Yuan Tan-chiu of the East Mountain by Li Po (Li Bei)

You, the dweller of the East Mountain,
You, the lover of the beauty of hills and valleys,
In the green spring you sleep in the empty woodland,
And hardly rise in the broad daylight.
The pine wind shakes your garment,
And the stony brook cleanses your soul.
How I envy you, who, unperturbed,
Are pillowed high in a mist of emerald!

translated by Shigeyoshi Obata

Fallen Flowers by Li Shang-yin

The guests have all left
their high pavilion

and in the little garden
a whirling storm of petals

they lie in random heaps
across the twisting path

and stretch into the distance
to catch the setting sun

it breaks my heart
to sweep them up

instead I stand and stare
till they mostly blow away

these fragrant-hearted beings
going the way of the spring

they die and earn their tribute–
the tears that spot my clothes.

translated by David Young

from Five Hundred Words About My Journey From The Capital To Feng-hsien by Tu Fu

women like goddesses
are dancing inside
all silk and perfume
guests in sable furs
music of pipes and fiddles
camel-pad broth being served
with frosted oranges and pungent tangerines

behind those red gates
meat and wine are left to spoil
outside lie the bones
of people who starved and froze
luxury and misery a few feet apart!

my heart aches to think about it.

translated by David Young

from Written In The 12th Month, Kuei Year Of The Hare, For My Cousin Ching-yüan by T’ao Ch’ien

Roaming through thousand-year-old books,
I meet timeless exemplars. I’ll never

reach their high principles, though I’ve
somehow mastered resolute in privation,

and there’s no chance renown will redeem
this poverty. But I’m no fool for coming

here. I send findings beyond all words:
who could understand this bond we share?

translated by David Hinton