Du Mu 杜牧
poet · official · Tang China · 803–852
A poet of the late Tang, born into a great family, who served in a string of provincial posts. He is known for short, fresh quatrains.
Posts
c. 825
The people of Qin had no time to grieve for themselves, and those who came after grieved for them. If those who come after grieve for them and do not take warning, they will only make those after them grieve for them in turn.
秦人不暇自哀，而後人哀之；後人哀之而不鑑之，亦使後人而復哀後人也。"Rhapsody on the Epang Palace," the close
mid-9th century
I stop the carriage and sit, in love with the maple wood at evening. The frosted leaves are redder than the flowers of the second month.
停車坐愛楓林晚，霜葉紅於二月花。"Travelling in the Hills"
mid-9th century · "Flowers in the Rear Court" is the song said to have been written by a ruler who lost his kingdom
Mist wraps the cold water and moonlight wraps the sand; at night I moor on the Qinhuai, near the wine shops. The singing girl knows nothing of the grief of a lost kingdom: across the river she still sings "Flowers in the Rear Court."
煙籠寒水月籠沙，夜泊秦淮近酒家。
商女不知亡國恨，隔江猶唱後庭花。"Mooring on the Qinhuai," in the Complete Tang Poems
1 in 100 Billion · The social network of those who came before us