Moving to Jiujiang

李绅Bashu Publishing House · ChinaJul 2024

3.5

Word count: 5K words
Chapters: 49

Summary

Vain toil of dredging and cutting—a round hollow can be clear of itself. Fallen flowers scatter their blooms in profusion; mirroring the moon, it quietly holds ice.

Editor's review

Li Shen is famed for “Sympathy for the Peasants,” yet this poem sets aside social concern and turns to quiet observation of a small pond. Four lines, twenty characters: the labor of dredging, the clarity of the round hollow, the scattered beauty of fallen flowers, the moon mirrored in ice—layer by layer it moves from human artifice to natural charm, then from sight into a cool stillness of mind. This Bashu Shushe edition presents the short poem as a stand-alone volume, making it easy to read closely for diction and syntax: the three characters “vain toil” already contain a reflection on craftsmanship, “clear of itself” points to the clarity inherent in nature, and the closing “quietly holds ice” fuses moonlight with the sense of ice, giving a feeling of cold light held within. It suits slow reading in a quiet setting, using the notes to appreciate the compressed beauty of the five-character quatrain, and can also serve as an entry into another side of Li Shen’s poetry.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who love Tang five-character quatrains and want to read short poems closely
Readers who know Li Shen only for “Sympathy for the Peasants” and wish to broaden their reading
Classical poetry enthusiasts who need a quiet text for slow-reading practice
Primary and secondary Chinese teachers looking for short poems for close-reading lessons

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting Li Shen’s socially realistic works
Readers seeking long narrative or richly backgrounded stories
Beginners who prefer vernacular interpretation and do not wish to engage the classical original

Reading tips

First read aloud twice, paying attention to the ending sounds of characters like “clear” and “ice,” to feel the cool tone.
Circle the verbs and adjectives line by line, and compare the human “craft” with nature’s “clarity.”
After reading, retell in your own words the three layers—pond water, flower shadows, moon and ice—to check whether you have read it through.

About the publisher

Bashu Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Bashu Publishing House is a publisher centered on collating and publishing classical Chinese cultural texts, with its main publishing areas covering classical literature, Eastern philosophy, ancient poetry, and educational classics. Its library currently holds 1,075 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber, the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering, Renjian Cihua, and Out to the Frontier, involving authors such as Cao Xueqin, Wang Xizhi, Wang Guowei, Wang Changling, Liu Xie, and Yan Yu. These reflect the publisher's focus on literary classics, poetry criticism, and philosophical readings. Its publishing character lies in working around ancient texts and canonical works, with attention to textual collation and presentation. Public information on its more detailed publishing background and series plans is limited; this introduction is based only on the library's book information.

版权信息
【盛山十二诗？胡卢沼】韦处厚
卷479_15【盛山十二诗？茶岭】韦处厚
卷479_16【盛山十二诗？盘石磴】韦处厚
卷479_17【盛山十二诗？琵琶台】韦处厚
卷479_18【盛山十二诗？上士瓶泉（为柳律师置）】韦处厚
卷479_19【客思吟】杨敬之
卷479_20【赠项斯】杨敬之
卷479_21【句】杨敬之
卷479_22【初日照凤楼】李虞仲
卷479_23【郡斋三月下旬作（以下三首一作崔护诗）】张又新
卷479_24【五月水边柳】张又新
卷479_25【三月五日陪大夫泛长沙东湖（一作李群玉诗）】张又新
卷479_26【赠广陵妓】张又新
卷479_27【牡丹】张又新
卷479_28【游白鹤山】张又新
卷479_29【行田诗（一作白石岩）】张又新
卷479_30【罗浮山】张又新
卷479_31【青障山（一作慈湖山）】张又新
卷479_32【中界山】张又新
卷479_33【帆游山】张又新
卷479_34【谢池】张又新
卷479_35【华盖山】张又新
卷479_36【吹台山】张又新
卷479_37【青岙山】张又新
卷479_38【孤屿】张又新
卷479_39【春草池】张又新
卷479_40【春色满皇州】封敖
卷479_41【题西隐寺】封敖
卷479_42【奉和白敏中圣道和平致兹休运岁终功就合咏盛明呈上】马植
卷479_43【夏日途中】李廓
卷479_44【长安少年行】李廓
卷479_45【鸡鸣曲】李廓
卷479_46【镜听词（古之镜听，犹今之瓢卦也）】李廓
卷479_47【猛士行】李廓
卷479_48【送振武将军】李廓
卷479_49【落第】李廓
卷479_50【赠商山东于岭僧】李廓
卷479_51【上令狐舍人】李廓
卷四百八十
卷480_1【南梁行】李绅
卷480_2【趋翰苑遭诬构四十六韵】李绅
卷480_3【忆春日太液池亭候对（长庆三年）】李绅
卷480_4【忆夜直金銮殿承旨】李绅
卷480_5【忆春日曲江宴后许至芙蓉园】李绅
卷480_6【新昌宅书堂前有药树一株今已盈拱前长庆中…名之天上树】李绅
卷480_7【过荆门】李绅
卷480_8【涉沅潇】李绅
卷480_9【逾岭峤止荒陬抵高要】李绅

FAQ

This short poem has only four lines—won’t a stand-alone volume be too thin?

The value of a stand-alone short poem lies in the space it leaves for close reading. Within twenty characters there are four transitions—dredging, the round hollow, fallen flowers, mirroring the moon—and word-by-word scrutiny can reveal the compressive craft of the five-character quatrain better than broad reading of a long poem. Treat it as a sample for close reading rather than seeking length.

What background knowledge is needed to read this poem?

Basic classical vocabulary is enough; the poem contains no obscure allusions. Knowing the general rules of the five-character quatrain helps in feeling the rhythm, but unfamiliarity with them does not prevent understanding the imagery. Read the notes first, then return to the original.

Isn’t Li Shen the author of “Sympathy for the Peasants”? Why is this poem’s style different?

“Sympathy for the Peasants” reflects his social concern, while this poem turns to quiet observation of a small garden scene, showing that one poet can write in more than one vein. Reading the two together actually reveals Li Shen’s range of subjects; one piece should not define the whole man.

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About the author

李绅 Author

Li Shen was a Tang dynasty poet whose biography and official career are known only from limited public sources; his birth and death years, native place, and English name are not recorded in our database. The database holds three of his works: Moving to Jiujiang, Twenty Poems on the New Tower: The Orange Grove, and To Wang Xingzhou, Sent as I Approach Xiling, commonly classified as ancient-style poetry. Judging from these titles, his writing centers on travel stages, local scenery, and poems sent to friends, conveying feeling through concrete scenes in a concise language that shows the disciplined manner of Tang regulated verse. The twenty-poem sequence on the new tower dwells on details of towers and gardens, while the poems addressed to friends reveal sincere affection in his social circle. Because source material is scarce, his full life and poetic style await further documentation; the above summary rests only on the works held in the database.