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— 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…
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— 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.…
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— Luo Binwang The hero left his friend With angry hair on end. The martyr’s now no more, The waves cold as of yore.
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— Bai Juyi I’m saddened by the courtyard peonies brilliant red, At dusk only two of them are left on their bed. I am afraid they can’t survive the morning blast, By lantern light I take a look at the long, long last.
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— Bai Juyi All flowers in late spring have fallen far and wide, But peach blossoms are full-blown on this mountainside. I oft regret spring’s gone without leaving its trace; I do not know it’s come up to adorn this place.
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— Yuan Zhen Around the cottage like Tao’s autumn flowers grow; Along the hedge I stroll until the sun slants low. Not that I favor partially the chrysanthemum, But it is the last flower after which none will bloom.
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— Li He The mason of Duanzhou has marvel-doing hands, Whetting his knife to carve blue clouds, aloft he stands. He grinds the stone in order to make an inkwell; Violet flowers look dim like cold blood shed pell-mell. Black flowers seem like spring at noon behind the screen; The pine-soot ink steeped in…