Ode to the Autumn Breeze [Tang Poems]

— Liu Yuxi

Gone with yellow chrysanthemums last year,

You come back when cicada’s song I hear.

Your soughing wakes me from dreams at midnight,

A year’s wrinkles are seen in mirror bright.

Steeds missing frontier grass with bristles rise;

Eagles longing for clouds open sleepy eyes.

I’ll gaze my fill into the boundless sky;

Though ill, for you I’ll mount the tower high.

Note

Liu Yuxi (772–842) was a prominent poet, philosopher, and statesman of the Tang Dynasty, known for his resilience, intellectual depth, and distinctive poetic voice. Often grouped with Bai Juyi as one of the great literary figures of the mid-Tang period, Liu endured decades of political exile due to his reformist views, yet his poetry consistently reflects optimism, philosophical clarity, and a defiant spirit in the face of adversity.

One of his notable works is “First Hearing the Autumn Wind” (Shi Wen Qiu Feng). Unlike traditional Chinese poems that lament autumn as a season of decay and sorrow, Liu Yuxi’s poem greets the autumn wind with vigor and anticipation. The speaker – though aged – feels reawakened by the crisp wind, comparing himself to a seasoned warhorse that still longs to charge into battle. The poem transforms autumn from a symbol of decline into one of clarity, energy, and renewed purpose.

This bold reimagining embodies Liu Yuxi’s characteristic “poetry of strength”, challenging convention and celebrating inner resilience. In “First Hearing the Autumn Wind,” the arrival of fall is not an end, but a call to action – a reminder that wisdom and willpower endure beyond youth.

始闻秋风
— 刘禹锡

昔看黄菊与君别，

今听玄蝉我却回。

五夜飕飗枕前觉，

一年颜状镜中来。

马思边草拳毛动，

雕盼青云睡眼开。

天地肃清堪四望，

为君扶病上高台。