Yi River

  • Seasonal Journey

    — by Tao Yuanming (Jin Dynasty) Preface Seasonal Journey is a poem about an excursion in late spring. With my spring garments ready and the scenery in perfect harmony, I accompany only my own shadow on this solitary stroll. Joy and sorrow intertwine in my heart. Steadily moves the seasonal journey;Solemn and serene is…

  • Ode to Jing Ke

    — by Tao Yuanming (Jin Dynasty) Prince Dan of Yan was skilled at nurturing brave retainers,With a will to take vengeance against the mighty Qin.He gathered the finest among a hundred men,And at the year’s end, he found Master Jing.A gentleman dies for his soulmate;Drawing his sword, he departed from the capital of Yan.White…

  • Huan Wen’s Futile Northern Expeditions [Jin & Southern-Northern Dynasties]

    This article reviews Huan Wen’s three futile Northern Expeditions for Eastern Jin. He conquered Cheng-Han and nearly took Chang’an but hesitated at critical moments. Court distrust and supply failures led to defeat. His ambition reshaped Jin politics, yet his dream of recapturing the north died unfulfilled.

  • Wang Xizhi Seeks Immortals

    Wang Xizhi had practiced calligraphy with a brush at home for three years. Seeing that his calligraphy still fell short of mastery, he began to wonder: “Everyone says I’m clever. I’ve worked hard for three years, yet my calligraphy isn’t up to par. It must be either because my teacher wasn’t skilled enough or…

  • Farewell on River Yi [Tang Poems]

    — Luo Binwang The hero left his friend With angry hair on end. The martyr’s now no more, The waves cold as of yore.

  • The Fall of Lü Bu [Three Kingdoms]

    In the year 198 AD, the turbulent struggle for dominance in central China reached a critical juncture with the collapse of Lü Bu’s short-lived power in Xuzhou (Xu Province). Once a feared warrior who had twice driven Liu Bei from Xuzhou and nearly toppled Cao Cao in Yan Province, Lü Bu now faced the…

  • Earthquake

    On the seventeenth day of the sixth lunar month in the seventh year of the Kangxi reign period (1668) between seven and nine in the evening, there was a great earthquake.