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During the late Yuan Dynasty the poetry of townsmen poets matured and Yang Weizhen is a good example of this trend. Born in a small town near Shaoxing in Zhejiang province he lived most of his life in Zhejiang and Jiangsu and was an active leader of poetry societies. He aimed for freedom and unrestraint in his poems, a break from the rationalistic poetry of the Song, particularly that of Su Shi. His life also was that of a free spirit not bound by the restraints of society. The last years of his life were lived in Songjiang, Jiangsu. His funeral inscription reads: "At times, donning a Huayang turban and feathered jacket, floating his bright boat on Dragon Pool or Phoenix Shoal, he would play his iron flute. When the flute's sounds pierced the clouds, those who saw him wondered, might he be a bannished immortal?" (Like Li Bo) "Not a day went by that he did not have guests, and not a day went by that he did not get drunk... Calling the serving girls to sing the lyrics of 'White Snow', he would accompany them on his phoenix lute. Some of the guests whould stagger to their feet and dance." * * Five Hundred Years of Chinese Poetry, 1150-1650 by Yoshikawa Kojiro, translated admirably by John Timothy Wixted, Princeton Library of Asian Translations.

Old Crone 老客婦

West Lake Bamboo Branch Tune (1) 西湖竹枝歌 (1)

West Lake Bamboo Branch Tune (2) 西湖竹枝歌 (2)

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