William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” is one of the most celebrated love poems in the English language. Its central theme is the everlasting nature of the beloved’s beauty, w⋯ Read the full article

This poem, often referred to as “Jiangnan Journey,” reflects the profound sense of longing and sorrow characteristic of much of Lu You’s work. Each line conveys the emoti⋯ Read the full article

In “A Farmer’s Lament,” poet Lu You provides a poignant vignette of agrarian hardships in ancient China. Through spare yet evocative language, he summons images of an unc⋯ Read the full article

This selected poem from Lu You’s Jian Nan Poetry Drafts reveals a mind torn between patriotic zeal and the harsh realities of time. The speaker, reflecting from an older ⋯ Read the full article

This **reconstructed** poem imagines Lu You composing a piece of self-reflection (“自咏”). While not definitively part of his corpus, it captures key elements that common⋯ Read the full article

In this **reconstructed** “A Long Song (Dwelling Amid Twilight’s Smoky Hues),” we envision Lu You in the twilight of his years, residing in a peaceful spot where “smoky h⋯ Read the full article

In this **reconstructed** “Night Mooring at a Waterside Village,” we imagine Lu You halting his boat along a quiet river bend—a watery hamlet illuminated by faint lamps u⋯ Read the full article

In this **reconstructed** “Spring Outing,” we imagine Lu You amidst the gentle resurgence of spring—wildflowers blooming in the meadows, a breeze carrying subtle fragranc⋯ Read the full article

In “Telling My Heart’s Desires (Once, I Rode a Thousand Miles Seeking Military Glory),” Lu You (1125–1210) fuses wistful memory with patriotic sorrow. During the Southern⋯ Read the full article

This second poem referencing Shen Garden (沈园) continues Lu You’s deeply personal elegy for his former wife, Tang Wan, and the memories bound to this location. While “Sh⋯ Read the full article

In “Shen Garden (No. 1),” Lu You compresses a deep sense of regret and longing into four lines, setting the poem against the backdrop of a once-beautiful garden that now ⋯ Read the full article

In “秋夜将晓出篱门迎凉有感,” Lu You (1125–1210) harnesses a brief autumn moment to summon a sweeping vision of China’s vast landscapes and the lingering sorrow over lost ⋯ Read the full article

In this concise, four-line poem, Lu You paints a lighthearted scene set shortly after rainfall—when the stream’s water rises near a humble, rustic gate. Village children,⋯ Read the full article

In “Spring Rain Clears in Lin’an,” Lu You (1125–1210) offers a snapshot of everyday life in the Southern Song capital (then called Lin’an, present-day Hangzhou) after a c⋯ Read the full article

“Setting Down My Frustrations (Who Knew, in Early Youth, How Difficult the World Could Be?)” is one of Lu You’s most celebrated poems capturing his lifelong patriotic zea⋯ Read the full article