The HyperTexts
The Best Female Chinese Poets: Modern English Translations
Who were the best female Chinese poets? This page contains modern English translations of poems by some of the greatest female Chinese poets, including Sui Hui, Xu Hui, Yau Ywe-Hwa,
Tao Qian, Tzu Yeh, Ch’iu Chin, Huang O, Lin Huiyin, Zhai Yongming, Guan Daosheng and Li Qingzhao (aka Li Ching-chao/Li Ching-jau/Li Ch'ing-cha/Li Ch'ing-chao). All
dates are AD unless otherwise indicated.
If you like these translations you are welcome to share
them for noncommercial purposes, but please be sure to credit the original poet
and the translator. You can do that by copying the credit line along with the
poem. For explanations of how he translates and why he calls his results "loose
translations" and "interpretations" please click here:
Michael R. Burch Translation
Methods and Credits to Other Translators
Star Gauge
Sui Hui (c. 351-394 BC)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
So much lost so far away
on that distant rutted road.
That distant rutted road
wounds me to the heart.
Grief coupled with longing,
so much lost so far away.
Grief coupled with longing
wounds me to the heart.
This house without its master;
the bed curtains shimmer, gossamer veils.
The bed curtains shimmer, gossamer veils,
and you are not here.
Such loneliness! My adorned face
lacks the mirror's clarity.
I see by the mirror's clarity
my Lord is not here. Such loneliness!
Sui Hui, also known as Su Hui and Lady Su, appears to be the first female
Chinese poet of note. And her "Star Gauge" or "Sphere Map" may be the most
impressive poem written in any language to this day, in terms of complexity.
"Star Gauge" has been described as a palindrome or "reversible" poem, but it
goes far beyond that. According to contemporary sources, the original poem was
shuttle-woven on brocade, in a circle, so that it could be read in multiple
directions. Due to its shape the poem is also called Xuanji Tu ("Picture
of the Turning Sphere"). The poem is now generally placed in a grid or matrix so
that the Chinese characters can be read horizontally, vertically and diagonally.
The story behind the poem is that Sui Hui's husband, Dou Tao, the governor of
Qinzhou, was exiled to the desert. When leaving his wife, Dou swore to remain
faithful. However, after arriving at his new post, he took a concubine. Lady Su
then composed a circular poem, wove it into a piece of silk embroidery, and sent
it to him. Upon receiving the masterwork, he repented. It has been claimed that
there are up to 7,940 ways to read the poem. My translation above is just one of
many possible readings of a portion of the poem.
Reflection
Xu Hui (627–650)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Confronting the morning she faces her mirror;
Her makeup done at last, she paces back and forth awhile.
It would take vast mountains of gold to earn one contemptuous smile,
So why would she answer a man's summons?
Due to the similarities in names, it seems possible that Sui Hui and Xu Hui were
the same poet, with some of her poems being discovered later, or that poems
written later by other poets were attributed to her.
The Plum Blossoms
Li Qingzhao aka Li Ching-chao (c. 1084-1155)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Here nearing autumn's end
I observe my reflection graying at the temples.
Now that the evening wind gathers force,
what shall become of the plum blossoms?
The Songbird
Li Qingzhao aka Li Ching-chao (c. 1084-1155)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
The migrant songbird on the nearby yew
brings tears to my eyes with her melodious trills;
this fresh downpour reminds me of similar spills:
another spring gone, and still no word from you ...
Li Qingzhao was a poet and essayist during the Song dynasty. She is generally
considered to be one of the greatest Chinese poets. In English she is known as
Li Qingzhao, Li Ching-chao and The Householder of Yi’an.
The Shijing or Shi Jing ("Book of Songs" or "Book of Odes") is the oldest
Chinese poetry collection, with the poems included believed to date from around
1200 BC to 600 BC. According to tradition the poems were selected and edited by
Confucius himself. Since most ancient poetry did not rhyme, these may be the
world’s oldest extant rhyming poems. While the identities and sexes of the poets
are not known, the title of this ancient poem may mean "Aunt" and thus suggest
that it was possibly written by an aunt for a relative.
Shijing Ode #4: “JIU MU”
ancient Chinese rhyming poem (c. 1200-600 BC)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
In the South, beneath trees with drooping branches
thick with vines that make them shady,
we find a lovely princely lady:
May she repose in happiness!
In the South, beneath trees with drooping branches
whose clinging vines make hot days shady,
we wish warm embraces for a lovely lady:
May she repose in happiness!
In the South, beneath trees with drooping branches
whose vines entwining make them shady,
we wish true love for a lovely lady:
May she repose in happiness!
I wonder if some of the poems of the Shijing were meant to function as charms
and blessings ...
Shijing Ode #6: “TAO YAO”
ancient Chinese rhyming poem circa (1200 BC - 600 BC)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
The peach tree is elegant and tender;
its flowers are fragrant, and bright.
A young lady now enters her future home
and will manage it well, day and night.
The peach tree is elegant and tender;
its fruits are abundant, and sweet.
A young lady now enters her future home
and will keep it inviting to everyone she greets.
The peach tree is elegant and tender;
it shelters with bough, leaf and flower.
A young lady now enters her future home
and will make it her family’s bower.
This one sounds like a young man complaining about the airs of rich girls
...
Shijing Ode #9: “HAN GUANG”
ancient Chinese rhyming poem circa (1200 BC - 600 BC)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
In the South leafless trees
offer men no shelter.
By the Han the girls loiter,
but it’s vain to entice them.
For the breadth of the Han
cannot be swum
and the length of the Jiang
requires more than a raft.
When firewood is needed,
I would cut down tall thorns to bring more.
Those girls on their way to their palaces?
I would feed their horses.
But the breadth of the Han
cannot be swum
and the length of the Jiang
requires more than a raft.
When firewood is needed,
I would cut down tall trees to bring more.
Those girls on their way to their palaces?
I would feed their colts.
But the breadth of the Han
cannot be swum
and the length of the Jiang
requires more than a raft.
Shijing Ode #10: “RU FEN”
ancient Chinese rhyming poem circa (1200 BC - 600 BC)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
By raised banks of the Ru,
I cut down branches in the brake.
Not seeing my lord
caused me heartache.
By raised banks of the Ru,
I cut down branches by the tide.
When I saw my lord at last,
he did not cast me aside.
The bream flashes its red tail;
the royal court’s a blazing fire.
Though it blazes afar,
still his loved ones are near ...
It was apparently believed that the bream’s tail turned red when it was in
danger. Here the term “lord” does not necessarily mean the man in question was a
royal himself. Chinese women of that era often called their husbands “lord.”
Take, for instance, Ezra Pound’s famous loose translation “The River Merchant’s
Wife.” Speaking of Pound, I borrowed the word “brake” from his translation of
this poem, although I worked primarily from more accurate translations. In the
final line, it may be that the wife or lover is suggesting that no matter what
happens, the man in question will have a place to go, or perhaps she is urging
him to return regardless. The original poem had “mother and father” rather than
“family” or “loved ones,” but in those days young married couples often lived
with the husband’s parents. So a suggestion to return to his parents could be a
suggestion to return to his wife as well.
Shijing Ode #12: “QUE CHAO”
ancient Chinese rhyming poem circa (1200 BC - 600 BC)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
The nest is the magpie's
but the dove occupies it.
A young lady’s soon heading to her future home;
a hundred carriages will attend her.
The nest is the magpie's
but the dove takes it over.
A young lady’s soon heading to her future home;
a hundred carriages will escort her.
The nest is the magpie's
but the dove possesses it.
A young lady’s soon heading to her future home;
a hundred carriages complete her procession.
Shijing Ode #26: “BO ZHOU” from “The Odes of Bei”
ancient Chinese rhyming poem circa (1200 BC - 600 BC)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
This cypress-wood boat floats about,
meandering with the current.
Meanwhile, I am distraught and sleepless,
as if inflicted with a painful wound.
Not because I have no wine,
and can’t wander aimlessly about!
But my mind is not a mirror
able to echo all impressions.
Yes, I have brothers,
but they are undependable.
I meet their anger with silence.
My mind is not a stone
to be easily cast aside.
My mind is not a mat
to be conveniently rolled up.
My conduct so far has been exemplary,
with nothing to criticize.
Yet my anxious heart hesitates
because I’m hated by the herd,
inflicted with many distresses,
heaped with insults, not a few.
Silently I consider my case,
until, startled, as if from sleep, I clutch my breast.
Consider the sun and the moon:
how did the latter exceed the former?
Now sorrow clings to my heart
like an unwashed dress.
Silently I consider my options,
but lack the wings to fly away.
Wu Tsao aka Wu Zao (1789-1862) was a celebrated lesbian poet whose lyrics
were sung throughout China. She was also known as Wu Pinxiang and Yucenzi.
For the Courtesan Ch’ing Lin
by Wu Tsao
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
On the girdle encircling your slender body
jade and coral ornaments tinkle like chimes,
like the tintinnabulations of some celestial being
only recently descended from heaven’s palaces.
You smiled at me when we met
and I become tongue-tied, forgetting how to speak.
For far too long now you have adorned yourself with flowers,
leaning nonchalantly against veiling bamboos,
your green sleeves failing to keep you warm
in your mysterious valley.
I can imagine you standing there:
an unusual girl, alone with her cryptic thoughts.
You exude light like a perfumed lamp
in the lengthening shadows.
We sip wine and play games,
recite each other’s poems.
You sing “South of the River”
with its heartrending verses.
Then we paint each other’s fingernails, toenails and beautiful eyebrows.
I want to possess you entirely:
your slender jade body
and your elsewhere-engaged heart.
Today it is spring
and enmassed mists, vast, cover the Five Lakes.
Oh my dearest darling, let me buy you a scarlet boat
and pirate you away!
Waves
Zhai Yongming (1955-)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
The waves manhandle me like a midwife pounding my back relentlessly,
and so the world abuses my body—
accosting me, bewildering me, according me a certain ecstasy ...
Monologue
Zhai Yongming (1955-)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I am a wild thought, born of the abyss
and—only incidentally—of you. The earth and sky
combine in me—their concubine—they consolidate in my body.
I am an ordinary embryo, encased in pale, watery flesh,
and yet in the sunlight I dazzle and amaze you.
I am the gentlest, the most understanding of women.
Yet I long for winter, the interminable black night, drawn out to my heart's
bleakest limit.
When you leave, my pain makes me want to vomit my heart up through my mouth—
to destroy you through love—where's the taboo in that?
The sun rises for the rest of the world, but only for you do I focus the hostile
tenderness
of my body.
I have my ways.
A chorus of cries rises. The sea screams in my blood but who remembers me?
What is life?
Zhai Yongming is a contemporary Chinese poet, born in Chengdu in 1955. She was
one of the instigators and prime movers of the “Black Tornado” of women’s poetry
that swept China in 1986-1989. Since then Zhai has been regarded as one of
China’s most prominent poets.
Pyre
Guan Daosheng (1262-1319)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
You and I share so much desire:
this love―like a fire—
that ends in a pyre's
charred coffin.
"Married Love" or "You and I" or "The Song of You and Me"
Guan Daosheng (1262-1319)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
You and I shared a love that burned like fire:
two lumps of clay in the shape of Desire
molded into twin figures. We two.
Me and you.
In life we slept beneath a single quilt,
so in death, why any guilt?
Let the skeptics keep scoffing:
it's best to share a single coffin.
Guan Daosheng (1262-1319) is also known as Kuan Tao-Sheng, Guan Zhongji and Lady
Zhongji. A famous poet of the early Yuan dynasty, she has also been called "the
most famous female painter and calligrapher in the Chinese history ...
remembered not only as a talented woman, but also as a prominent figure in the
history of bamboo painting." She is best known today for her images of nature
and her tendency to inscribe short poems on her paintings.
Tzu Yeh (circa 400 BC)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I heard my love was going to Yang-chou
So I accompanied him as far as Ch'u-shan.
For just a moment as he held me in his arms
I thought the swirling river ceased flowing and time stood still.
Tzu Yeh (circa 400 BC)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Will I ever hike up my dress for you again?
Will my pillow ever caress your arresting face?
Tzu Yeh (circa 400 BC)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Night descends ...
I let my silken hair spill down my shoulders as I part my thighs over my lover.
Tell me, is there any part of me not worthy of being loved?
Tzu Yeh (circa 400 BC)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I will wear my robe loose, not bothering with a belt;
I will stand with my unpainted face at the reckless window;
If my petticoat insists on fluttering about, shamelessly,
I'll blame it on the unruly wind!
Tzu Yeh (circa 400 BC)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
When he returns to my embrace,
I’ll make him feel what no one has ever felt before:
Me absorbing him like water
Poured into a wet clay jar.
Tzu Yeh (circa 400 BC)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Bare branches tremble in a sudden breeze.
Night deepens.
My lover loves me,
And I am pleased that my body's beauty pleases him.
Tzu Yeh (circa 400 BC)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Do you not see
that we
have become like branches of a single tree?
Tzu Yeh (circa 400 BC)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I could not sleep with the full moon haunting my
bed!
I thought I heard―here, there, everywhere―
disembodied voices calling my name!
Helplessly I cried "Yes!" to the phantom air!
Tzu Yeh (circa 400 BC)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I have brought my pillow to the windowsill
so come play with me, tease me, as in the past ...
Or, with so much resentment and so few kisses,
how much longer can love last?
Tzu Yeh (circa 400 BC)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
When she approached you on the bustling street, how could you say no?
But your disdain for me is nothing new.
Squeaking hinges grow silent on an unused door
where no one enters anymore.
Tzu Yeh (circa 400 BC)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I remain constant as the Northern Star
while you rush about like the fickle sun:
rising in the East, drooping in the West.
Tzŭ-Yeh (or
Tzu Yeh) was a courtesan of the Jin dynasty era (c. 400 BC) also known as
Lady Night or Lady Midnight. Her poems were pinyin ("midnight songs"). Tzŭ-Yeh was apparently a "sing-song" girl, perhaps similar to a geisha trained
to entertain men with music and poetry. She has also been called a "wine shop
girl" and even a professional concubine! Whoever she was, it seems likely that
Rihaku (Li-Po) was influenced by the lovely, touching (and often very sexy)
poems of the "sing-song" girl. Centuries later, Arthur Waley was one of her
translators and admirers. Waley and Ezra Pound knew each other, and it seems
likely that they got together to compare notes at Pound's soirees, since Pound
was also an admirer and translator of Chinese poetry. Pound's most famous
translation is his take on Li-Po's "The River Merchant's Wife: A Letter." If the
ancient "sing-song" girl influenced Li-Po and Pound, she was thus an influence―perhaps
an important influence―on English Modernism. The first Tzŭ-Yeh poem
makes me think that she was, indeed, a direct influence on Li-Po and Ezra Pound.―Michael
R. Burch
The Day after the Rain
Lin Huiyin (1904-1955)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I love the day after the rain
and the meadow's green expanses!
My heart endlessly rises with wind,
gusts with wind ...
away the new-mown grasses and the fallen leaves ...
away the clouds like smoke ...
vanishing like smoke ...
Music Heard Late at Night
Lin Huiyin (1904-1955)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
for Xu Zhimo
I blushed,
hearing the lovely nocturnal tune.
The music touched my heart;
I embraced its sadness, but how to respond?
The pattern of life was established eons ago:
so pale are the people's imaginations!
Perhaps one day You and I
can play the chords of hope together.
It must be your fingers gently playing
late at night, matching my sorrow.
Lin Huiyin (1904-1955), also known as Phyllis Lin and Lin Whei-yin, was a
Chinese architect, historian, novelist and poet. Xu Zhimo died in a plane crash
in 1931, allegedly flying to meet Lin Huiyin.
Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again
Xu Zhimo (1897-1931)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Quietly I take my leave,
as quietly as I came;
quietly I wave good-bye
to the sky's dying flame.
The riverside's willows
like lithe, sunlit brides
reflected in the waves
move my heart's tides.
Weeds moored in dark sludge
sway here, free of need,
in the Cam's gentle wake ...
O, to be a waterweed!
Beneath shady elms
a nebulous rainbow
crumples and reforms
in the soft ebb and flow.
Seek a dream? Pole upstream
to where grass is greener;
rig the boat with starlight;
sing aloud of love's splendor!
But how can I sing
when my song is farewell?
Even the crickets are silent.
And who should I tell?
So quietly I take my leave,
as quietly as I came;
gently I flick my sleeves ...
not a wisp will remain.
(6 November 1928)
Xu Zhimo's most famous poem is this one about leaving Cambridge. English titles
for the poem include "On Leaving Cambridge," "Second Farewell to Cambridge,"
"Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again," and "Taking Leave of Cambridge Again."
Still He Does Not Come
Yau Ywe-Hwa (T'ang Dynasty)
I have been here a long time,
Waiting
With silver candles
And sparkling wine,
Walking up to the gate
And back again,
Watching for him
Till it's nearly daylight.
Now the moon has set,
The stars are few,
And still he does not come.
Suddenly wingbeats drum
In the misty willows;
A magpie flies off.
In China the magpie is associated with happiness. In this case the happiness of the poetess is flying away.
Spring in Wu-ling
Li Ching-jau (Southern Sung Period, c. 1135)
The wind is still,
The earth smells sweet;
The flowers all have fallen here.
As evening comes,
Dejectedly,
I comb my hair.
His things remain
But he is gone;
So everything's over.
When I try to speak
The tears well up.
I hear that spring's
Still at its height
At Double Creek ...
I think of going to sail
The light skiffs there,
But alas, I fear
The grasshopper-boats
At Double Creek
Could never bear
So great a weight
Of sorrow.
To the tune of “Soaring Clouds”
Huang O (1498-1569)
You held my lotus blossom
In your lips and played with the
Pistil. We took one piece of
Magic rhinoceros horn
And could not sleep all night long.
All night the cock’s gorgeous crest
Stood erect. All night the bee
Clung trembling to the flower
Stamens. Oh my sweet perfumed
Jewel! I will allow only
My lord to possess my sacred
Lotus pond, and every night
You can make blossom in me
Flowers of fire.
To the tune of “The Fall of a Little Wild Goose”
Huang O (1498-1569)
Once upon a time I was
Beautiful and seductive,
Wavering to and fro in
Our orchid-scented bedroom.
You and I together tangled
In our incense-filled gauze
Bed curtains. I trembled,
Held in your hands. You carried
Me in your heart wherever
You went. Suddenly
A bullet struck down the female
Mandarin duck. The music
Of the jade zither was forgotten.
The phoenixes were driven apart.
I sit alone in a room
Filled with Spring, and you are off,
Making love with someone else,
Happy as two fish in the water.
That insufferable little bitch
With her coy tricks!
She’d better not forget —
This old witch can still
Make a furious scene!
Li Qingzhao (Li Ching-chao, 1084-1155)
translated
by Jiaosheng Wang
Stepping down from the swing,
Languidly she smooths her soft slender hands,
Her flimsy dress wet with light perspiration—
A slim flower trembling with heavy dew.
The lotus has wilted, only a faint perfume remains;
On the bamboo mat there's a touch of autumn chill.
Softly I take off my silk dress
And step on board my orchid skiff alone.
Who is sending me the letter of brocade
From beyond the clouds?
When the wild geese return
The moon will be flooding the West Chamber.
Flowers fall and drift away,
Water glides on,
After their nature.
Our yearning is the sort
Both sides far apart endure—
A melancholy feeling there's no resisting.
As soon as it leaves the eyebrows
It surges up in the breast.
A jumble of parting thoughts,
Yet I hesitate on the verge of utterance
For fear of bitterness.
Of late I've been growing thin,
Not that I overdrink myself,
Nor from lament for the autumn.
Fine mist, thick clouds:
A day of sadness drags on.
The incense in the gilt animal-burner is running out.
Once more the festive day of Double Ninth returns,
And my mesh-curtained bed and jewelled pillows
Are drenched in the chill of midnight.
Beside the east hedge I drink after dusk;
A subtle fragrance fills my sleeves.
Don't say one is not pining away!
When the west wind blows the blinds aside,
I am frailer than the chrysanthemums.
Sorrow of Departure
Li Ch'ing-Chao (1084-1151)
Lotus incense fades, a red stain
on shimmering curtains.
Autumn returns.
Gently I release my silk dress
and float, nude, alone
on the orchid boat.
Who can take a letter beyond the clouds?
Only the wild geese reply,
writing their enigmatic ideograms
on the darkening sky,
under the full moon
now flooding the west chamber.
Flowers, after their kind, flutter
and scatter.
Water,
after its nature,
having been divided, at last
reassembles itself at the lowest place.
Creatures of the same species
long for each other,
but you and I
remain far apart
and I have grown wise in the ways of a broken heart.
Nothing can make sorrow dissolve
or vanish.
One moment it banishes
all gladness from my eyes;
the next, it weighs heavy on my heart.
A Song of Departure
Li Ch'ing-Chao (1084-1151)
Warm rain and a gentle breeze
Have just arrived
And driven away the winter chill.
Moist as the willows,
Blithe as the plum blossoms,
I feel Spring's spirit renewing.
But who will imbibe with me
The joys of wine and poetry?
Tears muddy my rouge,
My hairpins are too heavy.
I put on my new quilted robe
Sewn through with bright golden thread
And throw myself upon a pile of pillows,
Disheveling my hair.
Alone, all I can embrace is my sorrow,
Which seem infinite.
I know good dreams are beyond me,
so I stay up past midnight
trimming the lamp’s smoking wick.
To the tune of “Everlasting Joy”
Li Ch'ing-Chao (1084-1151)
The sun sets, molten gold.
The evening clouds form a jade disk.
Where is he?
A dense white mist envelops the willows.
A sad flute plays “Falling Plum Blossoms.”
How many Spring days remain?
This Feast of Lanterns should be joyful.
The weather is calm and lovely.
But who can say
If it may
be followed by wind and rain?
A friend sends her perfumed carriage
And high-bred horses to fetch me.
I decline the invitation of
My old poetry and wine companion.
I remember the happy days in the since-abandoned
capital.
We took our ease in the women’s quarters.
The Feast of Lanterns was elaborately celebrated —
Golden pendants, emerald hairpins, brocaded girdles,
New sashes: we competed
To be the most fashionably dressed.
Now I am withering away:
thinning hair, graying temples.
I am embarrassed to go out this evening
Among girls in the flower of their youth.
I prefer to stay beyond the curtains,
listening to gossip and laughter
I can no longer share.
Autumn Love
Li Ch'ing-Chao (1084-1151)
Search! Search! Seek! Seek!
Cold! Cold! Clear! Clear!
Misery! Misery! Pain on pain!
Hot flashes! Shivers of fear!
Stabs of remorse! Sudden agonies!
Here tonight, I can find no release.
I drink two cups and maybe three bowls
of crystalline wine,
and yet I can’t find
the strength to stand
against a gust of wind:
no peace.
Wild geese soar high overhead;
their keenings wrench at my heart.
They were good friends in the olden days;
now golden chrysanthemums litter my hearth,
piled here on the floor:
all dry, faded, dead.
This season I could no longer bear
to abide them. Alone, in silence I fled,
to gaze out my window,
where I watched the gathering shadows.
Fine rain sifts through the wu-t’ung trees,
And drips, drop by drop, through the dusk.
What can I ever do now?
How can I drive off this word —
Hopelessness?
A Letter to Lady T’ao Ch’iu
Ch’iu Chin (c. 1879-1907)
Alone with my shadow,
I confide secrets to her
And draw strange symbols in the air,
like Yin Hao.
It is not sickness, nor wine,
Nor sorrow for the departed,
Like Li Ch’ing-Chao,
that cause an empire of broken-hearted
anxieties to arise in my heart.
There is no one I can confide in here;
Who can understand me?
My hopes and dreams are greater
Than those of the men who surround me,
But the chance of our survival grows less and less.
What good is a hero's heart
Inside this feminine dress?
My fate proceeds according to some perilous plan.
I ask Heaven:
Did the heroines of the past
Perish like this?
New Corn
Tao Qian (372-427)
Fleeting—the years, beyond recollection.
Solemn—the stillness of this lovely morning.
I will clothe myself in spring garb
And visit the slopes of the hill to the east
Where a mist hovers over the mountain-stream ...
Hovers for a moment, then scatters.
There a wind comes, blowing from the south,
That rustles the fields of new corn.
In Chinese poetry the south signifies death, so a southern wind rustling ears of
new corn might be like an aged poet writing poems for children.
Drinking Wine
Tao Qian (372-427)
I built my hut by a thoroughfare
Yet never hear the sound of horse or coach.
How can this be?
A distant heart creates a wilderness around it.
I pluck chrysanthemums beneath the eastern hedge,
Then gaze a long time at the distant hills.
The mountain air is fresh at dusk.
The birds return, two by two.
In such things there lies a profound meaning,
But when I try to express it, words immediately fail me.
The HyperTexts