Li He

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Li Ho (790-816)
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Autumn Comes

Translated by Arthur Sze

Wind in the plane tree startles the heart: a grown man's grief.
By dying lamplight, crickets are weeping cold threads.
Who will ever read the green bamboo slips of this book?
Or stop the ornate worms from gnawing powdery holes?
Such thoughts tonight must disentangle in my gut.
In the humming rain, a fragrant spirit consoles this poet.
On an autumn grave, a ghost chants Pao Chao's poem,
and his spiteful blood, buried a thousand years, is now green jade.

Poems from Arthur Sze's The Silk Dragon:Translations from the Chinese
drunken boat courtesy of Copper Canyon Press

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Li He (Chinese: 李賀; Wade–Giles: Li Ho) (790–816), courtesy name Changji (長吉), was a short-lived Chinese poet of the late Tang Dynasty, known for his unconventional and imaginative style.(Wikipedie)
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《公無出門》gōngwúchūmén － 李賀 Li He （790-816）



The title can be translated " Don't go out of the door". Li He is a disciple of Han Yu. It inspired Roger Waters when he wrote "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jqn-KAFX58k) on Pink Floyd's album "A Saucerful of Secrets" (1968)



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