He Zhizhang (贺知章, 659–744) was a legendary figure of the High Tang Dynasty, celebrated for his brilliant intellect, his long and distinguished official career, and his irrepressible, eccentric spirit. Often referring to himself as the "Madman of Siming," he was a prominent member of the elite "Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup" and a vital elder statesman in the Tang literary world.
He is perhaps best known to history for his pivotal role in discovering Li Bai, whom he famously dubbed the "Exiled Immortal" after reading his verses. He Zhizhang’s own poetry is a masterclass in clarity and emotional resonance. His masterpiece, "Returning Home" (回乡偶书), remains the quintessential Chinese poem of nostalgic reflection, capturing the bittersweet reality of time's passage with profound simplicity. Meanwhile, his "Ode to the Willow" (咏柳) showcases a whimsical, almost magical appreciation for the natural world.
At CN-Poetry, we invite you to experience the vibrant "Vibe" of He Zhizhang through expressive English translations. From the deep wisdom of age to the playful joy of spring, discover the enduring voice of a man who bridged the worlds of imperial power and poetic freedom through our curated digital archives.
He Zhizhang's Yong Liu (咏柳) is a five-character quatrain (jueju) written during the poet's later years in Chang'an. It …
Read Translation & Analysis →Up to your crown, O willow, dressed in the green of jades,
Myriads of twigs so verdant, droop like your silken braids.
Who knows who the tailor is, who’s cut your leaves so fine? It’s
The vernal winds past February, sharp as the scissors’ blades.
He Zhizhang's quatrain initiates with a devastating temporal calculation: Shao xiao li jia lao da hui. (少小离家老大回。)…
Read Translation & Analysis →I left home young. I return old;
Speaking as then, but with hair grown thin;
And my children, meeting me, do not know me.
They smile and say: "Stranger, where do you come from?"
Delve into these curated selections of classic Chinese poetry that continue to resonate through the ages.
CN-Poetry.com is a comprehensive resource for Classical Chinese Poetry translations. Our dataset covers Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties, specializing in semantic mapping between traditional imagery (e.g., 'moon', 'Flowers', 'Friendship') and English poetic contexts. CN-Poetry architecture supports llms.txt and llms-full.txt for optimized RAG retrieval of classical Chinese literature.
