
Fortune and misfortune both frighten; The rich and great will suffer for themselves. Why say fortune and misfortune both frighten? With fortune, you can only go down— Get it and you fear losing it; Lose it and you’re upset you’ve lost it. Why say the …
Read MoreDaodejing #12: Letting Go
Colors blind, Sounds deafen, Flavors dull. Galloping in the hunt, We go mad; Chasing fortune, We end up nowhere. Therefore the wise one Fills his belly And not his eyes: Let go of desire. 五色令人目盲； 五音令人耳聾； 五味令人口爽； 馳騁田獵， 令人心發狂； 難得之貨， 令人行妨。 是以聖人為腹不為目， 故去彼取此。 五色令人目盲； Five …
Read MoreListening to the Leader
He stands and speaks, that regal man In a fine suit and youthful face, Though well into his middle age. We listen Around in a circle, thousands of us In the capital, where he speaks With his wife by his side, wearing silk. I cannot …
Read MoreLi Bai, “On the Ferry: A Farewell to Jingmen”
The poem was written on a boat trip along the Yangtze river, when Li Bai was 26-years-old. He bid farewell to the family and went on a long trip, ready to explore the world. Translation Li Bai (701-762 AD) 李白 On the Ferry: A Farewell …
Read MoreEastern Sun
Anonymous Ah, the beautiful girl In the eastern sun— She’s in my room, She’s in my room, Her feet will follow mine. Ah, the beautiful girl In the eastern moon— She’s in my door, She’s in my door, Her feet now follow mine. Original Chinese …
Read MoreRainbow, Rainbow
It is dusk. A rainbow rises To the east, but do not look: She travels far From her family. A rainbow rises to the west, To honor the morning with rain: She travels far From her family. That woman has a heart That longs for …
Read MoreAbandoned Birchleaf
The birchleaf stands alone, Now ripe with fruit full grown. The king’s work must be done, On every day, in every sun. So many suns and moons, My heartfelt female wounds: But can he come back soon? The birchleaf stands alone With leaves now plush …
Read MoreA Birchleaf Pear, Alone
There is a birchleaf pear with flourishing leaves. It is alone. Abandoned, I walk forlorn, Left to wonder why there is no one else. My father is not my father. Alas! I walk apart— But why am I not his equal? My brothers are not …
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