SuaveG – The Gentle Path

Chinese mythology, folktales, and literature

  • Farewell to Prefect Du [Tang Poems]

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    Ana

    — Wang Bo You’ll leave the town walled far and wide For mist-veiled land by riverside. I feel on parting sad and drear For both of us are strangers here. If you have friends who know your heart, Distance cannot keep you apart. At crossroads where we bid adieu, Do not shed tears as…

  • Parting from Wang Wei [Tang Poems]

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    Ana

    — Meng Haoran Lonely, lonely, what is there to hope for? Day by day I come back without an end. I would seek fragrant grass in native shore. How I regret to part with my old friend! I’m one whom those in high place would elude, For there are few connoisseurs in the state.…

  • On the Lotus

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    Juan

    -by Zhou Dunyi (Song Dynasty) Among the flowers of land and water, many are lovely. During the Jin Dynasty, Tao Yuanming alone loved the chrysanthemum. Since the Tang Dynasty, people have greatly favored the peony.

  • On the Snake Catcher

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    Juan

    – by Liu Zongyuan (Tang Dynasty) In the wilds of Yongzhou, there lives a strange snake: black-bodied with white markings. Any grass or tree it touches withers and dies; if it bites a person, nothing can save them. Yet, once captured and dried, it becomes a potent medicine – capable of curing leprosy, paralysis,…

  • On Horses

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    Juan

    by Han Yu (Tang Dynasty) In the world, only after there is a Bo Le can there be a “thousand-li horse” (a steed capable of running a thousand li in a day, see the story to pay thousand gold for a deed horse). Such exceptional horses are always present – but true judges like…

  • The Three Gorges

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    Juan

    — by Li Daoyuan (Northern and Southern Dynasties) For seven hundred li through the Three Gorges, towering mountains line both banks without a single gap. Layer upon layer of cliffs and peaks shut out the sky and hide the sun. Only at high noon or midnight can one glimpse the sun or moon.