Arts & Sciences

In an Old Library

by Yüan Mei 18th century AD

Translated by L. Cranmer-Byng (1916) · From A Feast of Lanterns (1916)

Arts & Sciences

Ten thousand tomes with pendant discs of jade,
Bowls of old Shang with bronze of Chow displayed,
And suddenly the small
Tinkle of girdle gems floats through the hall,
As though the wind custodian sings:—
"I guard the fragrance of a thousand springs.
Draw near! draw near!
Ten thousand yesterdays are gathered here."

MLA

Mei, Yüan. “In an Old Library.” Translated by L. Cranmer-Byng. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/yuan-mei/6/.

Chicago

Mei, Yüan. “In an Old Library.” Translated by L. Cranmer-Byng. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/yuan-mei/6/.

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