减字木兰花 原作：【宋】李清照 英译：闵晓红 卖花担上， 买得一枝春欲放。 泪染轻匀， 犹带彤霞晓露痕。 怕郎猜道， 奴面不如花面好。 云鬓斜簪， 徒要教郎比并看。 Budding blooms - To the tune of Jianzi Mangnolia trans. by Julia Min From a flower peddler in neighbourhood I bought budding blooms for our room. The pink tips are covered with morning dews Still twinkling with golden red hues. Her natural charm could fascinate my mate. I regret my silly choice, but too late. So pinned on my hair near my cheeks fair I wear the blossom for him to compare. Appreciation: Composed in her early marriage days when she was still a teenage girl, this ci poem is the only one in this music tune pattern from her collection left today. She was the happiest lady in the world living with her beloved husband who was then a carefree student at the Royal Academy in the capital city of Northern Song Dynasty. A glimpse of their daily life is manifested here, which is a treat for us to enjoy, especially the clever and witted zoom-in of a minute moment in the secret little mind of a young lady. Other versions for your reference (茅于美）: https://www.en84.com/dianji/ci/200912/00000857.html Notes: 1. jiǎn zì mù lán huā – the music pattern for this ci poem; 2. chūn yù fang – spring flowers that are just budding, which most likely refers to plum blossoms , the first bloom in spring. 3. tú: used as an adverb here, meaning ‘in vain”; Pinyin and word-for-word translation: jiǎn zì mù lán huā – the music pattern Jianzi Mangnolia; mài huā dān shàng – flower peddler loads on; mǎi dé yī zhī chūn yù fàng – bought one branch of Spring Budding； lèi rǎn qīng yún – teardrops soaked evenly； yóu dài tóng xiá xiǎo lù hén – as if with red rays morning dews traces； pà láng cāi dào – worried that my husband might think； nú miàn bú rú huā miàn hǎo – my face not as pretty as the flower; yún bìn xié zān – cloud hair sideway pin; tú yào jiāo láng bǐ bìng kàn – in vain ask husband to compare;

诉衷情 . 夜来沈醉卸妆迟 原作：【宋】李清照 英译：闵晓红 夜来沈醉卸妆迟， 梅萼插残枝。 酒醒熏破春睡， 梦远不成归。 人悄悄， 月依依， 翠帘垂。 更挼残蕊， 更捻馀香， 更得些时。 A bit tipsy, I slept with make-up on -to the tune of Suzhongqing translated by Julia Min Far into the mist extends the private garden. Barred cloud enfolds tops of pavilions. For whom in winter frost is she waiting? Must be the flirting buds on south branches her cold dreams feel so cosy with sweet kisses. Stop playing the song “The Fall of Crimsons”, when she’s blushing with delicate blossoms. Would this gentle grace win her love’s glimpse, Or Spring wind cares for her happiness, Or her pilgrim soul lived to see prunus blooms? Appreciation: Composed around 1127 shortly after the fall of Northern Song and the first Southern Song emperor was throned. It was a period of turmoil due to the Jin’s invasion. With the loss of their capital, the new court became mobile from place to place in the south. Jiangning ( later Jiangkang, today’s Nanjing) was one of the temporary court venues. Qingzhao’s husband was appointed the Mayor of Jiangning, so the couple had to leave their Qingzhou home ( in today’s Shandong Province) to the mercy of the Jin army who burned everything to ashes in the same year, so she was told later on. For our poet, it’s the home where they had over ten years’ happy marriage life, the home with ten households of their valuable collections, and ultimately the best memories of her lifetime. And this is only the beginning of her miseries, and the starting point of a dividing line in her literature topics and intellectual sentiments, which offers a glimpse of the shifting among the intellectuals and officials. It’s a song of a collective voice illuminating not only the war’s tragedies and their irreparable effects, but the hopes and disappointments of generations onwards. For a stronger impact on readers’ sentiment, the second stanza used repetition of syntax and words, a popular technique in English poetry also, such as “The Burden of Itys” by Oscar Wilde (1854–1900): “And sweet the hops upon the Kentish leas, And sweet the wind that lifts the new-mown hay, And sweet the fretful swarms of grumbling bees That round and round the linden blossoms play;” Notes: Pinying and Word -For-Word Translation: sù zhōng qíng – the musical tune of this sone yè lái chén zuì xiè zhuāng chí–last night I drank to sleep too late to remove make-up, méi è chā cán zhī – the plum blooms on my hair are just bones with some withered petals. jiǔ xǐng xūn pò chūn shuì – disturbed by the fragrance I woke from a spring sleep, mèng yuǎn bú chéng guī – I dreamed afar but failed to make home. rén qiāo qiāo – people are quiet, yuè yī yī – the moon is reluctant to leave, cuì lián chuí – light green curtains hang down. gèng luò cán ruǐ – more time spent crushing the withered plum stamen in hand, gèng niǎn yú xiāng - more time spent smashing the petals for more fragrance, gèng dé xiē shí – more time spent to kill more time.

偶成 原作：【宋】李清照 英译：闵晓红 十五年前花月底， 相从曾赋赏花詩。 今看花月浑相似， 安得情怀似往時。 Extempore verse translated by Julia X. Min Fifteen years ago under a full moon, We composed love poems among spring blooms. The garden looks so under the same moon, If I could remain in the same mood! Appreciation: Appreciation: This short verse was probably composed after she settled in Ling’an, the new capital. It’s a popular theme in many of the artistic works created during this period when the new settlers often sensed strong pain missing their lost family members. Obviously our poet revealed her deep yearning for her husband and the happy days they spent together in their Qingzhou home where they experienced the happiest marriage life for over 10 years.

题八咏楼 原作：李清照 英译：闵晓红 千古风流八咏楼， 江山留与后人愁。 水通南国三千里， 气压江城十四州。 The Eight Verses Tower translated by Julia X. Min The Eight Verses Tower stands so proud on this ancient land blessed with great minds. But for how long? The Jin might come down. Just let it be tested after we rest in ground. The Wujiang River in front is flowing down over a thousand miles towards the South, exposing fourteen counties with their towns. Would Guanxiu leave them out of bound? Appreciation： This heroic poem is another strong satire on the weak response of the Court against Jin’s invasion. The Song was at stake as tension was hanging in the air for the future. Li Qingzhao, past her prime years and all alone now, joined her dead husband’s sister’s family in Wuzhou. The sisiter’s husband was the Prefecture. She stayed there for a while and wrote quite a few famous poems on the same subject，e.g. “The storm’s past, and fallen petals perfume the ground – to the tune of Wulingchun”（《武陵春.风住尘香花已尽》）. Similar style is found in her other poem “Alive, I’d be a hero for the people”(《乌江绝句》. In her wisdom, our poet, renown as the Master of Ci, chose traditional poetic form for the heroic momentum when she wrote the ‘bigger’ subject，whereas she would come back to musical Ci form for her sentimental poems, be it affectionate, innocent，or melancholy sensations. Notes: 1. The Eight Verses Tower –The tower（八咏楼）, original name being Charmed Joy Tower（玄畅楼)was built in 494 under the order of the local Prefecture Shen Yue who was also a famous historian and writer. Located in a peninsular site surrounded by Wujiang River from east, south to west, overlooking a spectacular view of two rivers meeting point, Charmed Joy Tower had become a famous landmark, and of course the favourite place of the Prefecture who wrote eight long poems about it. Both his poems and the subject became well recognized that eventually the Tower was renamed as Eight Verses Tower. 2. The Wujiang River - The Wuzhou County is along the river, hence the name. It could be an important place accessing the north and the south of the Song territory. Li Qingzhao showed a strong concern if this place could stay for the Song in future as the Jin might head south after the fall of the Song Capital Bianliang (today’s Kaifeng). 3. Guanxiu – in Chinese贯休（832-912）; He was a revered monk who was born local here about 200 years before our poet visited the tower. Famous for his poetry, paintings and calligraphy, he was once requested by the emperor to change ‘ 14 states conquered’ into ‘ 40 states conquered’ in his poem celebrating the victory. But, as a man of heroic integrity, he refused with a reply :“Since you can hardly conquer another state, I shall not change my poem with another word.” So the ‘14 states’, often quoted by later writers, hints a strong criticism against the Southern Song Court which yielded again and again to the invasion of the Jin from the North. Pinyin and word-for-word translation: tí bā yǒng lóu – tower named after the eight poems qiān gǔ fēng liú bā yǒng lóu – thousand years eight verses tower; jiāng shān liú yǔ hòu rén chóu – country land leave to posterity to worry about; shuǐ tōng nán guó sān qiān lǐ -the River access to the South 3000 li; qì yā jiāng chéng shí sì zhōu – proudly overlooking the cities and towns in 14 counties;

春残 原作：【宋】李清照 英译：闵晓红 春残何事苦思乡， 病里梳头恨发长。 梁燕语多终日在， 蔷薇风细一帘香。 A Long Day in Late Spring translated by Julia X. Min Spring is going away no reason to stay In sickbed alone at this strange place. For whom shall I bother to do my hair in homesickness no one to share? The roof beam nests a happy swallow pair, Singing and grooming no time spared. The breeze ushers in a scent sweet and subtle From the climbing rose blooming by the window. Appreciation: This poem was composed on a late spring day after she escaped to the south following the court family and officials due to the fall of the Southern Song capital to the Jin army. The verse structure is shaped after a popular pattern called ‘qijue’(a four-line poem with seven characters to a line) in Chinese poetry. I chose to translated it into eight lines in English which is a more popular poetic form in English literature. Besides, eight lines allows me to transfer more fully on the cultural level. A hint of transferred epithet is sensed in the presentation. ‘late spring’ undertones rich sentiments resonating with the lady character struggling alone in her sickbed missing her homeland taken by the invaders. The simple description of the happy swallows, and blooming roses together form an ironic contrast with her state now that her husband is dead and her prime years all gone.

浣溪沙.闺情 原作：【宋】李清照 英译：闵晓红 绣幕芙蓉一笑开， 斜偎宝鸭亲香腮， 眼波才动被人猜。 一面风情深有韵， 半笺娇恨寄幽怀， 月移花影约重来。 Maiden in Love - to the tune of Huanxisha trans. by Julia Min Nestled on her hair a mandarin duck pair are mellowed in sweetness of her face fair. Her smile is charming like lotus blooming. One twinkle in her eye tells everything. In delight she composed some lines in rhyme filled with her secret longings and yearnings: “it looks good for a date in the flower garden when the moon is full and bright this evening.” Appreciation: Li Qingzhao is well recognized for her talent in describing the minute subtle changes on a maiden’s facial expression. This ci is another good example. The artistic effect is well supported with ‘mandarin duck pair’, a symbol of love, and ‘lotus flower’, a symbol of pure soul in Chinese culture. The language style presents vividly alive a maiden in youthful cheers and sunny mood. She is also timid and shy as a maiden would be for her first love. So, this ci was composed most likely in her teenage years, same period as her ci poem Swinging, and Swinging Done. Similarly critics frowned upon the erotic boisterousness it suggests which was then not expected from a gentle lady like Li Qingzhao. Being a poet of romantic and sentimental school, Li chose to embrace life the natural qualities rather than pretend in any hypocritical way. Notes: 1. bǎo yā – original meaning is an incense burner often designed with a duck or a pair of mandarin ducks under lotus flowers on it. Here it refers to the hairpin with duck design on her hairstyle in coils. Another version for it is a duck-shaped hairstyle. A pair of mandarin ducks, a symbol of eternal love, is chosen here as it works best with the context. 2. yuè yí huā yǐng – borrowed from Wang Anshi’s famous poem Spring Night, it means when the moon moves, the flowers’ shadows climbed up the rails where I was restless missing someone. The four character is now an idiomatic phrase often used in love poems. Pinyin and word-for-word translation huàn xī shā – the musical tune of Huanxisha； xiù mù fú róng yī xiào kāi: xiù mù – embroidery curtain; fú róng - lotus flower; yī xiào kāi - open with one smile; xié wēi bǎo yā qīn xiāng sāi: xié wēi – leaning on the side, bǎo yā – lovely duck，qīn xiāng sāi – touching / kissing the cheeks that smell so sweet yǎn bō cái dòng bèi rén cāi: yǎn bō - eye beams; cái dòng - just moved ; bèi rén cāi - was already guessed what it is yī miàn fēng qíng shēn yǒu yùn: yī miàn fēng qíng – a face look in love; shēn yǒu yùn- deep with graceful charm; bàn jiān jiāo hèn jì yōu huái bàn jiān – half of the letter; jiāo hèn – girly coquet， affectionate；jì yōu huái – send her secret longings for him; yuè yí huā yǐng yuē chóng lái yuè yí huā yǐng – the moon moves the flower shadow; yuē chóng lái – to meet again

满庭芳 . 小阁藏春 原作：【宋】李清照 英译：闵晓红 小阁藏春， 闲窗锁昼， 画堂无限深幽。 篆香烧尽， 日影下帘钩。 手种江梅更好， 又何必、临水登楼。 无人到，寂寥浑似， 何逊在扬州。 从来知韵胜， 难堪雨藉， 不耐风揉。 更谁家横笛， 吹动浓愁。 莫恨香消雪减， 须信道、扫迹难留。 难言处，良宵淡月， 疏影尚风流。 My chamber is dormant from spring - to the tune of Mantingfang translated by Julia X. Min My chamber is dormant from spring, windows neglected with curtains undrawn. A quietness distilled in the drawing-room， the day lapses away, imperceptibly as gloom， until the incense becomes ashes after noon, until the sun descends to the curtain hook. The plum trees look cosier planted with my own hands; So why bother the waterside towers with the crowd? If you knew the mind of He Xun amid Yangzhou’s blooms, the best friends for the moment are Quietude an’ Solitude. As much she is blessed with beauty and strength， she’s no match for the chasing wind and rain. And a passing sound of flute plays the sad tune “The Falling of Plum Blossoms”… … Tears won’t stop the fragrance fading away. Imperceptibly they came to your view; Imperceptibly they leave without a trace - beyond words as always when we face eternal truth. Just hold on and enjoy，as we should if we could, the scanty shadow of noble grace under the pale moon. Appreciation: This lyric poem reflects our poet’s real life moment in her later years not long after her husband’s death, or after she settled in Lin’an( today’s Hangzhou). Some scholars identified it as an earlier creation to which I can’t agree. The understanding comes from the turning point in the middle of each stanzas, indicating her positive effort in recovering from her grief-stricken state of mind. Such a transfer shows a transcending spirit from harrowing woes to an accepting attitude towards reality and a readiness to move forward, a state often seen in our lives after 40 or 50 , especially after twists and turns through loss and gains. This is heightened in the concluding lines where we are led to see the inner strength of our poet on a philosophical level. The first four lines presents a gentle lady trapped in her own consuming thoughts in the drawing room where all what remained in their collections are kept. Her husbands’ unexpected death and her lost homeland have now left her in her forties facing alone a future of potential recovery, or more mistrustfully, further loss and grief. Memories of their happy days are woven into every texture there. She has no interest in spring outing as she used to do with her friends. The front part of the second stanza depicts a similar melancholy. The falling of the plum blossoms indicates her spring days in life are gone. Then, a wakening shift follows -- she realises she can’t give up just yet. She decides to put her past to the past and enjoy her aloneness from the chaos of the world and live the moment. Although her blooming years are just memories, she would cherish what she has got and maintain a reclusive life style with noble grace. Such a state could be well explained with Lao Zi’s words: If you feel miserable, you live in the past; if you are anxious, you live in the future; if you are peaceful, you are living in the present. As we know she called herself the Recluse Yi’an, a Daoist pursuit shared by many great men in their later years including Su Dongpo who loves the lifestyle of Tao Yuanmin. Now we may also see the connection where Yi’an favorite flowers are also the chrysanthemum and the plum blossoms, especially in her later years. Such is my interpretation of her mind state as exposed in this poem. I’m also aware of different opinions which could be a result of their presumption about Yi’an’s tragic sensation. Interestingly, you would surely come to a new conclusion by imagining it was written by Su Shi. This poem also reminds me of an American poem by Emily Dickinson “As Imperceptibly as grief” from where I borrowed some expressions in my translation to sparkle the connection. A comparison of the two poets could yield overwhelming discovery. Emily was not able to get out of her melancholy, even on the verge of leaving for heaven, which perhaps also explains why Li Qingzhao lived much longer.

望江南·春未老 （超然台作） 原作：【宋】苏轼 英译：戈登.奥赛茵、闵晓红 春未老， 风细柳斜斜。 试上超然台上望， 半壕春水一城花。 烟雨暗千家。 寒食后， 酒醒却咨嗟。 休对故人思故国， 且将新火试新茶。 诗酒趁年华 When the Spring is not yet old (written on Transcending Platform) - to the tune of Wangjiangnan translated by Gordon Osing and Julia Min When Spring is not yet old, soft wind gently kissing the willows, come to the Transcending Tower with me, to see the town’s blooms embraced by the moat. Gleaming though the misty rain so many homes. After the day of Forbidden Fires, I woke up drunk, turned over, and sighed. Don't think about home when you're with friends old. Let's make a fresh fire and taste the new tea for a toast. How fine to spend our best years drinking wine and poems. Other versions for your reference：https://www.24en.com/p/161891.html Appreciation: Transcending Tower is in Mizhou (today’s Zhucheng County in Shandong Province). Su Shi had it rebuilt when he was the Governor. His brother, Su Zhe, gave it its name. The Festival of Forbidden Fires (or Cold Food Festival), which occurs two days before Qingming, recalls a famous episode about a monarch named Wengong who burned an entire mountain to flush out the hiding Zi-tui who had retired there when the victorious King neglected to reward him with other comrades in arms. Honor was at stake. In fact, the injured Zi-tui was so wounded in pride he chose dying in the fire to the embarrassment of being the King's afterthought. This ci was written in the Spring of 1076. During Qingming Festival, it is the custom of the living to pay tribute to their buried family members and tidy up the tombs at the same time. Home and family were therefore very much on any traveler's mind. The way in which Su Shi makes very personal use of the common scene -- the willows, the flowers and the moat waters -- gives this ci something of what the Western reader would call Romantic implications. Notes: ①“chao ran tai” : Heavenward Pagoda, or Transcending Platform; ②“han shi” : Cold Food Festival, two days before Qingming Festival. People were not allowed to make fires, so no hot food on that day. Pinying and Word -For-Word Translation: wàng jiāng nán - the musical tune for this ci poem（Looking at South of the River） （chāo rán tái zuò ）- (write on Transcending Platform) chūn wèi lǎo - spring not yet old， fēng xì liǔ xiá xiá - wind soft willows swaying back and forth。 shì shàng chāo rán tái shàng wàng - try go up to transcending platform to see， bàn háo chūn shuǐ yī chéng huā - half full moat spring waters a whole town flowers。 yān yǔ àn qiān jiā - smoke rain gloomy thousand homes。 hán shí hòu - after the Cold Food Festival, jiǔ xǐng què zī jiē - drunk awake but sigh。 xiū duì gù rén sī gù guó - stop before old friend miss home / native place， qiě jiāng xīn huǒ shì xīn chá - let's try new fire to new tea， shī jiǔ chèn nián huá -poems wine spend golden years。

点绛唇 · 寂寞深闺 作者：(宋）李清照 英译：戈登.奥赛茵，闵晓红 寂寞深闺， 柔肠一寸， 愁千缕。 惜春春去， 几点催花雨。 倚遍栏干， 只是无情绪。 人何处？ 连天衰草， 望断归来路。 In the lonely chambers a heart of night silence - to the tune of Dianjiangchun Translated by Gordon Osing and Julia Min In the lonely chambers a heart of night silence labors the pieces of sorrow to countless strands. Blossoms are hurried to their fates by the rains. I cherish a Spring vanishing with her scents. Where’s our spring joy, my heart's friend? Over and over the rails, till each day ends! Grasses will wither and weave sky to land before my gaze abandons your road's end. Appreciation: This ci is thought belonging to the earlier and happier period of the poet's life, before 1107. Her longing for her absent husband is obviously revealed. Poems like this are noted for their absence of modesty and reserve from a lady of upper class in the Song dynasty. She is all but breaking custom in declaring her love for her husband so openly, or, as the Westerner might say, erotically. She is at the edge and beyond the edge of Confucian propriety, but some artistic allowance has to be made for such a gifted poet's romantic expressions, even in feudal China. Confucian philosophy held that only the man may make overt romantic statements, and even these in coded similes and hyperboles. Li Qingzhao's young married life was intensely lived, in union and in separations, exemplary in its bonding, we may also say. Notes: lù nóng huā shòu – thick dews and tiny buds, the beginning of high spring; qīng yī – light dress made of brocade, gauze or very light fabric; yǐ mén huí shǒu – can’t resist the urge of looking back at the visitor, a naughty tongue-in-cheek, arch and even disproportionate for someone of her class. Pinying and Word -For-Word Translation: diǎn jiàng chún – to the tune of Dianjiangchun cù bà qiū qiān – after playing on the swing, qǐ lái yōng zhěng xiān xiān shǒu – get up lazy to tidy up delicate hands. lù nóng huā shòu – the dews are heavy, flower buds tiny, báo hàn qīng yī tòu – steaming sweat light dress is wet through. jiàn yǒu rén lái – noticed someone coming, wà chǎn jīn chāi liū – walk on socks my gold hairpin slip off hé xiū zǒu - so shy, skip away. yǐ mén huí shǒu – leaning on the door, look back, què bǎ qīng méi xiù – but hold green plum to scent.

如梦令.常记溪亭日暮 原作：【宋】李清照 英译：闵晓红 常记溪亭日暮， 沉醉不知归路。 兴尽晚回舟， 误入藕花深处。 争渡，争渡， 惊起一滩鸥鹭。 Always I see that stream, the pavilion, the reddening sun - to the Tune of Rumengling trans. by Gordon Osing and Julia Min Always I see that stream, the pavilion, the reddening sun, and girls lost their way home, too taken with wine. and too joy-filled to start back so late in the day, into a world of lotus blooms we strayed. Pull, she said, pull, if only to startle the gulls and herons from this maze. Other versions for your reference (许渊冲): http://www.231395.com/y/gssttmgsyjyagetjttgsyjpmgsygtsgotssygusotqguyosqgoyqyoghttyh/ Appreciation: According to scholars, this poem was probably written in 1107, when Li Qing-zhao was in her early twenties. It is sometimes called "Drinking Joy" which we dropped for the first line since the image resonates her happy moment of childhood memories. It is believed this ci depicts an event in her life, a day outing with her dear friends. They were caught in maze of lotus blooms and hundreds of birds rising up around them, an image of carefree joy and innocent pleasure in the junior world. Notes: ① "chen zui": deeply drunk, but not simply in the sense of intoxication, also in the sense of Keats' reverie, in "Ode to a Nightingale," i.e., lost in pleasurable or hypnotic dreaming. ② "wu ru": "mistake into", i.e., not paying attention to where she was going;

永遇乐 . 玉兰词 (庚子年八月澳洲) 作者：闵晓红 蓝天无云， 玉兰无叶， 佳人何处？ 日丽风和， 花香鸟语， 岂知无雷雨？ 梅心惊破， 中秋临近， 新冠何时离去？ 闻天语，归去来兮， 可知田园将芜？ 五洲神游， 二零一九， 都市繁华争有无。 新冠度人， 闭门思过， 街巷让动物。 遥问长江， 几时息怒？ 却念都江堰举； 堤坝堵心且移去， 千年愁无。

浣溪沙.莫许杯深琥珀浓 原作：【宋】李清照 英译：闵晓红 莫许杯深琥珀浓， 未成沉醉意先融。 疏钟已应晚来风。 瑞脑香消魂梦断， 辟寒金小髻鬟松。 醒时空对烛花红。 The Cup Is Never Too Full - to the tune of Huanxisha translated by Julia X. Min The cup is never too full, the wine never too strong. Before the amber drink goes in, my wits are melt and gone. From chime to chime, weary and heavy, a cold wind blows to the lonely town. Whatever incense scented, whatever dream dreamed, all faded but emptiness to dwell upon. With my hairdo messy and worn, the hairpin gold now looks so small. Even red wicks can’t have him at dawn. Other versions for your reference (许渊冲): https://www.en84.com/dianji/ci/200912/00000849.html Appreciation: This ci poem is a good example of “Boudoir Sentiments” popular in the Song poetry by both gentlemen and gentleladies who would compose there and then during grand dinner party or in the drawing rooms. Ci poems are songs composed for the singing girls to sing for the occasion. The guest would usually choose a musical tune ( there were hundreds of them in the Song) for his ci poem. Once done, the ci poem was handed over to a singing girl familiar with the tune. She would sing there and then to entertain. Other guests, if interested, would write more poems in the same rhyming scheme to honour the first one, or, they could start a new one. To become sociable in the Song Court, or aristocratic occasions, you were expected to have mastered the art of music, poetry and prose, calligraphy, drawing, chess, and ultimately a knowledge of history. These include military generals, politicians, martial art masters, and most emperors. The last leader in China who wrote poetry and calligraphy is Mao Zedong. It’s lost now. Contemporaries don’t seem to stand a chance to be ushered in the saloons of the Song. Something we need to dig into, aye…