"Beyond the Great Mountains"
By: Ed Young
Beyond the great mountains
Far to the east, a vast fertile plain.
In its sky, mist rose and fell, rain water gathering, river cascading
Down cliffs and boulders, through valleys into fields.
As sun, moon kept watch, earth gave birth
To sprouts above, metal below
Trees of hanging grains, corn, wheat, millet and rice.
In winter's ice, summer's fire, more plants flourished.
One of drooping leaves, bamboo; of even-rowed, leek;
Another of sprawling vines, squash; of fuzzy stems, hemp.
To the west, where birds roost, a rock of wonder, salt, was found.
To the south, rice fermented into wine.
A precious stone embraced heaven and earth, jade.
This was middle empire, China.
Our group chose this poem because it illustrated what China and Asia looked like before modern culture. Being able to create a visual image of what Asia looked like is valuable.
"Cat Heaven"
By: Lo Ch'ing
Translated from Chinese by: Joseph R. Allen
Out of the cat's dream
floats a lavish mouse banquet
As mice sleep deep
in that aroma-soaked dream
Dreaming of
a cat
Eating dreams
for sustenance
Our group chose to post "Cat Heaven" because cats represent a myriad of positive things in Asian mythology. For example, cats represent protection from evil because they are able to see so well in the dark. They also represent good luck and good fortune.
