The Anchor Book of Chinese Poetry

by BARNSTONE, TONYPING, CHOU

• ISBN13: 9780385721981
• ISBN10: 0385721986
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2005-02-08
• Publisher: Anchor

Summary

Unmatched in scope and literary quality,The Anchor Book of Chinese Poetryspans three thousand years, bringing together more than six hundred poems by more than one hundred thirty poets, in translationsmany new and exclusive to the bookby an array of distinguished translators. Here is the grand sweep of Chinese poetry, from theBook of Songsancient folk songs said to have been collected by Confucius himselfand Laozi'sDao De Jingto the vividly pictorial verse of Wang Wei, the romanticism of Li Po, the technical brilliance of Tu Fu, and all the way up to the twentieth-century poetry of Mao Zedong and the postCultural Revolution verse of the Misty poets. Encompassing the spiritual, philosophical, political, mystical, and erotic strains that have emerged over millennia, this broadly representative selection also includes a preface on the art of translation, a general introduction to Chinese poetic form, biographical headnotes for each of the poets, and concise essays on the dynasties that structure the book. A landmark anthology,The Anchor Book of Chinese Poetrycaptures with impressive range and depth the essence of China's illustrious poetic tradition.

Author Biography

Tony Barnstone is an associate professor of creative writing and American literature at Whittier College. His first book of poetry, Impure, was a finalist for several national literary awards, among them the Academy of American Poets Walt Whitman Prize, the National Poetry Series Prize, and the White Pine Prize. His other books include Out of the Howling Storm: The New Chinese Poetry, Laughing Lost in the Mountains: Selected Poems of Wang Wei (with Willis Barnstone and Xu Haixin), The Art of Writing: Teachings of the Chinese Masters (with Chou Ping), and several textbooks about world literature. His poetry, translations, essays, and fiction have appeared in dozens of literary journals, from The American Poet Review to Agni. He lives in California.

Chou Ping writes poetry in both Chinese and English. His poems and translations have appeared in such journals as The Literary Review and Nimrod. Born in Changsha City, Hunan province, in 1957, he holds degrees from Beijing Foreign Language University, Indiana University, and Stanford University. He is the translator, with Tony Barnstone, of The Art of Writing: Teachings of the Chinese Masters, and he has taught at Stanford, Washington University, Oberlin College, The College of Wooster, and Reed College. He lives in Oregon.

Table of Contents

A Note on the Selections and Some Words of Thanks	xxxv
Preface: The Poem Behind the Poem: Literary Translation as English-Language Poetry	xxxix
Tony Barnstone
Introduction to Chinese Poetic Form (as a Function of Yin-Yang Symmetry)	lv
Chou Ping
Zhou Dynasty (1122--256 BCE)	3	(24)
Book of Songs (C. 600 BCE)	6	(6)
White Moonrise	7	(1)
Fruit Plummets from the Plum Tree	7	(1)
Serene Girl	8	(1)
In the Wilds Is a Dead River-Deer	8	(1)
All the Grasslands Are Yellow	9	(1)
Ripe Millet	9	(1)
I Beg You, Zhongzi	10	(1)
When the Gourd Has Dried Leaves	11	(1)
Laozi (Fourth-Third Centuries BCE)	12	(6)
from the Dao De Jing	14	(4)
Verses of Chu (Third Century BCE)	18	(9)
from Encountering Sorrow	19	(8)
Han Dynasty (206 BCE--220 CE)	27	(30)
Nineteen Ancient Poems	29	(9)
``Traveling traveling and still traveling traveling''	29	(1)
``Green so green is the river grass''	30	(1)
``Green so green are the cypress over the burial mounds''	30	(1)
``At today's great banquet''	30	(1)
``A tall tower in the northwest''	31	(1)
``I cross the river to pick lotus flowers''	31	(1)
``Clear moon pours bright light at night''	32	(1)
``Soft and frail is a solitary bamboo''	32	(1)
``There is a wonderful tree in the courtyard''	33	(1)
``Far and far is the Cowherd Star''	33	(1)
``I turn my carriage around to return''	34	(1)
``The east wall is tall and long''	34	(1)
``I drive my wagon to the east gate''	35	(1)
``Day by day the dead are receding''	35	(1)
``Man dies within a hundred years''	36	(1)
``Chilly, chilly, the year-end clouds darken''	36	(1)
``A cold current in early winter''	37	(1)
``A traveler came from afar''	37	(1)
``Pure and white bright moon''	37	(1)
Jia YI (200--168 BCE)	38	(3)
The Owl	38	(3)
Liu Xijun (Late Second Century BCE)	41	(1)
Lament	42	(1)
Anonymous Folk Songs From the Music Bureau (C. 120 BCE)	42	(15)
The East Gate	43	(1)
A Sad Tune	43	(1)
He Waters His Horse Near a Breach in the Long Wall	44	(1)
At Fifteen I Went to War	44	(1)
An Ancient Poem Written for the Wife of Jiao Zhongqing	45	(12)
Six Dynasties Period (220--589)	57	(34)
Cao Cao (155--220)	59	(1)
Watching the Blue Ocean	59	(1)
Song of Bitter Cold	60	(1)
Ruan JI (210--263)	60	(2)
from Chanting My Thoughts	61	(1)
Fu Xuan (217--278)	62	(1)
To Be a Woman	63	(1)
ZI YE (Third-Fourth centuries)	63	(2)
Three Songs	64	(1)
Four Seasons Song: Spring	64	(1)
Four Seasons Song: Autumn	65	(1)
LU JI (261--303)	65	(8)
from The Art of Writing	67	(1)
Preface	67	(1)
The Impulse	68	(1)
Meditation	68	(1)
Process	69	(1)
The Joy of Words	70	(1)
The Riding Crop	70	(1)
Making It New	70	(1)
Ordinary and Sublime	71	(1)
The Well-Wrought Urn	71	(1)
Inspiration	72	(1)
Writer's Block	72	(1)
The Power of a Poem	73	(1)
Pan Yue (247--300)	73	(2)
In Memory of My Dead Wife	74	(1)
Tao Qian (C. 365--427)	75	(9)
Return to My Country Home	75	(3)
Begging for Food	78	(1)
I Stop Drinking	78	(1)
Drinking Alone When It Rains Day After Day	79	(1)
Scolding My Kids	80	(1)
Fire in the Sixth Month in 408 CE	80	(1)
from Twenty Poems on Drinking Wine	81	(2)
Elegies	83	(1)
Su Xiaoxiao (Late Fifth Century)	84	(2)
Emotions on Being Apart	85	(1)
The Song of the West Tomb	85	(1)
To the Tune of ``Butterflies Adore Flowers''	85	(1)
Bao Zhao (C. 414--466)	86	(2)
from Variations on ``The Weary Road''	86	(1)
On the Departure of Official Fu	87	(1)
Bao Linghui (FL. C. 464)	88	(1)
Sending a Book to a Traveler After Making an Inscription	88	(1)
Princess Chen Lechang (Sixth Century)	88	(3)
Letting My Feelings Go at the Farewell Banquet	89	(2)
Tang Dynasty (618--907)	91	(138)
Wang Bo (649--676)	93	(1)
On the Wind	93	(1)
He Zhizhang (659--744)	94	(1)
Willow	94	(1)
Zhang Ruoxu (C. 660--C. 720)	94	(2)
Spring, River, and Flowers on a Moonlit Night	95	(1)
Meng Haoran (689--740)	96	(1)
Parting from Wang Wei	97	(1)
Spring Dawn	97	(1)
Spending the Night on Jiande River	97	(1)
Wang Changling (C. 690--C. 756)	97	(1)
Song from the Borders	98	(1)
Wang Wan (693--751)	98	(1)
Stopping at Beigu Mountain	98	(1)
Wang Wei (701--761)	99	(17)
Watching the Hunt	101	(1)
Walking into the Liang Countryside	101	(1)
A Young Lady's Spring Thoughts	101	(1)
For Someone Far Away	102	(1)
Climbing the City Tower North of the River	102	(1)
Deep South Mountain	102	(1)
Living in the Mountain on an Autumn Night	103	(1)
Drifting on the Lake	103	(1)
Cooling Off	103	(1)
Return to Wang River	104	(1)
Written on a Rainy Autumn Night After Pei Di's Visit	104	(1)
To Pei Di, While We Are Living Lazily at Wang River	104	(1)
Birds Sing in the Ravine	105	(1)
Sketching Things	105	(1)
from The Wang River Sequence	105	(1)
Preface	105	(1)
Deer Park	106	(1)
House Hidden in the Bamboo Grove	106	(1)
Luan Family Rapids	106	(1)
White Pebble Shoal	106	(1)
Lakeside Pavilion	107	(1)
Magnolia Basin	107	(1)
Things in a Spring Garden	107	(1)
Answering the Poem Su Left in My Blue Field Mountain Country House, on Visiting and Finding Me Not Home	107	(1)
About Old Age, in Answer to a Poem by Subprefect Zhang	108	(1)
To My Cousin Qiu, Military Supply Official	108	(1)
On Being Demoted and Sent Away to Qizhou	109	(1)
For Zhang, Exiled in Jingzhou, Once Adviser to the Emperor	109	(1)
Seeing Off Prefect Ji Mu as He Leaves Office and Goes East of the River	109	(1)
Winter Night, Writing About My Emotion	110	(1)
Seeing Zu Off at Qizhou	111	(1)
A White Turtle Under a Waterfall	111	(1)
Song of Peach Tree Spring	112	(1)
Sitting Alone on an Autumn Night	113	(1)
Green Creek	113	(1)
Visiting the Mountain Courtyard of the Distinguished Monk Tanxing at Enlightenment Monastery	114	(1)
Questioning a Dream	114	(1)
Weeping for Ying Yao	114	(1)
Suffering from Heat	115	(1)
Li Bai (701--762)	116	(14)
A Song of Zhanggan Village	118	(1)
Grievance at the Jade Stairs	119	(1)
Seeing a Friend Off at Jingmen Ferry	119	(1)
Watching the Waterfall at Lu Mountain	119	(1)
Hearing a Flute on a Spring Night in Luoyang	120	(1)
River Song	120	(1)
I Listen to Jun, a Monk from Shu, Play His Lute	120	(1)
Seeing a Friend Off	121	(1)
Drinking Alone by Moonlight	121	(1)
Seeing Meng Haoran Off to Guangling at the Yellow Crane Tower	121	(1)
Saying Good-bye to Song Zhiti	122	(1)
Song	122	(1)
In Memory of He Zhizhang	122	(1)
Confessional	123	(1)
Zazen on Jingting Mountain	123	(1)
Questioning in the Mountains	124	(1)
Missing the East Mountains	124	(1)
Having a Good Time by Myself	124	(1)
Drinking Wine with the Hermit in the Mountains	124	(1)
Sent Far Off	124	(1)
Inscription for Summit Temple	125	(1)
Summer Day in the Mountains	125	(1)
Brooding in the Still Night	125	(1)
Singing by Green Water in Autumn	125	(1)
Drunk All Day	126	(1)
Song on Bringing in the Wine	126	(1)
On My Way Down Zhongnan Mountain I Passed by Hermit Fusi's Place and He Treated Me to Wine While I Spent the Night There	127	(1)
Song of the North Wind	128	(1)
War South of the Great Wall	128	(1)
Hunting Song	129	(1)
Chu Guangxi (707--C. 760)	130	(1)
from Jiangnan Melodies	130	(1)
Du Fu (712--770)	130	(20)
Facing Snow	132	(1)
Gazing in Springtime	133	(1)
Ballad of the War Wagons	133	(1)
Moonlit Night	134	(1)
Thinking of My Brothers on a Moonlit Night	135	(1)
Broken Lines	135	(1)
Thoughts While Night Traveling	135	(1)
A Hundred Worries	135	(1)
Standing Alone	136	(1)
To Wei Ba	136	(1)
Dreaming of Li Bai	137	(1)
A Painted Falcon	137	(1)
New Moon	138	(1)
Spring Night Happy About Rain	138	(1)
Brimming Water	139	(1)
River Village	139	(1)
Looking at Mount Tai	139	(1)
Jiang Village	140	(1)
Jade Flower Palace	141	(1)
Newlyweds' Departure	142	(1)
Old Couple's Departure	143	(1)
A Homeless Man's Departure	144	(1)
Song of a Thatched Hut Damaged in Autumn Wind	145	(1)
The Song of a Roped Chicken	145	(1)
Poem to Officer Fang's Foreign Horse	146	(1)
Qu River	146	(1)
Leaving in My Boat	147	(1)
Guest's Arrival: Happy About County Governor Cui's Visit	147	(1)
A Lone Goose	147	(1)
A Traveler's Night	148	(1)
from Five Poems About Historical Sites	148	(1)
On Yueyang Tower	149	(1)
Climbing High	149	(1)
Traveler's Pavilion	150	(1)
Liu Changqing (C. 710--C. 787)	150	(1)
Spending the Night at Hibiscus Mountain When It Was Snowing	150	(1)
To Official Fei on His Demotion to State Ji	151	(1)
Jiao Ran (730--799)	151	(1)
On Lu Jianhong's Absence During My Visit to Him	151	(1)
Meng Jiao (751--814)	152	(3)
Complaints	153	(1)
Song of the Homebound Letter	153	(1)
Statement of Feelings in a Shabby Residence on an Autumn Evening	154	(1)
Visiting Zhongnan Mountain	154	(1)
Frustration	154	(1)
Borrowing a Wagon	155	(1)
After Passing the Highest Imperial Examinations	155	(1)
Lady Liu (Mid-Eighth Century)	155	(2)
To the Tune of ``Yangliuzhi''	156	(1)
Zhang JI (Mid-Eighth Century)	157	(1)
Moored by the Maple Bridge at Night	157	(1)
Han Yu (768--824)	157	(4)
Mountain Rocks	158	(1)
Losing My Teeth	159	(1)
Listening to Yinshi Play His Instrument	160	(1)
Poem to Commander Zhang at the Meeting of the Bian and Si Rivers	161	(1)
Xue Tao (768--831)	161	(3)
Seeing a Friend Off	162	(1)
Sending Old Poems to Yuan Zhen	162	(1)
A Spring in Autumn	162	(1)
Spring Gazing	163	(1)
Willow Catkins	163	(1)
Hearing Cicadas	164	(1)
Moon	164	(1)
Liu Yuxi (772--842)	164	(2)
Mooring at Niuzhu at Dusk	165	(1)
Bamboo Branch Song	165	(1)
Black-Uniform Lane	165	(1)
Looking at Dongting Lake	165	(1)
Bai Juyi (772--846)	166	(16)
Assignment Under the Title ``Departure at Ancient Grass Field''	167	(1)
Night Rain	167	(1)
Song of an Evening River	167	(1)
Lament for Peony Flowers	167	(1)
Buying Flowers	168	(1)
Light Fur and Fat Horses	168	(1)
Watching the Reapers	169	(1)
The Old Charcoal Seller	170	(1)
Song of Everlasting Sorrow	170	(4)
Song of the Lute	174	(3)
Seeing Yuan Zhen's Poem on the Wall at Blue Bridge Inn	177	(1)
On Laziness	178	(1)
On Laozi	178	(1)
Madly Singing in the Mountains	178	(1)
After Getting Drunk, Becoming Sober in the Night	179	(1)
Resignation	180	(1)
On His Baldness	180	(1)
Old Age	181	(1)
Since I Lay Ill	181	(1)
A Dream of Mountaineering	182	(1)
Liu Zongyuan (773--819)	182	(2)
River Snow	183	(1)
Poem to Relatives and Friends in the Capital After Looking at Mountains with Monk Hao Chu	183	(1)
Summer Day	183	(1)
Fisherman	184	(1)
The Caged Eagle	184	(1)
Zhang JI (C. 776--C. 829)	184	(2)
A Soldier's Wife Complains	185	(1)
Song of a Virtuous Woman	185	(1)
Arriving at a Fisherman's House at Night	186	(1)
Wu Ke (Eighth-Ninth Centuries)	186	(1)
To Cousin Jia Dao in Autumn	187	(1)
Jia Dao (778--841)	187	(2)
Looking for the Hermit and Not Finding Him	188	(1)
Yuan Zhen (779--831)	189	(1)
When Told Bai Juyi Was Demoted and Sent to Jiangzhou	189	(1)
Late Spring	190	(1)
Petals Falling in the River	190	(1)
from Missing Her After Separation	190	(1)
Liu Caichun (Late Eighth-Early Ninth Centuries)	190	(1)
Song of Luogen	191	(1)
Li He (791--817)	191	(8)
from Twenty-three Horse Poems	192	(1)
Shown to My Younger Brother	192	(1)
from Speaking My Emotions	193	(1)
Flying Light	193	(2)
from Thirteen South Garden Poems	195	(1)
Su Xiaoxiao's Tomb	195	(1)
Song of Goose Gate Governor	196	(1)
Under the City Wall at Pingcheng	196	(1)
Song of an Old Man's Jade Rush	197	(1)
A Piece for Magic Strings	197	(1)
An Arrowhead from the Ancient Battlefield of Changping	198	(1)
A Sky Dream	199	(1)
Han Shan (Late Eighth-Early Ninth Centuries)	199	(7)
``My heart is the autumn moon''	200	(1)
``Pigs eat dead men's flesh''	200	(1)
``Greedy men love to store wealth''	201	(1)
``Heaven is endlessly high''	201	(1)
``The life and death metaphor''	201	(1)
``New rice not yet ripe in the field''	201	(1)
``An elegant, poised, and handsome young man''	202	(1)
``During thirty years since my birth''	202	(1)
``When Mr. Deng was in his youth''	202	(1)
``Who was this young man?''	203	(1)
``My way passed ancient tombs''	203	(1)
``There's a tree that existed before the woods''	203	(1)
``In idleness I go to visit a prominent monk''	203	(1)
``A crowd of stars lines up bright in the deep night''	204	(1)
``I gaze on myself in the stream's emerald flow''	204	(1)
``Talking about food won't fill your stomach''	204	(1)
``When people meet Han Shan''	204	(1)
``The ocean stretches endlessly''	204	(1)
``This life is lost in dust''	205	(1)
``In this world people live then die''	205	(1)
``The hermit escapes the human world''	205	(1)
``A word to meat eaters''	206	(1)
``Keep Han Shan's poems in your home''	206	(1)
Du Qiuniang (Early Ninth Century)	206	(1)
The Coat of Gold Brocade	206	(1)
Du Mu (803-852)	207	(2)
Written While Moored on the Qinhuai River	207	(1)
Two Poems Improvised at Qi An County	207	(1)
On Purebright Day	208	(1)
The Han River	208	(1)
Visiting Leyou Park	208	(1)
Wen Tingyun (812--870)	209	(2)
from To the Tune of ``The Water Clock Sings at Night''	210	(1)
To the Tune of ``Dreaming of the South Side of the River''	211	(1)
To the Tune of ``Beautiful Barbarian''	211	(1)
Li Shangyin (813--858)	211	(2)
The Patterned Zither	212	(1)
Visiting Leyou Park	212	(1)
Untitled	213	(1)
Poem Sent as a Letter to the North on a Rainy Night	213	(1)
Wei Zhuang (836--910)	213	(2)
To the Tune of ``Silk-Washing Brook''	214	(1)
To the Tune of ``The River City''	214	(1)
To the Tune of ``Missing the Emperor's Hometown''	215	(1)
To the Tune of ``Daoist Priestess''	215	(1)
Sikong Tu (837--908)	215	(5)
from the Twenty-four Styles of Poetry	217	(1)
The Placid Style	217	(1)
The Potent Style	217	(1)
The Natural Style	218	(1)
The Implicit Style	218	(1)
The Carefree and Wild Style	219	(1)
The Bighearted and Expansive Style	219	(1)
The Flowing Style	220	(1)
Yu Xuanji (C. 843--868)	220	(2)
Visiting Chongzhen Temple's South Tower and Looking Where the Names of Candidates Who Pass the Civil Service Exam Are Posted	221	(1)
To Zian: Missing You at Jianling	221	(1)
A Farewell	221	(1)
Sent in an Orchid Fragrance Letter	222	(1)
Autumn Complaints	222	(1)
QI JI (861--935)	222	(1)
Looking at the Zhurong Peak in a Boat at Twilight	223	(1)
Li Jing (916--961)	223	(1)
To the Tune of ``Silk-Washing Brook''	223	(1)
To the Tune of ``Silk-Washing Brook''	224	(1)
Madam Huarui (FL. C. 935)	224	(1)
On the Fall of the Kingdom, to the Tune of ``Mulberry-Picking Song''	224	(1)
Li Yu (936--978)	225	(4)
To the Tune of ``A Bushel of Pearls''	225	(1)
To the Tune of ``Bodhisattva Barbarian''	226	(1)
To the Tune of ``Clear and Even Music''	226	(1)
To the Tune of ``Lost Battle''	226	(1)
To the Tune of ``Beauty Yu''	227	(1)
To the Tune of ``Crows Cry at Night''	227	(1)
To the Tune of ``Crows Cry at Night''	228	(1)
Song Dynasty (960--1279)	229	(58)
Anonymous Female Poet (Uncertain Dates)	231	(1)
Drunk Man	231	(1)
Sun Daoxuan (Uncertain Dates)	232	(1)
To the Tune of ``As in a Dream''	232	(1)
To the Tune of ``Longing for Qin e''	232	(1)
Liu Yong (987--1053)	233	(3)
To the Tune of ``Phoenix Perched on the Parasol Tree''	233	(1)
To the Tune of ``Rain Hits a Bell''	234	(1)
To the Tune of ``New Chrysanthemum Flowers''	235	(1)
To the Tune of ``Poluomen Song''	235	(1)
Fan Zhongyan (989--1052)	236	(1)
To the Tune of ``Sumu Veil''	236	(1)
To the Tune of ``Imperial Avenue Procession''	237	(1)
Mei Yaochen (1002--1060)	237	(4)
Plum Rain	238	(1)
On the Death of a Newborn Child	239	(1)
Sorrow	239	(1)
A Small Village	240	(1)
Reply to Caishu's ``Ancient Temple by a River''	240	(1)
The Potter	240	(1)
Ouyang Xiu (1007--1072)	241	(4)
About Myself	242	(1)
To the Tune of ``Spring in the Tower of Jade''	242	(1)
The Lamp-wick's Ashes, Blossoms Droop, the Moon Like Frost	243	(1)
To the Tune of ``Spring in the Tower of Jade''	243	(1)
Painting Eyebrows, to the Tune of ``Pouring Out Deep Emotions''	243	(1)
Walking Back in Moonlight from Bohdi Trees to the Guanghua Temple	244	(1)
Encouraging Myself	244	(1)
To the Tune of ``Butterflies Adore Flowers''	244	(1)
To the Tune of ``Mulberry-Picking Song''	245	(1)
Poem in the Jueju Form	245	(1)
Wang Anshi (1021--1086)	245	(1)
Plums Blossoms	246	(1)
Late Spring, a Poem Improvised at Banshan	246	(1)
Su Shi (Su Dongpo) (1036--1101)	246	(7)
Written on the North Tower Wall After Snow	247	(1)
Written While Living at Dinghui Temple in Huangzhou, to the Tune of ``Divination Song''	248	(1)
Written in Response to Ziyou's Poem About Days in Mianchi	248	(1)
Boating at Night on West Lake	248	(1)
Brushed on the Wall of Xilin Temple	249	(1)
from Rain on the Festival of Cold Food	249	(1)
Because of a Typhoon I Stayed at Gold Mountain for Two Days	249	(1)
To the Tune of ``Song of the River Town,'' a Record of a Dream on the Night of the First Month, Twentieth Day, in the Eighth Year of the Xining Period (1705)	250	(1)
To the Tune of ``Prelude to the Water Song''	251	(1)
To the Tune of ``Butterflies Adore Flowers''	251	(1)
Recalling the Past at the Red Cliffs, to the Tune of ``Charms of Niannu''	252	(1)
Returning to Lingao at Night, to the Tune of ``Immortal by the River''	252	(1)
Qin Guan (1049--1100)	253	(1)
To the Tune of ``Magpie Bridge Immortal''	253	(1)
Madam Wei (FL. C. 1050)	254	(2)
To the Tune of ``Bodhisattva Barbarian''	254	(1)
To the Tune of ``Bodhisattva Barbarian''	255	(1)
To the Tune of ``Attached to Her Skirt''	255	(1)
Nie Shenqiong (Uncertain Dates)	256	(1)
To the Tune of ``Partridge Sky''	256	(1)
Anonymous (``The Girl Who Took The Gold Cup'') (Early Twelfth Century)	257	(1)
To the Tune of ``Partridge Sky''	257	(1)
Zhou Bangyan (1056--1121)	258	(2)
To the Tune of ``Rambling Young Man''	258	(1)
To the Tune of ``Butterflies Adore Flowers''	259	(1)
Willows, to the Tune of ``King of Lanling''	259	(1)
Zhu Shuzhen (1063--1106)	260	(2)
To the Tune of ``Mountain Hawthorn''	261	(1)
To the Tune of ``Mountain Hawthorn''	261	(1)
To the Tune of ``Washing Creek Sands''	261	(1)
Spring Complaint, to the Tune of ``Magnolia Blossoms''	262	(1)
The Song of A-na	262	(1)
Zhu Xizhen (Uncertain Dates)	262	(3)
from Fisherman, to the Tune of ``A Happy Event Draws Near''	263	(2)
Li Qingzhao (1084--C. 1151)	265	(4)
To the Tune of ``Intoxicated in the Shade of Flowers''	265	(1)
To the Tune of ``One Blossoming Sprig of Plum''	266	(1)
To the Tune of ``Spring at Wu Ling''	266	(1)
To the Tune of ``Silk-Washing Brook''	267	(1)
To the Tune of ``Dream Song''	267	(1)
To the Tune of ``Immortal by the River''	267	(1)
To the Tune of ``Lone Wild Goose''	268	(1)
To the Tune of ``The Fisherman's Song''	268	(1)
To the Tune of ``Butterflies Adore Blossoms''	269	(1)
Lu You (1125--1210)	269	(4)
On the Fourth Day of the Eleventh Month During a Windy Rainstorm	270	(1)
Record of Dream, Sent to Shi Bohun, to the Tune of ``Night Roaming in the Palace''	270	(1)
Thinking of Going Outside on a Rainy Day	270	(1)
To the Tune of ``Phoenix Hairpin''	271	(1)
The Sheng Garden	272	(1)
To My Sons	272	(1)
Tang Wan (Uncertain Dates)	273	(1)
Tang Wan's Reply, to the Tune of ``Phoenix Hairpin''	273	(1)
Yang Wanli (1127--1206)	274	(1)
Cold Sparrows	274	(1)
Xin Qiji (1140--1207)	274	(2)
Written on a Wall in the Boshan Temple, to the Tune of ``Ugly Servant''	275	(1)
The Night of the Lantern Festival, to the Tune of ``Green Jade Table''	275	(1)
Village Life, to the Tune of ``Clear Peaceful Happiness''	276	(1)
Jiang Kui (1155--1221)	276	(3)
Preface to ``Hidden Fragrance'' and ``Sparse Shadows''	277	(1)
Hidden Fragrance	277	(1)
Sparse Shadows	278	(1)
Yan Rui (FL. C. 1160)	279	(1)
To the Tune of ``Song of Divination''	280	(1)
Yuan Haowen (1190--1257)	280	(3)
Living in the Mountains	281	(1)
Dreaming of Home	282	(1)
from In May of 1233, I Ferried Across to the North	282	(1)
Wu Wenying (C. 1200--C. 1260)	283	(3)
Departure, to the Tune of ``The Song of Tangduo''	283	(1)
To the Tune of ``Washing Creek Sands''	284	(1)
To the Tune of ``Prelude to Oriole Song''	284	(2)
Liu Yin (1249--1293)	286	(1)
Reading History	286	(1)
Mountain Cottage	286	(1)
Yuan Dynasty (1280--1367)	287	(14)
Zheng Yunniang (Uncertain Dates)	288	(2)
The Song of Shoes	289	(1)
To the Tune of ``West River Moon''	289	(1)
Zhao Mengfu (1254--1322)	290	(2)
Guilt at Leaving the Hermit's Life	290	(1)
Poem in the Jueju Form	291	(1)
Ma Zhiyuan (C. 1260--1334)	292	(3)
To the Tune of ``Thinking About Nature''	293	(1)
Autumn Thoughts, to the Tune of ``Sky-Clear Sand''	293	(1)
Autumn Thoughts, to the Tune of ``Sailing at Night''	293	(2)
Guan Daosheng (1262--1319)	295	(2)
Love Poem	295	(1)
Fisherman's Song	296	(1)
Jie Xisi (1274--1344)	297	(1)
Written on a Cold Night	297	(1)
Fishing Folk	297	(1)
A Portrait of Ducks	298	(1)
Sa Duci (C. 1300--C. 1355)	298	(3)
from Shangjing Instant Poems	299	(1)
Autumn Day by a Pond	299	(1)
To a Zheng Player	299	(2)
Ming Dynasty (1368--1644)	301	(22)
Zhang Yu (1333--1385)	303	(1)
Song of the Relay Boats	303	(1)
Gao Qi (1336--1374)	304	(2)
Where Is My Sorrow From?	304	(1)
Passing by a Mountain Cottage	305	(1)
Lying Idle While It Rains	305	(1)
Shen Zhou (1427--1509)	306	(1)
Inscription for a Painting	306	(1)
Thoughts Sent to a Monk	306	(1)
Zhu Yunming (1461--1527)	307	(1)
Taking a Nap by a Mountain Window	307	(1)
Tang Yin (1470--1524)	308	(2)
In Reply to Shen Zhou's Poems on Falling Petals	309	(1)
Boating on Tai Lake	309	(1)
Thoughts	310	(1)
Xu Zhenqing (1479--1511)	310	(1)
Written at Wuchang	311	(1)
Yang Shen (1488--1599)	311	(1)
On Spring	312	(1)
Wang Shizhen (1526--1590)	312	(1)
Saying Good-bye to My Young Brother	313	(1)
Climbing Up the Taibai Tower	313	(1)
Gao Panlong (1562--1626)	313	(2)
Idle in Summer	314	(1)
Xie Zhaozhe (1567--1624)	315	(1)
Spring Complaints	315	(1)
Yuan Hongdao (1568--1610)	316	(1)
At Hengtang Ferry	316	(1)
Anonymous Erotic Poetry, Collected By Feng Menglong (1574--1646)	317	(3)
Untitled	317	(1)
A Dragging Cotton Skirt	318	(1)
Clever	318	(1)
Lantern	318	(1)
The Bento Box	318	(1)
Shooting Star	319	(1)
The Boat	319	(1)
A Boat Trip	319	(1)
A Nun in Her Orchid Chamber Solitude Feels Lust Like a Monster	319	(1)
We're Only Happy About Tonight	320	(1)
Zhang Dai (1597--1684)	320	(3)
from Ten Scenes of the West Lake: Broken Bridge in Melting Snow	321	(2)
Qing Dynasty (1644--1911)	323	(26)
Ji Yinhuai (Seventeenth Century)	324	(1)
Improvised Scene Poem	325	(1)
Wang Wei (C. 1600--C. 1647)	325	(1)
To the Tune of ``Drunk in the Spring Wind''	325	(1)
Feng Ban (1602--1671)	326	(1)
A Poem in Jest	326	(1)
Wu Weiye (1609--1672)	327	(1)
On Meeting an Old Flame, to the Tune of ``Immortal by the River''	327	(1)
Huang Zongxi (1610--1695)	328	(1)
A Stray Poem Written While Living in the Mountains	328	(1)
Qian Chengzhi (1612--1693)	329	(1)
A Stray Poem Written in the Fields	329	(1)
Nalanxinde (1654--1685)	330	(1)
To the Tune of ``Endless Longing''	330	(1)
To the Tune of ``Washing Creek Sands''	330	(1)
To the Tune of ``Bodhisattva Barbarian''	331	(1)
To the Tune of ``Mulberry-Picking Song''	331	(1)
Wang Jiuling (D. 1710)	331	(1)
Inscription for an Inn	332	(1)
Zheng Xie (1693--1765)	332	(3)
On Painting Bamboo for Governor Bao in My Office in Wei County	333	(1)
Homecoming Song	333	(2)
Yuan Mei (1716--1798)	335	(3)
from Improvisations	335	(1)
A Scene	336	(1)
On the Twelfth Day of the Second Month	336	(1)
An Improvisation	336	(1)
Meeting a Visitor	336	(1)
Sitting Still	337	(1)
Inscription for a Painting	337	(1)
A Poem Sent to Fish Gate	337	(1)
from Twenty-two Miscellaneous Poems on the Lake	337	(1)
Temple in the Wild	338	(1)
Mocking Myself for Planting Trees	338	(1)
Jiang Shiquan (1725--1785)	338	(1)
A Comment on Wang Shigu's Painting Portfolio	339	(1)
Zhao YI (1727--1814)	339	(2)
from Reading at Leisure	340	(1)
In a Boat	340	(1)
On Poetry	340	(1)
from Poem Composed While Living at Houyuan Garden	341	(1)
Wu Zao (1799--1863)	341	(3)
To the Tune of ``Song of Flirtation''	342	(1)
To the Tune of ``Beautiful Lady Yu''	342	(1)
Feelings Recollected on Returning from Fahua Mountain on a Wintry Day, to the Tune of ``Waves Scour the Sands''	343	(1)
To the Tune of ``A Song of the Cave Immortals''	343	(1)
To the Tune of ``Clear and Even Music''	344	(1)
To the Tune of ``Washing Creek Sands''	344	(1)
Qiu Jin (1879--1907)	344	(2)
A Poem Written at Mr. Ishii's Request and Using the Same Rhymes as His Poem	345	(1)
Letter to Xu Jichen	345	(1)
Su Manshu (The Half Monk) (1884--1918)	346	(3)
from Ten Narrative Poems	346	(1)
To the Zither Player	347	(2)
From Modern to Contemporary (1911--Present)	349	(74)
Mao Zedong (1893--1976)	353	(8)
Changsha	354	(1)
Tower of the Yellow Crane	355	(1)
Warlords	356	(1)
Kunlun Mountain	357	(1)
Loushan Pass	358	(1)
Snow	358	(1)
from Saying Good-bye to the God of Disease	359	(1)
To Guo Moruo	360	(1)
Xu Zhimo (1895--1931)	361	(2)
You Deserve It	362	(1)
Farewell Again to Cambridge	362	(1)
Wen Yiduo (1899--1946)	363	(7)
Miracle	364	(3)
Perhaps	367	(1)
The Confession	367	(1)
The Heart Beats	368	(1)
Dead Water	369	(1)
The End	370	(1)
Li Jinfa (1900--1976)	370	(2)
Abandoned Woman	371	(1)
Lin Huiyin (1904--1955)	372	(1)
Sitting in Quietude	373	(1)
Dai Wangshu (1905--1950)	373	(4)
A Chopped-off Finger	374	(1)
A Rainy Lane	375	(1)
Written on a Prison Wall	376	(1)
Feng Zhi (1905--1993)	377	(4)
Sonnet 1. ``Our hearts are ready to experience''	377	(1)
Sonnet 2. ``Whatever can be shed we jettison''	378	(1)
Sonnet 6. ``I often see in the wild meadows''	378	(1)
Sonnet 16. ``We stand together on a mountain's crest''	379	(1)
Sonnet 21. ``Listening to the rainstorm and the wind''	379	(1)
Sonnet 23. (On a Puppy)	380	(1)
Sonnet 24. ``A thousand years ago this earth''	380	(1)
Sonnet 27. ``From freely flowing water, undefined''	381	(1)
Ai Qing (1910--1996)	381	(2)
Gambling Men	382	(1)
Bian Zhilin (1910--)	383	(3)
Entering the Dream	383	(1)
Fragment	384	(1)
Loneliness	384	(1)
Migratory Birds	384	(1)
Train Station	385	(1)
He Qifang (1912--1977)	386	(2)
Autumn	386	(1)
Shrine to the Earth God	387	(1)
Luo Fu (1928--)	388	(5)
Song of Everlasting Regret	388	(5)
Bei Dao (1949--)	393	(14)
Night: Theme and Variations	395	(1)
Ordinary Days	396	(1)
Country Night	396	(1)
A Decade	397	(1)
Response	397	(1)
A Step	398	(1)
Elegy	399	(1)
Nightmare	400	(1)
Many Years	400	(1)
Sweet Tangerines	401	(1)
A Formal Declaration	401	(1)
Ancient Monastery	402	(1)
Requiem	403	(1)
The Morning's Story	403	(1)
Coming Home at Night	404	(1)
Rebel	405	(1)
Asking the Sky	405	(1)
Untitled	406	(1)
Delivering Newspapers	407	(1)
Duo Duo (1951--)	407	(2)
Bell Sound	408	(1)
Five Years	409	(1)
Shu Ting (1952--)	409	(6)
Two or Three Incidents Recollected	410	(1)
Perhaps	411	(1)
Missing You	411	(1)
Dream of an Island	412	(1)
Mirror	413	(1)
A Night at the Hotel	414	(1)
Yang Lian (1955--)	415	(5)
An Ancient Children's Tale	416	(1)
An Elegy for Poetry	417	(2)
To a Nine-Year-Old Girl Killed in the Massacre	419	(1)
Ha Jin (1956--)	420	(3)
Our Words	420	(1)
They Come	421	(2)
Permissions Acknowledgments	423	(6)
Index of Authors	429	(1)
Pinyin Finding List	429	(4)
Wade-Giles Finding List	433

Excerpts

ZHOU DYNASTY

(1122-256 BCE)

Though Chinese civilization stretches back to Neolithic times, the earliest known dynasty, the Xia, is of limited importance to a discussion of Chinese literature, as there is no evidence that a written language was in use. The succeeding dynasty, the Shang, was a Bronze Age agricultural civilization. During the Shang, characters were written on oracle bones (usually made of turtle shell or cattle shoulder bones, and later on bamboo strips, silk, and bronze), but no literature from this time is extant.

The Shang were overthrown by the king of Zhou, a small dependent nation in the Wei River Valley in the western Shang territory, and thus began the Zhou dynasty, the first great period of Chinese literature. It was during the Zhou dynasty that the doctrine that the Chinese King was exercising a "Mandate of Heaven" in his rule developed. It later became an extremely important doctrine both to justify imperial rule and to explain the fall of an empire (should an emperor prove corrupt or weak, heaven would remove his mandate). The Zhou dynasty is the longest of China's many dynasties, and is divided into the Western Zhou (1122-771 BCE) and the Eastern Zhou (771-256 BCE), as the Zhou were forced out of their capital at Xian by barbarian invaders from the north, and moved east to found their new capital in Luoyang. The Eastern Zhou is itself subdivided into the Spring and Autumn Period (771-481 BCE) and the Warring States Period (463-221 BCE). The troubled Warring States Period marked the waning years of the dynasty. Such great thinkers, moralists, and philosophers as Confucius, Mencius, Laozi, and Zhuangzi lived during the Eastern Zhou. It was the time of the Hundred Schools of Thought, the golden age of Chinese philosophy, when the great traditions of Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism, Militarism, and Mohism developed. In this period, itinerant thinkers traveled with their followers, finding employment with rulers, who would seek their advice on warfare, morality, diplomacy, and government. The Zhou dynasty eventually weakened to the point where it ruled only in name, as seven powerful warring states vied for dominance. In 221 BCE, the ruler of a western state emerged triumphant from the ongoing warfare and unified China, naming himself Shi Huangdi (the "first emperor") and beginning the Qin dynasty. After eight hundred years, heaven had removed its mandate from the Zhou at last.

The three Zhou dynasty texts presented here are the source of Chinese poetic literature, evolving out of the beginnings of Chinese writing, and foreshadowing what was to come in this extraordinary three thousand year tradition. Chinese poetry begins with the Book of Songs, comprised of folk songs, hymns, and court songs collected largely from ordinary people living along the Yellow River, and putatively edited by Confucius himself (thus the collection is sometimes referred to as the Confucian Odes). The fact that the Chinese poetic tradition begins with folk poetry reworked and set to music has meant that the long tradition of Chinese poetry written by the nobility has often striven for a sense of folk authenticity to blend with the master poet's craft and skill, simplicity balancing elegance. The four-character verses in the Book of Songs are the model for shi poetry, whose variations came to dominate classical Chinese poetry for the next two thousand years.

The Book of Songs is one of the Confucian classics, studied throughout Chinese history by the nobility and by those who wished to rise in society as scholar-officials. Poetry is held to be one of the great arts that educated Chinese men (and sometimes women) should know and be able to practice. In fact, poetry has been in the mainstream of literary expression in Chinese literature, and so it is often afforded great powers of influence in the Chinese critical tradition. The "Great Preface" to the Book of Songs states that poetry is a Confucian rectifier that establishes the proper relationships between spouses, encourages respect and loyalty for the old, strengthens human ties, improves civilizations, and excises bad customs. In the Analects, Confucius often mentions the Songs. In Analect 2.2, for example, he states, "There are 300 Songs, but they can be summed up with one phrase: let your thoughts be free of depravity." Poetry serves a moral purpose, according to Confucius, "stimulating the reader, and making him observant, sociable, and capable of expressing his grievances," while at the same time "helping him to serve his family and his King" (Analect 17.8). Though the poems in the Book of Songs were in fact simply songs of the peasants, they were read as moral allegories, or as analogues to political and historical events.

The second text presented here is the marvelous, riddling, profound, and elegantly difficult Dao De Jing of Laozi (better known in the West by an earlier transliteration as the Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu). As the Book of Songs stands as one of the key texts that gave birth to the Confucian tradition, so the Dao De Jing (along with another great text, the Zhuangzi) stands as the source of the great religious and philosophical tradition of Daoism, and ultimately of Chinese Buddhism, which blended with Daoism in a particularly Chinese philosophical and spiritual mélange. Though it is not normally considered to be poetry, the Dao De Jing translates as marvelous poetry. A selection from it can help give Western readers an understanding of the concepts that underlie so many of the great Daoist and Buddhist poets in China who were to come later.

The final text in this section is a selection from the great long poem Encountering Sorrow, by Qu Yuan (c. 332-c. 295 bce). This poem comes from the Verses of Chu, the second great early anthology of Chinese poetry, which included Qu Yuan's poetry, as well as that of a later poet, Song Yu. Encountering Sorrow and other poems in the collection tell of how Qu Yuan's dedication to his king was rewarded with banishment, leading him to drown himself in despair. The poems are celebrated for their Confucian dedication to duty. The work of Qu Yuan represents the beginning of an ornate literary tradition in China, which is counterbalanced by the simpler, vernacular, folk tradition of the Book of Songs. His poems are also the source of Chinese fu poetry, an irregular blend of poetry and prose that was to become an important part of the Chinese tradition. Fu poems usually begin and conclude with prose passages, with rhymed poetry in the center.

Qu Yuan is supposedly the first Chinese poet whose name we know (though in fact there are a few cases in the Book of Songs in which a poet's name is embedded). That the Verses of Chu begins the tradition of named poetry in China is more important than one might think. When one knows a poet's name, and something of his or her life, one gets a powerful sense of human connection to the person behind the poem. As poets name the world, so their own names name something to us as readers-a life and, perhaps more important, a lifework. Though the songs from the Books of Songs can often feel personal, they are almost exclusively anonymous and written to set generic topics. Thus, despite their allusive and elaborate nature, the poems of Qu Yuan are the fountainhead of personal poetry in China.

BOOK OF SONGS

(c. 600 bce)

The Book of Songs is the earliest anthology of Chinese poetry, and the thematic and formal source of the Chinese poetic tradition. The Chinese name for the Book of Songs is the Shi Jing, and the term shi (the general term for poetry, like the Japanese term waka) derives from its name. Legend has it that its 305 poems were compiled by Confucius (551-479 bce) from an earlier manuscript of around three thousand songs. The assertion that Confucius was the compiler is questionable, but certainly the anthology was extant in Confucius's time, and it seems likely that the anthology was collected between 1100 and 600 bce. Confucius refers to the Book of Songs in the Analects, and it was part of the curriculum of his disciples; it is counted among the Confucian classics that form the basis of Confucian education. The collection was banned in the third century bce, along with the other Confucian classics, but was reconstructed during the Han dynasty, and the edition that is most complete derives from this time.

The Book of Songs contains three basic categories of song: folk songs and ballads, court songs, and sacrificial songs. Like the Sanskrit Vedas of India, these songs provide us with a window onto the simple and beautiful life of an ancient time. Heroes and ancestors are praised, love is made, war is waged, farmers sing to their crops, people complain about their taxes, and moral categories are set forth in stark and powerful form. Though these are songs, the music has been lost, and some of them have been revised from folk song roots by court musicians, rhymed and arranged into stanzas. Others were aristocratic songs, songs to be sung to accompany ritual dancing, or to accompany the rites of ancestor worship.

White Moonrise

The white rising moon

is your bright beauty

binding me in spells

till my heart's devoured.

The light moon soars

resplendent like my lady,

binding me in light chains

till my heart's devoured.

Moon in white glory,

you are the beautiful one

who delicately wounds me

till my heart's devoured.

Translated by Tony Barnstone

and Willis Barnstone

Fruit Plummets from the Plum Tree

Fruit plummets from the plum tree

but seven of ten plums remain.

You gentlemen who would court me,

come on a lucky day.

Fruit plummets from the plum tree

but three of ten plums still remain.

You men who want to court me,

come now, today is a lucky day!

Fruit plummets from the plum tree.

You can fill up your baskets.

Gentlemen if you want to court me,

just say the word.


Serene Girl

The serene girl is pretty,

waiting for me at the corner.

She loves me but hides from me.

I scratch my head, walking back and forth.

That serene girl is tender,

she gave me a red straw.

The red straw shines;

I love this beauty.

It was picked in the fields.

It is beautiful and rare.

It isn't the straw that is so beautiful

but that it's a gift from a beauty.

In the Wilds Is a Dead River-Deer

In the wilds is a dead river-deer.

White rushes wrap her.

A lady yearns for someone dear.

A fine man seduces her.

In the woods are clustered bushes,

and in the wilds a river-deer is dead

and wrapped up in white rushes.

There is a lady as fine as jade.

Oh! Slow down, don't be so harsh,

let go of my girdle's sash.

Shhh! You'll make the dog bark.


All the Grasslands Are Yellow

All the grasslands are yellow

and all the days we march

and all the men are conscripts

sent off in four directions.

All the grasslands are black

and all the men like widowers.

So much grief! Are soldiers

not men like other men?

We aren't bison! We aren't tigers

crossing the wilderness,

but our sorrows

roam from dawn till dusk.

Hairy-tailed foxes slink

through the dark grass

as we ride tall chariots

along the wide rutted roads.


Ripe Millet*

Rows and rows of ripe millet,

the sorghum sprouts,

and I take long, slow walks

with a shaking, shaken heart.

My friends say,

"His heart is hurting"

but strangers wonder,

"What can he be looking for?"

O far, far blue heaven

what makes me feel this way?

Rows and rows of ripe millet,

the sorghum is in spike,

and I take long, slow walks

with a drunken heart.

My friends say,

"His heart is hurting"

but strangers wonder,

"What can he be looking for?"

O far, far blue heaven

what makes me feel this way?

Rows and rows of ripe millet,

the sorghum is all grain,

and I take long, slow walks

with a choking heart.

My friends say,

"His heart is hurting"

but strangers wonder,

"What can he be looking for?"

O far, far blue heaven

what makes me feel this way?


I Beg You, Zhongzi*

I beg you, Zhongzi,

don't come into my neighborhood,

don't break my willow twigs.

I'm not worried about the willow trees,

I'm afraid of my parents.

I do miss you

but I'm scared

of my parents' scolding.

I beg you, Zhongzi,

don't climb over my wall,

don't break my mulberry branches.

I'm not worried about my mulberry trees,

I'm afraid of my brothers.

I do miss you

but I'm scared

of my brothers' words.

I beg you, Zhongzi,

don't trespass into our orchard,

don't break my sandalwood boughs.

I'm not worried about the sandalwood trees,

I'm afraid of rumors.

I do miss you

but I'm scared

of people's gossip.


When the Gourd Has Dried Leaves*

When the gourd has dried leaves,

you can wade the deep river.

Keep your clothes on if the water's deep;

hitch up your dress when it's shallow.

The river is rising,

pheasants are chirping.

The water is just half a wheel deep,

and the hen is singing to the cock.

Wild geese are trilling,

the rising sun starts dawn.

If you want to marry me,

come before the river is frozen.

The ferryman is gesturing,

other people are going, but not me,

other people are going, but not me,

I'm waiting for you.


LAOZI

(c. fourth-third centuries bce)

Laozi was the legendary author of the Dao De Jing, a collection of prose and verse wisdom literature that is considered the seminal work of Daoism. Yet mysteries abound about Laozi and the Dao De Jing. It is by no means certain that a historical personage named Laozi ever existed. The collection itself was originally known simply as Laozi; since Laozi also means "old man," and there is evidence of a body of wisdom literature whose various book titles all translate as "elder" or "old man," it may be that this collection is the lone survivor of a lost genre. The title Dao De Jing (Classic of the Way and Its Power) was subsequently given to it. The Dao De Jing may be an anthology by diverse authors of sayings linked by common themes, or the work of one author augmented by later redactors. The traditional Laozi is said to have been an older contemporary of Confucius (551-479 bce), who instructed the younger sage in the rites, but this story seems not to have circulated until the third century bce. It is now thought that the text dates from no earlier than the third or fourth centuries bce. In the first century bce, the famous historian Sima Qian recounted the Confucius encounter and other stories about Laozi, which he gathered from sources now lost. The story about Laozi's writing the Dao De Jing follows:

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Excerpted from The Anchor Book of Chinese Poetry: From Ancient to Contemporary, the Full 3000-Year Tradition
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.