Pan Lang (潘阆, died 1009), courtesy name Yanzhi, was one of the most colorful and rebellious intellectual figures of the Early Northern Song Dynasty. Known by the nickname "Pan Kuang" (Pan the Mad), he lived a life of dramatic extremes—alternating between a sought-after scholar in the capital and a fugitive hiding in the mountains. At one point, implicated in a political plot, he famously disguised himself as a Buddhist monk and fled into the rugged wilderness of Mount Song and Mount Hua, a legendary escape that only added to his mystique.
In literature, Pan Lang is immortalized for his unparalleled ability to capture the raw, elemental power of nature. His most celebrated work is the series of Ci lyrics set to the tune "Jiu Quan Zi" (酒泉子), specifically his ten songs dedicated to the Qiantang River Tide. These verses are legendary for their dynamic energy, famously describing the "silver mountains" of water and the fearless tidal-bore surfers of ancient Hangzhou. His poetry radiates a Vibe of Untamed Grandeur, characterized by a bold, unconstrained imagination that broke away from the more restrained courtly traditions of his time.
At CN-Poetry, we explore the adventurous and vivid voice of Pan Lang through dynamic English translations. Experience the "Vibe" of the Song Dynasty’s most famous wanderer—where the roar of the ocean meets the defiant soul of a hermit. Discover the tidal mastery of Pan the Mad within our digital archives.
By Pan Lang
Read Translation & Analysis →I still remember West Lake,
Where,leaning on the rails,I gazed without a break
Oh fishing boats in twos and threes
And islets in clear autumn breeze.
Among flowering reeds faint flute-songs rose,
Startled white birds took flight in rows.
Since I left,I've repaired my fishing rod at leisure,
Thoughts of waves and clouds thrill me with pleasure.
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.
