Movements of Music

Liu Yong, the poet of the pleasure quarters, wrote the long, slow ci of parting and wandering that everyone sang. His songs of autumn rain, willows and partings at the river were so popular that it was said they were sung wherever there was a well. This is a complete new English translation, with names in modern pinyin and the text rendered as plain, readable English prose. Each poem is given in clear English that keeps its images and its order of lines, so readers can follow the poet's thought without notes. Poetry was the highest art of traditional China, written by emperors, officials, monks, courtesans and soldiers, and these poems are among the finest ever written in any language.