The Mountain Spring – Qu Qiang I

There is a brook in the mountains, Nobody I ask knows its name. It shines on the earth like a piece Of the sky. It falls away In waterfalls, with a sound Like rain. It twists between rocks And makes deep pools. It divides Into islands. It flows through Calm reaches. It goes its way …

The Art of Huang JunBi (1898-1991): A Chinese Master

You ask me why I dwell here in the green mountains; I smile and make no reply for my heart is free of care. As a peach-blossom floats down stream and disappears into the unknown, I too have another world that's far from men. - Li Bai

Reply to a Poem, Matching the Form – 鱼玄机 – Yu Xuanji – Yu Hsuan Chi

The blood-red bustle, the purple muddle of this human world... alone and quiet, chanting, in the midst of sunlit scenery giving up wanting a lover or hoping for literary fame conceiving a wonderful poem in the midst of a fortified village plain flowers, so simple and right I'm ashamed to express my gratitude residing secluded, …

Dreams Of The Tang Dynasty #23

#23 These chaotic days have turned my hair gray, My body grew old in a season, Hiding in these mountains, Penetrated to the bone by cold serenity. My body suffers, but my soul finds rest In the quiet frosty pines - Cold breath illuminated by the sunrise. I remember the greener days of my childhood, …

Dreams of The Tang Dynasty #20

#20 There is a man who lives Halfway down the mountain. He and his young daughter of eight years Have joined me on walks by the river. She has taken an interest in my old pipa And I have taken her as a student. It is the greatest delight of my old age To have …

Xi Shi’s Ghost

Two thousand years ago There was a woman of exceptional beauty, So exceptional, the legend goes, That whenever she looked At her reflection in a pond, The fish would forget how to swim, And sink down into the darkness. Two thousand years later, I have forgotten how to live, Crushed by a vision of her …

Memories of Green

Working on a drawing of a blossom tree With "Memories of Green" playing mellow, Playing melancholy in the yellow incandescence. Lapsang Souchong and a lonely heart Make this man long for the subtle energies of a woman tonight. Amidst the jazz music and traditional Chinese paintings He doesn't have the characters for how he feels, …

Beautiful Barbarian Love Song

To The Tune: Beautiful Barbarian The peonies are heavy with dew. She pauses in the court to pick a flower, Then coyly asks her lover, "Which do you think most pretty?" Because he likes to tease, he says, "I think perhaps the flower." She pretends offense in any case, crushes it, and throws it in …

Sundown Song

It's when the descending sun Is level with the curtain hook That spring along this river Is at its very best. Good smells surround the gardens Along the riverbank A column of smoke from the beach Where boatmen cook their dinners Steadily chattering sparrows Fight to roost in the evening trees Gnats and mayflies swarm …