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Su Shi 苏轼

Su Shi's lines in this corpus move between intimate feeling and a much wider view of life. Each quotation remains tied to its poem or prose work rather than being detached as a generic slogan.

6 verified linesNorthern Song dynasty8 connected themes2 source collections

Bilingual collection

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6 curated lines
✓ Verified sourceBilingual

人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全。

Rén yǒu bēi huān lí hé, yuè yǒu yīn qíng yuán quē, cǐ shì gǔ nán quán.

Close English reading

People have sorrow and joy, meeting and separation; the moon has brightness and shadow, fullness and loss. Such things have never been complete.

Plain meaningLife cannot remain perfect or whole all the time.

Source
Su Shi· Northern Song dynasty · Prelude to Water Melody: When Will the Moon Be Clear and Bright?
Dongpo Yuefu
Why it fitsHuman change and lunar change are placed side by side, making incompleteness a shared condition rather than a private failure.
Original context and translation note
不应有恨，何事长向别时圆？人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全。

English wording on Gu Ren Said is an original reading aid, not a claim that there is only one valid literary translation.

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但愿人长久，千里共婵娟。

Dàn yuàn rén cháng jiǔ, qiān lǐ gòng chán juān.

Close English reading

May we both live long; though a thousand miles apart, we share the beauty of the moon.

Plain meaningEven far apart, may we be safe and connected under the same moon.

Source
Su Shi· Northern Song dynasty · Prelude to Water Melody: When Will the Moon Be Clear and Bright?
Dongpo Yuefu
Why it fitsThe shared moon becomes a bond between people who cannot physically reunite.
Original context and translation note
但愿人长久，千里共婵娟。

English wording on Gu Ren Said is an original reading aid, not a claim that there is only one valid literary translation.

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不识庐山真面目，只缘身在此山中。

Bù shí Lú Shān zhēn miàn mù, zhǐ yuán shēn zài cǐ shān zhōng.

Close English reading

I cannot know the true face of Mount Lu because I am inside the mountain.

Plain meaningBeing inside a situation can hide the full picture.

Source
Su Shi· Northern Song dynasty · Written on the Wall at West Forest Temple
Song poetry
Why it fitsThe mountain becomes a model of the blind spots created by proximity and involvement.
Original context and translation note
不识庐山真面目，只缘身在此山中。

English wording on Gu Ren Said is an original reading aid, not a claim that there is only one valid literary translation.

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拣尽寒枝不肯栖，寂寞沙洲冷。

Jiǎn jìn hán zhī bù kěn qī, jì mò shā zhōu lěng.

Close English reading

After choosing through every cold branch, it still refuses to settle, alone on the chilly sandbar.

Plain meaningI would rather remain alone than settle where I do not belong.

Source
Su Shi· Northern Song dynasty · Song of Divination: At Dinghui Temple in Huangzhou
Dongpo Yuefu
Why it fitsThe solitary wild goose is often read as a figure of wounded pride and self-possession, not merely romantic loneliness.
Original context and translation note
谁见幽人独往来？缥缈孤鸿影。惊起却回头，有恨无人省。拣尽寒枝不肯栖，寂寞沙洲冷。

English wording on Gu Ren Said is an original reading aid, not a claim that there is only one valid literary translation.

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寄蜉蝣于天地，渺沧海之一粟。

Jì fú yóu yú tiān dì, miǎo cāng hǎi zhī yī sù.

Close English reading

We lodge like mayflies between heaven and earth, tiny as a single grain in the vast sea.

Plain meaningHuman life is brief and small within the immensity of the universe.

Source
Su Shi· Northern Song dynasty · Former Rhapsody on the Red Cliffs
Guwen Guanzhi: Former Rhapsody on the Red Cliffs
Why it fitsThe mayfly and grain of millet place an individual life against cosmic scale.
Original context and translation note
寄蜉蝣于天地，渺沧海之一粟。

English wording on Gu Ren Said is an original reading aid, not a claim that there is only one valid literary translation.

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✓ Verified sourceBilingual

回首向来萧瑟处，归去，也无风雨也无晴。

Huí shǒu xiàng lái xiāo sè chù, guī qù, yě wú fēng yǔ yě wú qíng.

Close English reading

Looking back at the bleak place I came through, I return: there is neither storm nor clear sky.

Plain meaningAfter weathering the storm, I no longer let hardship or ease define me.

Source
Su Shi· Northern Song dynasty · Calming the Waves: Do Not Listen to the Rain Beating Through the Woods
Dongpo Yuefu
Why it fitsThe line looks back on difficulty from a place beyond both fear and forced optimism.
Original context and translation note
竹杖芒鞋轻胜马，谁怕？一蓑烟雨任平生。

The poem begins during a rainstorm, but the ending turns weather into a metaphor for changing circumstances.

English wording on Gu Ren Said is an original reading aid, not a claim that there is only one valid literary translation.

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Explore related themes

See how the same author appears across feelings, situations, and ideas.

LifeLetting goPerspectiveTime & impermanenceCourageFamily & reunionFarewellInner peace

Source collections

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Dongpo Yuefu4Guwen Guanzhi1

Moonlight, separation, imperfection, perspective, hardship, and emotional steadiness expressed with unusual breadth and clarity. English translations on this page are original reading aids and do not replace the Chinese source text.

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