Image: Detail from “Snowscapes along Yangtze river (長江積雪圖)”, after Wang Wei
OCCASIONAL POEM ON A SUMMER’S DAY
The fierce heat of the south—deep
drunken sleep, the north window open
Silence at midday—but for a farmhand
past the bamboo pounding tea
夏晝偶作
南州溽暑醉如酒，
隱机熟眠開北牖。
⽇午獨覺無餘聲，
⼭童隔⽵敲茶⾅。
W. H. Chong paints and writes, and is the design director of Text Publishing. His 2023 book
Portraits collected 300 of his pictures, and his painting of Michelle de Kretser is in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra. You can find his work on Instagram @w.h.chong
Liǔ Zōngyuán 柳宗元 (773—819 CE) was a middle period Tang poet and politician, and an innovative writer. He promoted the simplicity and directness of ancient Chinese prose, a move towards authenticity considered a hallmark of Tang poetry. He was exiled from the imperial government in 805. His poetry is thought to be deep and melancholic, often reflecting on exile and isolation.
