SuaveG – The Gentle Path

Chinese mythology, folktales, and literature

Huang Tingjian

  • Reproving My Sons

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    — by Tao Yuanming (Jin Dynasty) White hair drapes across both my temples,My skin and flesh are firm no more.Though I have five sons,Not one takes pleasure in paper and brush.A-Shu has reached twice eight,Yet in laziness he has no equal.A-Xuan approaches the age of aspiring to learn,But has no love for letters and…

  • Record of a Walnut Boat

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    -by Wei Xueyi (Ming Dynasty) In the Ming dynasty, there was a remarkably skilled craftsman named Wang Shuyuan, who could carve palaces, vessels, human figures, birds, beasts, trees, and rocks – all from a piece of wood no larger than an inch in diameter. He shaped each object according to the natural form of…

  • Pavilion of Pine Breeze [Chinese calligraphy]

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    Huang Tingjian (1045–1105 CE) was a leading poet, calligrapher, and scholar of the Northern Song Dynasty, and one of the “Four Masters of the Song.” He developed a highly distinctive calligraphic style known for its rhythmic tension, angular brushstrokes, and dynamic composition.