Monthly Archives: April 29, 2023

Xu Xu’s Bird Talk – Interview with Professor Frederik Green

Xu Xu is a writer who was very famous in the 1930’s and 1940’s. He lived in China until 1949, he was one of the country’s most important writers during this period. Then, after the victory of the CCP, he, fearing for his safety, left for Hong Kong. He continued to write but drifted into […]

Liu Xijun – Song of Sadness

Liu Xijun was a princess. Her father and mother were executed when they rebelled against the emperor, her great uncle. Liu was sent to marry a king of the distant Wusun, a group of Central Asian herders that the emperor was trying to curry favor with. This is her poem. 

Li Bai – Hitting the Bottle

Today’s poem is by Li Bai, and its title is fairly long in English: “Going Down Zhongnan Mountain with Mountain Man Husi, Staying at His Place and Hitting the Bottle.” It involves questions of one’s role in the social world and drinking. It is one of the top 300 poems from the Tang Dynasty and […]