Living
Inscription on a Wash-Basin
Translated by Herbert A. Giles (1898) · From Chinese Poetry in English Verse (1898)
Living
Oh, rather than sink in the world's foul tide
I would sink in the bottomless main;
For he who sinks in the world's foul tide
In noisome depths shall for ever abide,
But he who sinks in the bottomless main
May hope to float to the surface again.
Cite this poem
MLA
Anonymous (Classical Chinese). “Inscription on a Wash-Basin.” Translated by Herbert A. Giles. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/classical-chinese-anonymous/5/.
Chicago
Anonymous (Classical Chinese). “Inscription on a Wash-Basin.” Translated by Herbert A. Giles. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/classical-chinese-anonymous/5/.
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