The Fifteenth of the Nineteen Ancient Poems

The Fifteenth of the Nineteen Ancient Poems

By an anonymous author of the Eastern Han Dynasty,

which spanned from 25 to 220 AD.

Life spans shorter than a century;

Worry extends longer than a millennium.

Day is too short and night too long.

Why not take a candle out to the stadium?

Seize the moment while you can.

Why wait for the future in vain?

Fools panic about every penny.

Later generations will only laugh about their unnecessary

pain.

Only gods live eternally.

Expecting the same of human life is insane.

The "Gushi shijiu shou" or "Nineteen Old Poems" have traditionally been considered among the earliest as well as finest examples of five-syllable verse.} This group of Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.) poems includes works on a variety of subjects and themes, in a number of different voices or personas.