Gui Zhi Xiang (桂枝香) — Wang Anshi
A free printable Chinese handwriting worksheet for Wang Anshi's Song dynasty lyric "Gui Zhi Xiang (桂枝香)", with pinyin, stroke-order guides, and Chinese writing practice grids.
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Original Poem
登临送目。
正故国晚秋，天气初肃。
千里澄江似练，翠峰如簇。
归帆去棹残阳里，背西风、酒旗斜矗。
彩舟云淡，星河鹭起，画图难足。
念往昔、繁华竞逐。
叹门外楼头，悲恨相续。
千古凭高，对此漫嗟荣辱。
六朝旧事随流水，但寒烟、芳草凝绿。
至今商女，时时犹唱，后庭遗曲。
Pinyin
dēng lín sòng mù。
zhèng gù guó wǎn qiū， tiān qì chū sù。
qiān lǐ chéng jiāng sì liàn， cuì fēng rú cù。
guī fān qù zhào cán yáng lǐ， bèi xī fēng、 jiǔ qí xié chù。
cǎi zhōu yún dàn， xīng hé lù qǐ， huà tú nán zú。
niàn wǎng xī、 fán huá jìng zhú。
tàn mén wài lóu tóu， bēi hèn xiāng xù。
qiān gǔ píng gāo， duì cǐ màn jiē róng rǔ。
liù cháo jiù shì suí liú shuǐ， dàn hán yān、 fāng cǎo níng lǜ。
zhì jīn shāng nǚ， shí shí yóu chàng， hòu tíng yí qǔ。
English Meaning
I climb and gaze afar: the old capital in late autumn, the first clear cold of the year. A thousand li of river like unrolled white silk; emerald peaks clustered like arrowheads. Homebound sails in the slanting sun; wine flags slanted against the west wind. Painted boats in pale cloud, egrets rising like the Milky Way — no painting could capture it. I think of the past, its race after splendor: 'sorrow outside the gate, grief on the tower,' one lament after another. A thousand years of climbers sighing over glory and shame. The Six Dynasties' affairs have flowed off with the water; only cold mist and grasses keep their green. To this day the singing girls, from time to time, still sing the leftover song of the Back Courtyard.
Key Vocabulary
Each term links to its word page with more readings and examples.
Practice the Characters
Every character page has a stroke-order animation, step-by-step breakdown, and common words.
About the Poem
Wang Anshi's (1021–1086) meditation at Jinling on the fall of the Six Dynasties. A masterpiece of ci landscape that closes on a warning: the shop girls still sing the 'Back Courtyard' tune of a doomed court.
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