📖 POEM 1: Mountain-Riding (山行) by Du Mu (杜牧) — Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE)
远上寒山石径斜，
白云生处有人家。
停车坐爱枫林晚，
霜叶红于二月花。
Translation:
A stone path winds up the cold mountain,
White clouds rise where people dwell.
I stop my carriage, enchanted by the maple forest at dusk,
Frost-kissed leaves redder than spring flowers.
About this poem:
"Mountain-Riding" is one of the most famous autumn poems in Chinese literature. Du Mu captures the beauty of fall foliage with just four lines — transforming ordinary maple leaves into something more precious than spring blossoms. The poem teaches us to slow down and appreciate nature's seasonal transformations.
📖 POEM 2: Ode to the Countryside (山村咏怀) by Shao Yong (邵雍) — Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE)
一去二三里，
烟村四五家。
亭台六七座，
八九十枝花。
Translation:
Walking just two or three miles,
A misty village with four or five homes.
Six or seven pavilions stand,
Eight or nine clusters of flowers bloom.
About this poem:
"Ode to the Countryside" is a charming counting poem that has delighted Chinese children for centuries. Shao Yong masterfully embeds the numbers one through ten into four simple lines, creating a vivid picture of rural tranquility. It's often the first classical poem children learn in Chinese school.
