SuaveG – The Gentle Path

Chinese mythology, folktales, and literature

  • Wang Anshi

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    Ana

    Wang Anshi (1021–1086) was a preeminent statesman, reformer, and literary figure of the Northern Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Jiefu, and he adopted the sobriquet Banshan (“Half Hill”). Born in Linchuan, Fuzhou (modern-day Fuzhou, Jiangxi Province), Wang passed the imperial civil service examination in 1042 (the second year of the Qingli reign).

  • Lü Dongbin

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    Ana

    Lü Dongbin was a Daoist figure traditionally associated with the late Tang dynasty. He is best known as one of the legendary Eight Immortals Baxian) in Chinese folk religion and Daoist hagiography. His given name was Lü Yan (also written as “Yan”), courtesy name Dongbin, and sobriquet Chunyang Zi (“Master Pure Yang”). In the…

  • Seven-Character Octave – Reply to a Friend [Mao’s Poems]

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    Ana

    –Mao Zedong – 1961 Above Mount Jiuyi, white clouds fleet and fly,The imperial maidens ride the wind down from the sky.A speckled bamboo branch holds a thousand tears, nigh;Ten thousand rosy clouds form a hundred layers high.

  • Seven-Character Quatrain – Inscription for a Female Militant’s Photo [Mao’s Poems]

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    Ana

    –Mao Zedong, February 1961 Bright, brave, and keen with five-foot gun in hand,First light of dawn gilds the training ground.China’s sons and daughters hold lofty, bold command –They love arms, not rouge, their warrior hearts unbound.

  • Seven-Character Octave – Ascending Lu Shan [Mao’s Poems]

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    Ana

    –Mao Zedong, July 1, 1959 A peak thrusts up by the Great River’s side,We climb four hundred bends through green and wide.Cool eyes gaze out across the ocean’s tide,Warm winds bear rain o’er river skies abide.

  • Seven-Character Octave – Arriving in Shaoshan [Mao’s Poems]

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    Ana

    –Mao Zedong, June 1959 Faint dreams of old days curse time’s swift flowing tide,My homeland’s scenes recall thirty-two years’ pride.Red flags unfurl; serf’s halberds rise far and wide,Black hands hold high tyrant’s whips, cruel and applied.