First of all, the important stuff Happy Mother's Day. The Tang Dynasty in China was considered something of a cultural Golden Age. Poetry in particular was held in high esteem. Any literate person would take pride in composing a poem. No homecoming or leave taking; no event was considered too small to have a poem lovingly composed for it's commemoration. The best of poetry from that era was collected in a famous anthology entitled The 300 Tang Dynasty Poems. If here click here, you will find a complete online version. Below is a sample of the Tang Dynasty poets' handiwork from that anthology.
MOORING AT TWILIGHT IN YUYI DISTRICT
Furling my sail near the town of Huai,
I find for harbour a little cove
Where a sudden breeze whips up the waves.
The sun is growing dim now and sinks in the dusk.
People are coming home. The bright mountain-peak darkens.
Wildgeese fly down to an island of white weeds.
...At midnight I think of a northern city-gate,
And I hear a bell tolling between me and sleep.
5 comments:
Never been a fan of Western poetry, but I do enjoy a lot of the Oriental ones. That is quite a collection!
"They were read for their effect on character," the into says. What a concept!
Sorry, I meant to write "intro," not "into."
We could do worse, couldn't we?
Lovely poem, and another beautiful photo too - where do you get them from?
Here's the link to an online version of the 300 Tang Dynasty Poems.
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