Chinese Poems

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This site presents Chinese, pinyin and English texts of poems by some of the greatest Chinese poets. Most of the featured authors are from the Tang dynasty, when culture in China was at its peak, but writers from other periods are also included.
Poems are listed by author below, or use the Subject Index. For further information about Chinese poems and about this site, read the FAQ or try the external links.

New:Several people have asked for the content of the site to be made available in hard copy. As a first instalment, I have prepared a book of the Du Fu translations, available here. This contains an introduction, the text of the article on Du Fu which I wrote for Wikipedia, and the translations from the site (in as close to the same layout as the format allows). I've ordered a couple of copies myself, and it's not too bad (not wonderful) as far as paper and cover quality go. The company delivers worldwide. If enough people tell me that they like this one, I'll try to get round to doing the same for the other poets.

Read: reviews of Burton Watson's Selected Poems of Du Fu, Kenneth Rexroth's One Hundred Poems from the Chinese, Arthur Cooper's Li Po and Tu Fu and Wai-lim Yip's Chinese Poetry, or buy recommended books on Chinese poems, literature, language and culture from Amazon in The Bookstore.

Featured poets:
Bai Juyi (白居易) [772- 846] uses very simple language, and is therefore particularly accessible for the beginner. (17 poems).
Du Fu (杜甫)[712- 770] is widely acknowledged as the finest of the classical Chinese poets. His poems have a particularly sensitive feeling for humanity. (56 poems).
Du Mu (杜牧)[803- 852] was one of the foremost writers of the late Tang period. (9 poems).
Han Yu (韓愈)[768- 824] was a founder of Neo-Confucianism as well as a poet, and was exiled for his views. (3 poems).
Li Bai (李白)[701- 762] is the most popular Chinese poet, with a distinctively Romantic style. (21 poems).
Li Shangyin (李商隱)[813- 858] wrote verse which was allusive, but which nevertheless dealt with readily accessible themes of loss and parting. (3 poems).
Li Yu (李煜)[937- 978] was the last emperor of the Southern Tang dynasty, deposed in 975. His works focus on the memory of lost pleasures. (12 poems).
Liu Zongyuan (柳宗元)[773-819] was a Mid-Tang politician and another victim of political intrigues. (3 poems).
Mei Yaochen (梅堯臣)[1002-1060] lived in the Song dynasty, and wrote simple, moving poems of everyday life and of mourning for his family. (6 poems).
Meng Haoran (孟浩然)[689- 740] was associated with Wang Wei, and was himself one of the greatest poets of the High Tang. (11 poems).
Ouyang Xiu (歐陽修)[1007- 1072] was one of the pioneers of serious ci poetry in the Song dynasty. A self-taught polymath, his works express a warm, self-deprecatory persona (10 poems).
Su Shi (蘇軾)[1037- 1101], also known as Su Dongpo, was the most important of the Song dynasty poets. (8 poems).
Tao Qian (陶潛)[365- 427] wrote about his decision to abandon public life and return to live among nature. He was a major influence on Wang Wei. (3 poems).
Wang Wei (王維)[701- 761] is one of the three most admired Tang dynasty poets, alongside Du Fu and Li Bai. A painter as well as a poet, he is known above all for his miniaturist celebrations of nature. (20 poems).
Other Poets 19 poems by Cao Cao, Cui Hao and others, plus anonymous Yue Fu folk songs.
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