I've started this blog again, I'm sorry about the broken link. I've put the blog back together - Donnie

Zhang Jiuling

ORCHID AND ORANGE I

Tender orchid-leaves in spring
And cinnamon- blossoms bright in autumn
Are as self- contained as life is,
Which conforms them to the seasons.
Yet why will you think that a forest-hermit,
Allured by sweet winds and contented with beauty,
Would no more ask to-be transplanted
THan Would any other natural flower?

this blog is hacked, see you in the flower garden of a Tang emperor.

Du Fu (712-770)

Qiang Village
Du Fu

Red clouds tower in the west,
The sun is sinking on the plain.
A sparrow chirps on the wicker gate,
I return from a thousand li away.
My wife and children are shocked to see me,
Then calm themselves and wipe their tears.
I floated through this disordered life,
By chance I have managed to return alive.
The neighbours all lean over the wall,
And they as well are sighing and sobbing.
Late at night we bring out candles,
And face each other as in a dream.

Lao Tzu (604 BC-531 BC)

“At the center of your being
you have the answer;
you know who you are
and you know what you want.”

Tao Qian (365-427)

Drinking Wine
Tao Qian

I made my home amidst this human bustle,
Yet I hear no clamour from the carts and horses.
My friend, you ask me how this can be so?
A distant heart will tend towards like places.
From the eastern hedge, I pluck chrysanthemum flowers,
And idly look towards the southern hills.
The mountain air is beautiful day and night,
The birds fly back to roost with one another.
I know that this must have some deeper meaning,
I try to explain, but cannot find the words.

Han Shan Te Ch'ing (c.1600)

Look upon the body as unreal,
an image in a mirror,
the reflection of the moon in water.
Contemplate the mind as formless,
yet bright and pure.

Not a single thought arising,
empty, yet perceptive;
still, yet illuminating;
complete like the great emptiness,
containing all that is wonderful.

Wang Wei (701-761)

Birds Calling in the Ravine
Wang Wei

I'm idle, as osmanthus flowers fall,
This quiet night in spring, the hill is empty.
The moon comes out and startles the birds on the hill,
They don't stop calling in the spring ravine.

Fujiwara no Sadayori (995-1045)

Fujiwara no Sadayori

In the early dawn
When the mists on Uji River
Slowly lift and clear,
From the shallows to the deep,
The stakes of fishing nets appear.