Chinese poems ⁽⁹⁾

Jujube July 19, 2026

Ascending the Kuai Pavilion

落木千山天远大，澄江一道月分明。 Fallen trees spread over a thousand mountains beneath a vast sky; One clear river reflects the bright moon. — Huang Tingjian 黄庭坚 (1045-1105)

Jujube July 12, 2026

太乙近天都，连山接海隅。白云回望合，青霭入看无。 Mount Zhongnan rises toward Heaven’s capital; Its ranges stretch to the edge of the sea. Looking back, white clouds close behind; Looking in, blue mist dissolves into nothing. — Wang Wei 王维 (701-761)

Jujube May 17, 2026

Jian Jia

蒹葭苍苍，白露为霜。所谓伊人，在水一方。 The reeds and rushes are deeply green, The white dew has turned to frost. The one of whom I think, Is somewhere by the water’s edge. —《蒹葭》 (Jian Jia)

Jujube April 5, 2026

Mountain Dialogue

问余何意栖碧山，笑而不答心自闲。桃花流水窅然去，别有天地非人间。 You ask me why I make my home amid these green mountains; I smile and make no reply, for my heart is free of care. As peach blossoms flow downstream and are gone into the unknown, I have a world apart that is…

Jujube February 22, 2026

Visiting the Sky-Mother Mountain in a Dream: A Song of Farewell

脚著谢公屐，身登青云梯。半壁见海日，空中闻天鸡。 … 列缺霹雳，丘峦崩摧。洞天石扉，訇然中开。 Wearing the climbing shoes of Lord Xie, I ascend the ladder of blue clouds. Halfway up, I see the sun rising from the sea, In mid-air, I hear the rooster of heaven crow. … Lightning flashes…

Jujube February 1, 2026

Autumn Words

晴空一鹤排云上，便引诗情到碧霄。 A crane soars above the clouds and soars high, Lifts my poetic heart up to the azure sky. — Liu Yuxi 刘禹锡 (772-842)

Jujube August 17, 2025

Encountering Rain at Lone Mountain Temple

水鹭双飞起，风荷一向翻。 – 白居易 The egret pair takes flight together, The lotus leaves sway in the breeze. – Bai Juyi (772-846)

Jujube March 9, 2025

To the Melody of ‘Yumeiren’: On Seeing Plum Blossoms in Yizhou

天涯也有江南信, 梅破知春近。夜阑风细得香迟, 不道晓来开遍、向南枝。 – 黄庭坚《虞美人·宜州見梅作》 Even at the edge of the world, whispers of Jiangnan unfold, Plum blossoms burst, proclaiming spring’s approach. Late in the night, their fragrance drifts on a tender breeze. Unaware that by dawn, blooms full on south-facing branches. — Huang…

Jujube January 26, 2025

Black Map

寒鴉終於拼湊成夜﹕黑色地圖我回來了—歸程總是比迷途長長於一生 — 北岛 “黑色地图” in the end, cold crows piece together the night: a black map I’ve come home—the way back longer than the wrong road long as a life — Bei Dao (translated by Eliot Weinberger)