Shan Shui Chinese Landscape Painting and Yu Xuanji "Poem for the Willows by the River"

Poem for the willows by the river


Yu Xuanji (844?–868?)

Jade’s colour joins the river’s barren banks;

smoky clouds dance themselves into distant mansions.

Reflections spread on the surface of the autumn river;

flowers fall on the heads of fishermen.

Old roots hide the haunts of fishes;

branches bend to moor visiting boats.

The night sighs and sighs with wind and rain,

and unsettling dreams return more sadness to me.