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Farewell to Du Shenyan [Tang Poems]
— Song Zhiwen Ill, visited by none each day, I sigh for you’ll go far away. I cannot bid farewell to you. Let riverside tree say adieu! A hero may not serve till old; A poet’s drowned in river cold. The precious sword of Dragon’s Fountain Might still shine bright though in deep mountain.
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Biography of Master Five Willows
by Tao Yuanming (Eastern Jin Dynasty) The gentleman’s origins are unknown, and his name and surname are unrecorded. Since five willow trees grew beside his home, he took “Master Five Willows” as his sobriquet.
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The Foolish Old Man Who Moved the Mountains
– by Lie Yukou (Liezi) Mount Taihang and Mount Wangwu spanned seven hundred li in area and rose ten thousand ‘ren’ high. Originally, they stood south of Jizhou and north of Heyang. To the north of these mountains lived an old man known as “Foolish Old Man of the North Mountain.” He was nearly…
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The Art of Oral Imitation
-by Lin Sihuan (Qing Dynasty) In the capital, there was a master of kouji – the art of vocal mimicry (also translate to oral imitation).
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Record of a Night Walk at Chengtian Temple
– by Su Shi (Song Dynasty) On the night of the twelfth day of the tenth month in the sixth year of Yuanfeng, I had just taken off my clothes and was about to sleep when the moonlight shone through my door. Delighted, I got up and went for a walk. Thinking there was…