Yin Mountain

October 17, 2022
These new translations of three Tang Dynasty women Daoist poets—Li Ye (c. 734–784), Xue Tao (c. 768–832), and Yu Xuanji (843–868)—capture the vitality, elegance, and scope of their visions. While male poets of the era—Tu Fu, Li Bo, and Wang Wei—are well known, these women have remained virtually unread. Ye’s images are precise and striking as they evoke longing: “Lying face up, I watch as the bright moon/ tosses my hidden feelings around,/ turning over, I see the running stream,/ and let my desire loose in a poem.// How I remember when I first heard/ Melody of Phoenix Pavilion—/ now it just tumbles my loneliness/ into yearning once again.” “A Natural Autumn in Spring” by Tao assumes a similar mood, “Frosted and starting to clear, just a ribbon of mist—/ in the distance, a tune flows out of seclusion on ten silk strings.” In “Eight Extremes,” Tao delivers a short but powerful meditation: “Nearest or farthest are East and West./ Deepest or shallowest is a clear stream./ Highest and brightest are the sun and the moon./ Most intimate or distant is a couple in bed.” These spiritual, sensitive, and surprising poems offer a memorable introduction to three singular women poets.