New Embroidered Socks cover

New Embroidered Socks

Rating 2.8
Word count
4K words
Chapters
48

Tags

Summary

"Newly Embroidered Socks" is one of the poems by the Tang dynasty poet Xu Yin.

Editor's review

"Newly Embroidered Socks" is a poem by the Tang dynasty poet Xu Yin. Its subject is drawn from everyday objects, bringing the ordinary craft of "embroidering socks" into verse and reflecting the Tang interest in observing and writing about the details of daily life. Xu Yin left a considerable body of poetry, much of it on objects and personal reflections; this poem's language is concise, its imagery close to daily life, and it has a plain, understated wit. This edition makes it easy for readers to encounter this single work on its own and serves as a sample for appreciating Tang object poems. Readers should first understand the tradition of "using objects to convey meaning" in object poetry, then savor the diction and structure closely, without over-reading hidden meanings. For readers familiar with famous Tang poems, this short piece offers another perspective: beyond grand narratives, everyday objects can also carry poetic feeling. It is suited to casual reading and short-form appreciation rather than being approached as a long major work.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • Readers interested in Tang object poetry and the works of lesser-known poets
  • Language learners who need short classical poems as material for appreciation practice
  • Poetry lovers who enjoy finding everyday interest in ordinary objects

Not a good fit for

  • Readers seeking representative selections by famous poets such as Li Bai and Du Fu
  • Deep researchers expecting long narrative poems or complete poetry collections

Reading tips

  1. First clarify what craft "embroidering socks" refers to; the imagery will then be easier to grasp.
  2. Read it alongside other Tang object poems to compare how they draw on subjects and convey meaning.
  3. Read it aloud two or three times, attending to rhythm and rhyme to feel how sound and feeling work together in a short poem.

About the publisher

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) China · Founded in 1901

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) was a private publishing and distribution house in Shanghai during the late Qing and early Republican periods, issuing traditional works by lithographic printing. Judging from the 1,194 titles in the collection, its publishing focused on classical poetry, Eastern philosophy, historical reading, traditional Chinese medical texts, and canonical works, along with books on literary appreciation. Representative titles include the poetry and prose collections of Du Fu and Ouyang Xiu; historical works such as the Book of Han and Zizhi Tongjian; classical texts such as the Book of Documents and Mencius; and specialized and literary classics such as Treatise on Cold Damage and Li Sao. Its author resources cover major figures across the ages, including Du Fu, Ban Gu, Sima Guang, Zhang Zhongjing, Qu Yuan, Ouyang Xiu, and Tang Shenwei, reflecting the house's characteristic reliance on traditional scholarship and medical literature while serving general readers. Public information on its early history and operational details is limited, so no conjecture is offered here.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 【风】徐夤
  3. 卷710_56【帆】徐夤
  4. 卷710_57【梦】徐夤
  5. 卷710_58【东】徐夤
  6. 卷710_59【西】徐夤
  7. 卷710_60【南】徐夤
  8. 卷710_61【北】徐夤
  9. 卷710_62【云】徐夤
  10. 卷710_63【燕】徐夤
  11. 卷710_64【蝉】徐夤
  12. 卷710_65【露】徐夤
  13. 卷710_66【霞】徐夤
  14. 卷710_67【蒲】徐夤
  15. 卷710_68【泉】徐夤
  16. 卷710_69【烟】徐夤
  17. 卷710_70【闲】徐夤
  18. 卷710_71【忙】徐夤
  19. 卷710_72【泪】徐夤
  20. 卷710_73【月】徐夤
  21. 卷711_1【依御史温飞卿华清宫二十二韵】徐夤
  22. 卷711_2【尚书命题瓦砚】徐夤
  23. 卷711_3【东风解冻省试】徐夤
  24. 卷711_4【和仆射二十四丈牡丹八韵】徐夤
  25. 卷711_5【钓丝竹】徐夤
  26. 卷711_6【尚书会仙亭咏蔷薇夤坐中联四韵晚归补缉所联因成一篇】徐夤
  27. 卷711_7【和尚书咏泉山瀑布十二韵】徐夤
  28. 卷711_8【自咏十韵】徐夤
  29. 卷711_9【镜中览怀(一作览镜书怀)】徐夤
  30. 卷711_10【楚国史】徐夤
  31. 卷711_11【张仪】徐夤
  32. 卷711_12【蔷薇】徐夤
  33. 卷711_13【大夫松】徐夤
  34. 卷711_14【杏园】徐夤
  35. 卷711_15【蕉叶】徐夤
  36. 卷711_16【路旁草】徐夤
  37. 卷711_17【读汉纪】徐夤
  38. 卷711_18【李夫人二首】徐夤
  39. 卷711_19【明妃】徐夤
  40. 卷711_20【马嵬】徐夤
  41. 卷711_21【依韵赠南安方处士五首】徐夤
  42. 卷711_22【依韵答黄校书】徐夤
  43. 卷711_23【伤进士谢庭皓】徐夤
  44. 卷711_24【闻司空侍郎讣音】徐夤
  45. 卷711_25【偶题二首】徐夤
  46. 卷711_26【猿】徐夤
  47. 卷711_27【追和贾浪仙古镜】徐夤
  48. 卷711_28【蝴蝶三首】徐夤

FAQ

What period did Xu Yin live in?
According to the sources, Xu Yin was a Tang dynasty poet, and "Newly Embroidered Socks" is one of his poems. He is not among the most widely known names in Tang poetry; read him within the tradition of Tang object poetry rather than judging this short poem by the standard of famous masterpieces.
How should the title "Newly Embroidered Socks" be understood?
In traditional usage, "embroider" often refers to needlework and sewing, so "embroidered socks" means the making or decorating of socks. The title is drawn from an everyday object and belongs to the object-poetry genre; when reading, focus on how the poet draws poetry out of an ordinary item.
Is this poem suitable for beginners?
It works well as an introduction to appreciating short classical poems. It is not long, its imagery is concrete, and without complex allusions the barrier to entry is low; but object poetry emphasizes using objects to convey meaning, so beginners can first grasp the literal sense and then gradually appreciate the meaning and interest within.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

徐夤 Author

Xu Yin was a poet of the Tang dynasty; details of his life, including his dates and birthplace, are limited in publicly available sources and remain to be further verified. Judging from the six works collected here, his writing consists mainly of classical poetry, with some engagement in literary appreciation. Representative pieces include "To Yan Sizhi," "Good Fortune," "Inscribed at a Monk's Lodging," and "Newly Embroidered Socks," among which "To Yan Sizhi" and "Newly Embroidered Socks" each appear more than once, suggesting these are relatively common among his extant works. "To Yan Sizhi" is a dedicatory poem expressing friendship and esteem for a companion; "Inscribed at a Monk's Lodging" relates to a monk's dwelling and carries the flavor of a responding or inscribed verse; "Newly Embroidered Socks" takes an everyday object as its subject, with a touch close to daily life. Overall, Xu Yin's poems draw their subjects largely from social exchange, dedicatory verse, and observations of daily life, in plain and concise language, and occupy a place within the Tang tradition of dedicatory and occasional poetry. Because the transmitted materials are scattered, his biography and poetic lineage cannot be described in detail; readers may glimpse his writing through the works mentioned above.

More by the same author

Top rated in the same category