Bitter Love Li Bai (701-762) The beauty sits behind a jeweled screen,Lamenting him with lovely, furled brows.When all I see are cheeks stained wet with tears,I wonder, where’s the one who broke his vows? Chinese 怨情李白 美人捲珠簾深坐蹙蛾眉但見淚痕濕不知心恨誰 Pronunciation Yuàn QíngLǐ Bái Měi rén juǎn zhū liánShēn zuò cù é méiDàn …
Read MoreThoughts on a Quiet Night
Thoughts on a Quiet Night Li Bai (701-762) Before my bed the bright moon shines its light,Perhaps the frost now covers all the ground;I lift my head to see the shining moon,I bow my head to see my native town. Chinese 靜夜思李白 床前明月光疑是地上霜舉頭望明月低頭思故鄉 Pronunciation Jìng Yè SīLǐ Bái Chuáng qián …
Read MoreFarewell to Meng Haoran
My dear old friend who’s parting WestBeneath the Yellow Towers;While falling on the Yangzhou landsAre mists and springtime flowers. Your orphan boat’s a distant shade,That sails where blue skies go;I look upon the water tides—Until the end they flow. By Li Bai, tr. from the Chinese by …
Read MoreSending Off My Cousin, Beyond the Castle by the Southern Moon
At home we fenced with traveling swords,Cutting at this and that like idle lords;The two of us, like towns around a turn,Will drift apart as soon as I return. Riding horses over the moon bridge south,We follow the light to the road fork’s mouth;Arriving at last …
Read MoreGazing at Heaven’s Gate
The River Chu has split the hills in twoTo send the jade-brushed water east and back,Around the two opposing hills anewAs a lonely boat sits still in a sunlit crack. Original Chinese poem by Li Bai
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 MoreLi Bai’s “Recalling the Past While Mooring Overnight at Niuzhu” (300 Tang Poems #104)
Translation Li Bai (701-762) 李白 Recalling the Past While Mooring Overnight at Niuzhu 夜泊牛渚懷古 Niuzhu, Western River, night 牛渚 西江夜 A clear sky without a shred of clouds. 青天 無片雲 As I board my boat and gaze at the autumn moon 登舟 望秋月 I recall …
Read MoreLi Bai’s “Listening to Monk Jun Play the Lute” (300 Tang Poems #103)
Translation Li Bai (701-762) 李白 Listening to Shu Province Monk Jun Play the Lute 聽蜀僧濬彈琴 A monk from Shu holds the green and elegant lute, 蜀僧 抱綠綺 Having come from the west, the mountains of Emei. 西下 峨眉峰 For me alone he work his hands …
Read MoreLi Bai’s “Seeing Off a Friend” (300 Tang Poems #102)
Translation Li Bai (701-762) 李白 Seeing Off a Friend 送友人 Green hills across the northern walls 青山 橫北郭 Pure water spirals east about the town 白水 遶東城 This soil is the place of our departing 此地 一為別 A dandelion… thousands of miles… your journey… 孤蓬 …
Read MoreLi Bai’s “On the Ferry, a Farewell to Jingmen” (300 Tang Poems #101)
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) 李白 On the Ferry, a Farewell …
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