Autumn wind rises; white clouds fly. Grass and trees wither; geese go south. Orchids all in bloom; chrysanthemums smell sweet. I think of my lovely lady; I never can forget. Floating pagoda-boat crosses Fēn river; Across the mid-stream white waves rise; Flute and drum keep time to sound of the rower's song; Amidst revel and feasting, sad thoughts come; Youth's years how few! Age how sure!
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View text with all available footnotesConfirmed with A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems. Translated by Arthur Waley, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1922. The poem is preceded by the following note:
By Wu-ti [157–87 B. C.], sixth emperor of the Han dynasty. He came to the throne when he was only sixteen. In this poem he regrets that he is obliged to go on an official journey, leaving his mistress behind in the capital. He is seated in his state barge surrounded by his ministers.
Text Authorship:
- by Arthur Waley (1889 - 1969), "The Autumn Wind", first published 1946 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Chinese (中文) by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (156 BCE - 87 BCE) [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley, Sir (1903 - 1989), "The autumn wind", op. 78 no. 2 (1971) [ voice and piano ], from Five Chinese Songs, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "The autumn wind", op. 58 no. 3 (1957) [ tenor and guitar ], from Songs from the Chinese, no. 3, Boosey & Hawkes [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2013-02-11
Line count: 9
Word count: 66