Chinese Poetry Quotes

“In the midst of a thousand clouds and countless waters
there is an idle person.
By day, he roams the green mountains,
at night, he returns to sleep beneath the cliff.
Quickly, the seasons pass
in serenity, with no worldly bonds.
How joyful! What does he depend upon?
Quiet, like a large autumn river.”
― Peter Levitt, The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

“Beneath the moon, chilly winds blow through the pines
as wisps of clouds arise.
So many mountain ridges layer into each other
for miles around!
The valley stream is quiet and clear --
I'm not done with this boundless joy.”
― Peter Levitt, The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

“Tears that are pearls, in ocean moonlight.”
― Li Shang-yin, The Poetry of Li Shang-yin

“Is it a comb, a fan, a torn dress, a curtain, a bed, an empty rice-bin? It hardly seems to matter. The Chinese poet makes a heart-breaking poetry out of these quite as naturally as Keats did out of the song of a nightingale heard in a spring garden. It is rarely dithyrambic, rarely high-pitched: part of its charm is its tranquility, its self-control. And the humblest reads it with as much emotion as the most learned.”
― Conrad Aiken

“Men do not trip over mountains: They fall over earth mounds.”
― Pierre Stephen Robert Payne, The White Pony: An Anthology of Chinese Poetry

“The dear earth everywhere
blossoms in spring and grows green anew!
Everywhere and forever blue is the horizon!
Forever ... Forever ...”
― Gustav Mahler

“We are the Descendants of the Mighty Dragon,
and we rise against the slander painting us as Beasts.
The wyrms are the ones spitting flames.
Not us because Eastern Dragons don’t breathe fire.”
― Phoenix Ning, Eastern Dragons Don't Breathe Fire

“Favors of the cut sleeve are generous,
Love of the half-eaten peach never dies.”
― Liu Zun

“In the deep and stormy night,

Ahead lies a barren wilderness.

Once past the barren wilderness,

There lies the path of the people.

Ah! In the darkness, countless paths —

How should I tread correctly?

God! Quickly, give me some light,

Let me run forward!

God quickly replies, Light?

I have none to find for you.

You want light?

You must create it yourself!”
― Zhu Ziqing 朱自清