emotional restraint

  • Seeing Du Fourteenth off to the East [Tang Poems]

    — Meng Haoran The east and west are joined by boundless water clear; On the endless spring river goes the boat you steer. Where will you moor it at sunset far, far apart? Can I not gaze far, far away with broken heart!

  • Farewell to Prefect Du [Tang Poems]

    — 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…

  • Falling Flowers [Tang Poems]

    — Li Shangyin The guest has left my tower high, My garden flowers pell-mell fly. Here and there over the winding way They say goodbye to parting day. I won’t sweep them with broken heart, But wish they would not fall apart. Their love with spring won’t disappear, Each dewdrop turns into a tear.

  • The Analects – Chapter 12.6

    Zi Zhang asked about clarity (or discernment). The Master said, “If insidious slander—like water slowly soaking in—and urgent, emotionally charged accusations—like a wound to the skin—cannot take hold with you, you may be called ming. If such slander and complaints find no traction in you, you may also be called farsighted.”

  • The Analects – Chapter 11.11

    After Yan Hui died, Confucius’s disciples wanted to give him an elaborate funeral. The Master said, “You must not do that.” Nevertheless, they gave him a lavish burial. Confucius then said, “Hui regarded me as a father, yet I was not allowed to treat him as a son. It was not my doing –…

  • The transactional bond between the Chivalrous Maiden and Scholar Gu

    In Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio: The Chivalrous Maiden, the relationship between the maiden and scholar Gu is complex and ambiguous — devoid of traditional “romantic love.” Their interactions orbit obligation, mission, and ethics, marked by restraint, detachment, and pragmatism rather than mutual affection.