Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, CIVILIZATION, by YUAN CHIEH


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

CIVILIZATION, by                    
First Line: To the south-east - three thousand leagues
Last Line: Whether saints and sages have really done us good.
Alternate Author Name(s): Tz'u-shan
Subject(s): China - Tang Dynasty (618-905); Civilization


To the south-east -- three thousand leagues --
The Yuan and Hsiang form into a mighty lake.
Above the lake are deep mountain valleys,
And men dwelling whose hearts are without guile.
Gay like children, they swarm to the tops of the trees;
And run to the water to catch bream and trout.
Their pleasures are the same as those of beasts and birds;
They put no restraint either on body or mind.
Far I have wandered throughout the Nine Lands;
Wherever I went such manners had disappeared.
I find myself standing and wondering, perplexed,
Whether Saints and Sages have really done us good.





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