Untitled

AnonymousJinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) · ChinaJun 2024

2.0

Word count: 3.4K words
Chapters: 48

Summary

At the edge of the earth the morning sun fills the sky; at the horizon the night mist withdraws. Wind rises with lingering snow; the river carries broken ice in its flow.

Editor's review

This anonymous short poem paints a complete picture of a traveler at daybreak in just twenty characters: at the edge of the earth the morning sun gradually fills the sky, at the horizon the night mist first withdraws, wind rises with lingering snow, and the river carries broken ice in its flow. The first two lines describe the sky shifting from dark to light and from far to near; the last two settle into the movement of wind and river. The lingering snow and broken ice mark that the season is still cold, yet already hint at the return of rising yang energy. The whole poem is neatly parallel, with the verbs “fill,” “withdraw,” “rise,” and “flow” each in its proper place; the scene has layers and a sense of direction, making it suitable as a close-reading sample of classical poetic imagery and wordcraft. This edition, printed by Shanghai Jinzhang Book Bureau, gives readers easy access to the look of traditional woodblock printing. When reading, one may place it in the context of early-spring travel and morning landscape sketches, or compare it with similar short pieces to appreciate how the ancients managed space and time with extremely concise brushwork. It is short and suited to repeated savoring in fragmented time; one should not expect long narrative or investigation of the author’s life.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who love classical short poems and hope to savor imagery and wordcraft closely
Writing and painting enthusiasts who need material for early-spring morning scenes
Language teachers using it as supplementary material for classroom appreciation of short poems
General readers interested in the appearance of traditional printed editions

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting long narrative or complete information about the author’s life
Beginners who need modern vernacular annotations and detailed background verification

Reading tips

First read it aloud softly twice, mark the four verbs “fill,” “withdraw,” “rise,” and “flow,” and feel the order in which the scene advances.
Try drawing a simple sketch for each line, comparing the shifts in space from the earth’s edge to the horizon and from wind to river.
Find other short poems on early spring or lingering snow to read alongside it, and note similarities and differences in the combinations of imagery.

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.

版权信息
【冬日野望寄李赞府】于良史
【闲居寄薛华】于良史
【江上送友人】于良史
【田家秋日送友】于良史
【自吟】于良史
【感兴】崔膺
【别佳人（一作崔涯诗）】崔膺
【御沟新柳】冯宿
【酬白乐天刘梦得（一作尹河南酬乐天梦得）】冯宿
【乐府答孟东野戏赠】陆长源
【酬孟十二新居见寄】陆长源
【答东野夷门雪（郊客于汴将归赋夷门雪赠别长源答此）】陆长源
【句】陆长源
【寄兴国池鹤上刘相公】张众甫
【送李司直使吴（得家花斜沙字，依次用）】张众甫
【送李观之宣州谒袁中丞赋得三州渡】张众甫
【宿慧山寺】王武陵
【秋暮登北楼】王武陵
【宿慧山寺】朱宿
【送惟良上人归江南（一作郢上人）】卢纶
【送韩都护还边】卢纶
【送吉中孚校书归楚州旧山（中孚自仙官入仕）】卢纶
【送姨弟裴均尉诸暨（此子先君元相旧判官）】卢纶
【送邓州崔长史】卢纶
【送盐铁裴判官入蜀】卢纶
【送魏广下第归扬州】卢纶
【送潘述应宏词下第归江南】卢纶
【送从舅成都县丞广归蜀】卢纶
【送宋校书赴宣州幕】卢纶
【送李纵别驾加员外郎却赴常州幕】卢纶
【送元赞府重任龙门县】卢纶
【送黎燧尉阳翟】卢纶
【送丹阳赵少府（即给事中涓亲弟）】卢纶
【送菊潭王明府】卢纶
【送陈明府赴萍县】卢纶
【送申屠正字往湖南迎亲兼谒赵和州…并戏简前历阳李明府】卢纶
【送李尚书郎君昆季侍从归觐滑州】卢纶
【送张调参军侍从归觐荆南因寄长林司空十四曙（得潜字）】卢纶
【送马尚书郎君侍从归觐太原】卢纶
【送张成季往江上赋得垂杨】卢纶
【送陕府王司法】卢纶
【送太常李主簿归觐省】卢纶
【送从叔程归西川幕】卢纶
【送万巨】卢纶
【途中遇雨马上口号留别张刘二端公】卢纶
【送夔州班使君】卢纶
【送从舅成都丞广归蜀（一作李端诗）】卢纶

FAQ

This poem has only four lines. Won’t it feel like too little information?

The value of a short poem lies not in the amount of information but in how the scene is organized and how words are chosen. The four lines separately describe sky light, night mist, wind, and river, already forming a complete morning scene from far to near and from stillness to motion. Read slowly, savor the role of each verb, and then connect it with early-spring scenes you have seen yourself; a short piece instead leaves more room for imagination.

How should the word “carries” in “the river carries broken ice in its flow” be understood?

“Carries” is used here as a verb, meaning to bear along or draw with it, describing the river water moving together with shattered blocks of ice. It echoes “with” in the previous line, “wind rises with lingering snow”; both emphasize the dynamic interplay of two things moving together. Understanding this layer lets one feel the scene in which the chill of early spring has not yet gone but the water has already come alive.

With no information about the author, what should I pay attention to when reading?

An anonymous author means there is no need to insist on biography or dating; instead, focus on the text itself: how the imagery is arranged, how the verbs are polished, and how the season is suggested. It may also be treated as a sample of traditional short poetry and compared with similar works in method, without forcing a reconstruction of its creative background.

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

Anonymous Author

Anonymous is not a real personal name but a general Chinese designation for authors whose names are unknown, lost, or unsigned. Neither nationality nor dates of birth and death can be verified, and available public information is limited, so the works attributed to this name are the only basis for description. The collection holds 2,078 works under Anonymous, spanning medicine, classics, historical readings, ancient poetry, classical literature, and philosophy. Representative works include The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: Lingshu, Mencius, The Book of Documents, Nineteen Old Poems, Complete Song Ci, and The Peacock Flies Southeast. Most of these works took shape through long transmission and editing, emerging either from collective folk creation or from authors whose names were lost over time. In ancient China, the Book of Songs, the Great Learning, and many popular storybooks and plays were signed Anonymous because their authors could not be traced. Anonymous works cross the classics, histories, philosophical writings, medical texts, and poetry; their subjects are broad, and their styles vary from archaic simplicity to clear naturalness, making them important and influential sources for understanding ancient Chinese thought, medicine, and literature.