SuaveG – The Gentle Path

Chinese mythology, folktales, and literature

Bai Juyi

  • Song of Jianjian

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    This page analyses Bai Juyi’s poem Song of Jianjian. It mourns a gifted thirteen‑year‑old girl’s premature death, exploring the bittersweet theme that the finest beauties and things in life are often fleeting and fragile.

  • Why a Respectable Job Tells You Nothing About a Person

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    This article draws on Han Feizi’s horse testing metaphor and Guan Zhong’s death‑bed warning. It argues titles or respectable jobs cannot prove character; true nature emerges only through long‑term observation under real‑life pressure.

  • On Freeing Speech, No. 3 of 5

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    This page analyses Bai Juyi’s poem On Freeing Speech No.3. Using Zhou Gong and Wang Mang examples, it argues true human character can only be judged by long‑term observation rather than superficial moments.

  • West Lake Water Shield Soup

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    In the culinary landscape of Hangzhou – a city celebrated for its misty hills, ancient temples, and the shimmering waters of West Lake – few dishes carry as much cultural weight as West Lake Water Shield Soup (西湖莼菜汤). Known locally as “Chicken and Ham Water Shield Soup” (鸡火莼菜汤), this humble yet elegant dish is…

  • The Reformist Ambition of the Liao Empress [Song & Yuan]

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    This article explores the reformist rule of Empress Dowager Xiao Chuo of the Liao Dynasty. After Emperor Jingzong’s death, she became regent for the young Emperor Shengzong and formed a close political alliance with Han Derang. Inspired by Tang governance, they launched sweeping reforms in law, taxation, slave emancipation, and official selection. They built…

  • Liu Yuxi

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    Liu Yuxi (772–842 CE) was a prominent literatus and poet of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Mengde, and he was a native of Luoyang (in present-day Henan Province).

  • The Old Charcoal Seller [Tang Poems]

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    – By Bai Juyi An old man, his face dusty and smudged with soot and ash,Burning charcoal in the Southern Mountains, his temples streaked with gray.Selling charcoal, what does he get?Just clothes for his body and food for his mouth.

  • Bai Juyi

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    Bai Juyi (772–846 CE) was a renowned poet of the Tang dynasty, with the courtesy name Letian. His ancestral home was Taiyuan (in present-day Shanxi), but his family later moved to Xiagui (modern-day Weinan, Shaanxi). 

  • Lamenting the Peony Blossoms [Tang Poems]

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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.