Here’s a beautiful dual-language collection of Tang Dynasty poets in Chinese and English. A generous and thoughtful gift from a student, it features classics by Du Fu, Wang Wei, and Li Bai.

This past year I taught my first classes in Chinese and Korean nature poetry. It was a daunting task, but it allowed me to share much of what I learned at the 2023 NCTA Teaching East Asian Literature Workshop at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar Center for Global and International Studies. 

What made the experience in the classroom truly extraordinary was that international students from China and Korea shared their knowledge and insights about the poems both in and out of the classroom, pointing out the ways these often brief poems are studied not only for their philosophical and lyrical beauty, but also as historical, political, and autobiographical texts. 

After speaking authoritatively about the 20th-century Korean Sijo master Kim Sowol, a student observed that having the opportunity to talk about her country’s poetry allowed her to relive her glory days in middle school when she was a star pupil (she is still a star pupil!). 

Another asked permission to open YouTube to show us a scene from the popular Chinese xuanhuan C-drama, Joy of Life, in which a young noble stuns the royal court by performing Du Fu’s 7th-century masterpiece, “Climbing High,” which we just finished reading and discussing! Of course, this unplanned but delightful discovery led to all sorts of questions, much hilarity, and yes, I am now so addicted to this series.

My goal for this year is to learn to perform a poem by Du Fu for my students. It can only go badly, but I promise I will let you all know how it turned out!