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Self-Elegy
The year is Dingmao (丁卯), and the month corresponds to Wushe (无射, the ninth lunar month). The weather is cold, the nights are long, and the wind is bleak and desolate. The wild geese are migrating, and the grass and trees have turned yellow and shed their leaves. I, Master Tao, am about to…
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Harvesting Dryland Rice in the Western Fields in Mid-September of the Gengxu Year
Human life must follow a certain path;Clothing and food are undeniably its foundation.Who can neglect these basic needs,And yet hope to find peace of mind?When spring arrives, I attend to my regular farm work;As the year progresses, the harvest becomes rewarding.I go out at dawn to apply my modest toil,And return at sunset carrying…
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Miscellaneous Poems (5 of 12)
I remember my youth and prime,When, without any specific cause, my heart was naturally filled with joy.My fierce ambitions soared beyond the four seas;Like a bird spreading its wings, I longed to fly far into the sky.But as the years slipped away and my vigor faded,This spirit gradually departed from me.Even when encountering joy,…
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三十年河东，三十年河西 (sān shí nián hé dōng, sān shí nián hé xī)
This Chinese idiom comes from Yellow River’s historical river‑course changes and Tang‑Dynasty folk legend, later recorded in The Scholars. It illustrates that wealth and status are not permanent. One’s family may enjoy great prosperity for decades and then sink into hardship, reminding people that worldly luck is always subject to change.
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Returning to My Fields and Gardens (4 of 5)
– by Tao Yuanming (Jin Dynasty) Long have I been away from wandering the mountains and streams;Now I roam freely, finding joy in the boundless woods and fields.Gathering my children and nephews, I take them along,Pushing aside the brambles to walk through the ruined village.Wandering among the burial mounds,I linger affectionately by the sites…