The Old Man under the Moon: all 100 poems explained

The Old Man under the Moon has 100 poems. For love and fate, from Yue Lao, the matchmaker god. He is a bit like an Eastern Cupid who ties people together with red string. Each one has its own page with the poem in English and Chinese, a plain-English reading, and the story behind it. Tap a number to read it.

What each poem is about

• No. 1 From the Book of Songs, "Guan Ju," the very first poem in the book
  Good love may already be close, like two water birds calling to each other on the river
• No. 2 From Wang Bo's "Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng" (Tang dynasty)
  Two people can fly side by side without losing themselves
• No. 3 From the Doctrine of the Mean, in the Book of Rites
  This bond carries a long blessing, with family behind it for generations
• No. 4 From the Analects, when Confucius visited his sick student Boniu
  Even the best person has flaws
• No. 5 From the book of Mencius, an extreme example he gives in an argument
  If you want this love, you can take the first step, but keep good boundaries
• No. 6 Adapted from a line by the Tang poet Yuan Zhen: "Flower shadows stir on the wall; I wonder if my dear one has come"
  The one you've been hoping for feels close, and every little rustle makes your heart jump
• No. 7 From Liu Yuxi's "Inscription on a Humble Room" (Tang dynasty)
  A simple life is no problem
• No. 8 From the Book of Songs, "In the Mulberry Fields"
  If you like someone, let it show in the open, and keep the dates you make
• No. 9 From the book of Mencius, on young lovers who sneak off to meet in secret
  Let your love walk an open road, with your family's blessing
• No. 10 An old Chinese saying
  In love, don't only count on who will look after you later
• No. 11 A poem stitched together from lines of Tang poems
  You can gently put the past away; there's no need to keep turning over old longing
• No. 12 From the Analects, on knowing how old your parents are
  Love brings both happiness and worry, and that's normal
• No. 13 From Lu You's "Visiting a Village West of the Mountain" (Song dynasty)
  A love that seemed to have nowhere left to go can open up around the next bend
• No. 14 From the Book of Songs, "Valley Wind"
  Hard days taste sweet when someone shares them with you
• No. 15 From the Book of Rites, the chapter "Explaining the Classics"
  A sincere heart is hard to fool, so you don't need to guard yourself so much
• No. 16 From Chen Sen's Qing-dynasty novel Pinhua Baojian, chapter 35
  The one you like likes you back, and even the flowers and birds seem moved
• No. 17 From the Great Learning, in the Book of Rites
  When you look at a person or a relationship, look at character first
• No. 18 From the Records of the Grand Historian, in the chapter on the families of empresses
  A good relationship takes your own care, and it helps to have people behind you
• No. 19 From the Book of Documents, "Against Idle Ease"
  Love comes early for some and late for others, so there's no need to compare timelines
• No. 20 From the Analects, Confucius answering his student Zigong
  If it feels right, go ahead
• No. 21 From the Book of Songs, "Among the Ten Acres"
  What you have is already plenty
• No. 22 From "Four Joys," a poem usually credited to Wang Zhu (Song dynasty)
  A love you've waited long for arrives like rain after drought, and good things come in…
• No. 23 Only a trace of the old feeling remains,
  A little of the old love is still in your heart, like a silkworm that can't stop spinning
• No. 24 His longing has run its course,
  This bond has reached its end
• No. 25 From the Analects, Confucius on his student Gongye Chang, whom he let marry his daughter even though Gongye had been in prison
  This is someone you can trust with your life
• No. 26 From the Book of Songs, "Si Gan," a song for a new house
  Joy comes to the home and blessings to the family, and the relationship is steady
• No. 27 He has the grace of a noble house.
  This person comes from a good family and carries themselves with calm and warmth
• No. 28 From the Doctrine of the Mean, in the Book of Rites, where these are two of the five great human bonds
  The bond between partners and the bond between siblings both run deep
• No. 29 An old saying, collected in Zengguang Xianwen
  What you push hard for may not happen, and what you never planned may work out
• No. 30 A poem stitched together from lines of older poems
  Missing someone after a parting can feel endless, as if they were the far-off goddess of…
• No. 31 Adapted from a verse by the Chan Buddhist monk Chuanzi, the Boat Monk: "The night is still, the water cold, the fish won't bite; I row home with a boat full of moonlight"
  You may not catch a fish this time, but a boat full of moonlight counts too
• No. 32 A folk wordplay couplet. Said aloud in Chinese, it also sounds like "How did I find my match? With luck, I need no matchmaker."
  With a little luck, you won't need a matchmaker
• No. 33 From the Analects, words of Confucius's student Zengzi
  The most precious thing in love is often a person who lets you rest easy, someone you…
• No. 34 From the Analects, words of Min Ziqian about rebuilding a storehouse
  The way things are is already good, so there's no rush to make big changes
• No. 35 From the Book of Songs, "Motherwort in the Valley"
  Some things in love need a clear look
• No. 36 From the Book of Songs, "The Quince"
  When someone shows you kindness, remember to answer it
• No. 37 From the book of Mencius
  The love you want is worth going after, and if you give up, you'll miss it
• No. 38 From the Book of Rites, Confucius answering Duke Ai of Lu
  A good relationship has love in it, and respect too
• No. 39 From the book of Mencius, about the sage-king Shun and his father
  When you're in love, your family is still in your heart
• No. 40 From a line by Xia Yuanding (Song dynasty), later a common saying
  When the search wears you out, stop and look at what's around you
• No. 41 From the book of Mencius, in the story of a man from Qi who lied to his wife and concubine about where he dined
  Before you trust someone with your life, see what they're like in private
• No. 42 Traditionally credited to Su Shi, "Flower Shadows" (Song dynasty)
  Some worries are like flower shadows
• No. 43 Draws on two old stories: Sima Xiangru winning Zhuo Wenjun with his zither, and the neighbor girl who threw her loom shuttle at Xie Kun
  You want to tell them how you feel, and they're not going to say no
• No. 44 From the Thousand Character Classic
  Near or far, you're one family
• No. 45 From the Analects
  Don't underestimate love that comes late
• No. 46 From the book of Mencius: "Looking up, no shame before heaven; looking down, no shame before others"
  If your love is open and honest, with nothing to hide, you're fair to heaven and to people
• No. 47 From the History of the Han, an edict of Emperor Jing
  Don't let love take up all your time
• No. 48 From Gao Ming's play "The Tale of the Pipa" (Yuan dynasty)
  There are plenty of good people around you, so don't decide too fast
• No. 49 From the Great Learning, in the Book of Rites
  When you like someone, see their flaws too, and when you don't, see their good side
• No. 50 From Han Yu's "Elegy for My Nephew, the Twelfth Son" (Tang dynasty)
  It's okay to feel lonely for a while, so take good care of yourself first
• No. 51 From the Great Learning, in the Book of Rites
  When the timing is wrong, even the best person can't do much, so don't force it
• No. 52 From the I Ching, the commentary on the first hexagram, Qian
  Clouds follow the dragon and wind follows the tiger, because like draws like
• No. 53 From the Great Learning, in the Book of Rites
  Don't give your heart to the wrong person, and cherish the ones who deserve it
• No. 54 An old saying about Xiao He, who helped the general Han Xin rise and later helped bring him down, recorded in Hong Mai's Song-dynasty notes
  The same person can make it or break it
• No. 55 From the Book of Songs, "I Walk Through the Fields"
  The old bond is behind you, and someone new is up ahead
• No. 56 From Wang Shifu's play "The Romance of the Western Chamber" (Yuan dynasty)
  People who love each other end up together, and this bond will last and come full circle
• No. 57 From the Zuo Zhuan: a reading done when the Yi family thought about marrying their daughter to Chen Jingzhong
  Like a pair of phoenixes flying wing to wing and singing together, this is a wonderful…
• No. 58 From the Zuo Zhuan (Spring and Autumn period)
  The old bond is still there
• No. 59 From the book of Mencius: Zengzi's father loved sheep dates, and after his father passed away, Zengzi couldn't bear to eat them
  Everyone likes different things, and your tastes aren't right or wrong
• No. 60 Adapted from the Zuo Zhuan: "If you don't fail in what is right, why worry about what people say?"
  If your conscience is clear, you don't need to worry so much about what others say
• No. 61 From the School Sayings of Confucius (Kongzi Jiayu)
  To know someone, look at their friends
• No. 62 From the Zuo Zhuan
  You know best whether you two fit, so you don't need to keep asking others
• No. 63 From Wang Ling's "Seeing Off Spring" (Song dynasty)
  Wanting to win someone back is understandable, and doing your best is enough
• No. 64 From the Zuo Zhuan: Prince Hu of Zheng turned down a marriage into the powerful state of Qi
  If your worlds are too far apart, don't force it
• No. 65 From Tang Xianzu's play "The Peony Pavilion" (Ming dynasty), the scene "Startled by a Dream"
  When you're on your own, be kind to yourself
• No. 66 From Su Shi's poem to the tune "Bu Suan Zi," written in Huangzhou (Song dynasty)
  Being picky means you care, but don't hold yourself too far apart
• No. 67 From the Analects, Confucius on Ji Wenzi, who thought three times before he acted
  Thinking it over twice is enough; thinking too much keeps you stuck
• No. 68 From Su Shi's "On the Terrace of Transcendence" (Song dynasty)
  How a relationship feels sometimes depends on how we look at it
• No. 69 The world is full of people who let others down,
  Some people do let others down, but that doesn't mean the person in front of you is one…
• No. 70 A common phrase in the I Ching
  The way you want to go is the right way, and moving forward will bring you something good
• No. 71 From the Zuo Zhuan, quoting an old song that is no longer in the Book of Songs
  Even when something better comes along, don't look down on the ordinary
• No. 72 From the book of Mencius, his talk with King Hui of Liang
  The wrong approach is like climbing a tree to look for fish
• No. 73 From Sikong Tu's "Twenty-Four Moods of Poetry," the mood called "Refined" (Tang dynasty)
  The rain has passed and the birds fly together
• No. 74 I only regret we did not meet sooner.
  Wishing you'd met sooner is a lovely feeling, but look clearly at the timing and where…
• No. 75 From Wang Shifu's "The Romance of the Western Chamber," in Jin Shengtan's annotated edition
  Sneaking around can't buy real love, and all that effort comes to nothing
• No. 76 From Zhuangzi, the chapter "Mastering Life"
  A good fit lets you forget it's even there
• No. 77 From the Book of Songs, "The Plums Are Falling"
  The right moment is here, and the plums are ripe
• No. 78 From the Analects
  Love can't be rushed, and grabbing small gains can ruin something big
• No. 79 From an extended version of Wang Wei's "Song of Weicheng," sung as "Three Refrains at Yang Pass"
  After a goodbye comes a new start, like willows that look greener after rain
• No. 80 From Qu Yuan's "Nine Songs," the song to the Lesser Lord of Fate
  Saying goodbye hurts, but nothing is happier than being newly understood
• No. 81 From the Book of Songs, "The Spirit Tower"
  Whether love works out has a lot to do with how we look after it
• No. 82 From the Book of Rites, on the banners an army carries on the march
  You're guarded on every side, so it's safe to move forward
• No. 83 From the book of Mencius
  Let this rest for a while
• No. 84 "The Coat of Gold Thread," a Tang poem credited to Du Qiuniang
  Treasure the good times you have now, and if you like someone, take the chance
• No. 85 From the book of Mencius, in a story about Zichan and a live fish he had released into a pond
  Like a fish back in the water, you've found where you belong
• No. 86 From "Far, Far Away, the Herdboy Star," one of the Nineteen Old Poems (Han dynasty)
  What you can see, you can't always reach, and what you can't reach may still be meant…
• No. 87 Draws on two old love stories: Nongyu and Xiao Shi, who flew away from their tower in Qin on phoenixes, and the goddess of Wu Mountain
  The beautiful days you had are gone, and you don't need to keep looking back
• No. 88 From Zhuangzi, a talk with his friend Huizi about feelings
  True feeling doesn't mean being pulled around by likes and dislikes
• No. 89 From the Zuo Zhuan
  The fortune stick is here to help you think
• No. 90 From Qin Guan's "Immortals at the Magpie Bridge" (Song dynasty)
  Distance isn't always a bad thing
• No. 91 Your past has already sunk out of sight;
  Let the past stay in the past, and start getting along well from today
• No. 92 From Cao Cao's "Short Song" (late Han dynasty)
  The one you love is as bright as the moon and just as hard to reach
• No. 93 From Li Bai's preface for a spring night banquet with his cousins in a garden (Tang dynasty)
  Life is like a dream, so make the most of the happy times
• No. 94 From the Analects
  Sweet talk isn't always sincere
• No. 95 From the Book of Songs, "The Locusts"
  A happy home and a growing family
• No. 96 From the Analects
  For someone worth it, you're willing to do even the hard work
• No. 97 From the Records of the Grand Historian: the adviser Kuai Tong speaking to the general Han Xin
  When you're caught between two sides, think it through first
• No. 98 From Zhu Xi's "Thoughts While Reading," the second poem (Song dynasty)
  When the time is right, things go smoothly
• No. 99 From the book of Mencius, on what happens before heaven gives someone a great task
  The hard part you're in now is shaping you
• No. 100 A blessing from old wedding couplets
  Lovely flowers, a full moon, and long life make a wish for a happy, complete life