Ye Shaoweng (叶绍翁), courtesy name Sizong, was a prominent poet of the Southern Song Dynasty. Associated with the "Jianghu School" (江湖诗派), he lived during a time of political retreat but creative flowering. While he held minor official posts, his heart belonged to the landscapes of the southeast. He was deeply influenced by the "Four Spirits of Yongjia," sharing their preference for the clear, concise, and rhythmically precise aesthetics of the Late Tang dynasty over the heavy academicism of earlier Song movements.
Ye Shaoweng is immortalized in the Chinese heart for a single, brilliant couplet from his masterpiece, "A Visit to a Garden in Vain" (游园不值). His observation that "A garden full of spring cannot be shut in; one branch of red apricot leans out over the wall" (春色满园关不住，一枝红杏出墙来) has become one of the most quoted lines in the language. It serves as a powerful metaphor for life’s irrepressible vitality. His poetry radiates a Vibe of Gentle Naturalism, characterized by a keen eye for "small scenery"—moss on a path, a closed wooden gate, or a stray blossom—transformed into profound meditations on the persistence of beauty.
At CN-Poetry, we explore the observant and crystalline voice of Ye Shaoweng through vivid English translations. Experience the "Vibe" of a poet who found hope in a single branch and captured the quiet soul of the Southern Song countryside. Discover the legacy of this pastoral master within our digital archives.
Ye Shaoweng’s You Yuan Bu Zhi (游园不值)—a crown jewel of late Southern Song Dynasty landscape and philosophical quatra…
Read Translation & Analysis →Perhaps he’s afraid my wooden shoes will damage the moss.
I knocked on the door, but the door never opened.
It’s impossible to wall in the beauty of spring,
An apricot branch draped in red blossoms has crept over the wall.
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.
