Yuan Zhen

thumb|Yuan Chen Yuan Zhen (Chinese: 元稹; 779 – September 2, 831), courtesy name Weizhi (微之), was a politician of the middle Tang Dynasty, but is better known as an important Chinese writer and poet. Quotes 寥落古行宫，宫花寂寞红。白头宫女在，闲坐说玄宗。 Deserted now the Imperial bowersSave by some few poor lonely flowers...One white-haired dame,An emperor's flame,Sits down and tells of bygone hours. "At an Old Palace" 《行宫), in Gems of Chinese Literature, trans. Herbert A. Giles Variant translations: Deserted now imperial bowers.For whom still redden palace flowers?Some white-haired chambermaids at leisureTalk of the late emperor's pleasure. "At an Old Palace", in Song of the Immortals: An Anthology of Classical Chinese Poetry, trans. Yuanchong Xu (Beijing: New World Press, 1994), p. 128 The ancient Palace lies in desolation spread.The very garden flowers in solitude grow red.Only some withered dames with whitened hair remain,Who sit there idly talking of mystic monarchs dead. "The Ancient Palace", as translated by W. J. B. Fletcher in Lotus and Chrysanthemum: An Anthology of Chinese and Japanese Poetry (New York: Boni & Liveright, 1934), p. 107 External links Category:9th century deaths Category:Tang dynasty poets Category:Novelists from China