RIVER SNOW
A thousand mountains
Every bird vanished
A million pathways
Each footprint expunged
Alone on a boat
in straw hat and cloak
an old man fishing
in the cold river snow
江雪
千山鳥飛絕
萬徑人蹤滅
孤舟簑笠翁
獨釣寒江雪
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.
