Journal Entry 1 As far as Chō-fū-Sa.

Tang Dynasty/Tang Poetry Jade Flower Palace

Tang dynasty, or T'ang dynasty, (618-907) Chinese
dynasty that succeeded the short-lived Sui and By Tu Fu
became a golden age for poetry, sculpture, andThe stream swirls The wind moans in
Buddhism. The Tang Dynasty (618-907) is the The pines. Gray rats scurry over
Broken tiles What prince, long ago,
golden age of both China and its poetry. And not
Built this palace, standing in
just that — there is probably no time and place in
world history when poetry was more important. Ruins beside the cliffs? There are
The imperial exam, a ticket into the social elite,
Green ghost fires in the black rooms.
required test-takers to be thoroughly familiar with
The shattered pavements are all
poetry. Washed away Ten thousand organ
A River -Merchant’s Wife: A Letter Pipes whistle and roar. The storm
By Li Po Scatters the red autumn leaves.
While my hair was still cut straight across my His dancing girls are yellow dust.
forehead Their painted cheeks have crumbled
I played about the front gate, pulling flowers. Away His gold chariots
You came by on bamboo stilts, playing horse, And courtiers are gone. Only
You walked about my seat, playing with blue A stone horse is left of his
plums. Glory I sit on the grass and
And we went on living in the village of Chōkan: Start a poem, but the pathos of
Two small people, without dislike or suspicion. It overcomes me. The future
At fourteen I married My Lord you. Slips imperceptibly away
I never laughed, being bashful. Who can say what the years will bring?
Lowering my head, I looked at the wall. A Song of An Autumn Night
Called to, a thousand times, I never looked
back.
By Wang Wei
At fifteen I stopped scowling,
I desired my dust to be mingled with yours Under the crescent moon a light
Forever and forever, and forever. autumn dew
Why should I climb the look out? Has chilled the robe she will not change
—
At sixteen you departed And she touches a silver lute all night,
You went into far Ku-tō-en, by the river of Afraid to go back to her empty room.
swirling eddies,
And you have been gone five months. .Return to Chiang Village (Tu Fu)
The monkeys make sorrowful noise overhead.
Shaggy red clouds in the west-
You dragged your feet when you went out. the sun’s foot is down to level earth.
By the gate now, the moss is grown, the By the wicker gate, sparrows are
different mosses, chirping.
Too deep to clear them away! The traveler returns from over a
The leaves fall early this autumn, in wind. thousand li.
The paired butterflies are already yellow with Wife and children panic at my presence;
August quieted, they still wipe tears.
Over the grass in the West garden; In this age of turmoil, I floated and
They hurt me. meandered.
I grow older. A miracle of chance to return alive!
Neighbors crowd the fence tops
If you are coming down through the narrows of
and also sigh and sob.
the river Kiang, In the deep night, we are again holding
Please let me know beforehand, candles,
And I will come out to meet you facing each other as in a dream.