Chinese poem illustration: 江南/ South of Yangtze River by Anonymous
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A fork song dated 2000 years ago, a Musical Department song( 汉乐府) in Han dynasty, a rare love song of the time being, became part of the root of southern literature, a new and alternative style finally joined the Chinese literature.
Before Song dynasty(宋朝), precisely before Mid-Tang period(中唐), South of Yangtze refers to mid-stream regions rather than downstream as of today.
This song created and established several terms and images for Chinese culture, the content and connotation of South of Yangtze(江南), Lotus(莲), Fish(鱼), these terms or images are quite oftenly seen through the Chinese history, in poems, songs, novels, paintings, movies , buildings etc. With deep dive to the lyric, or poem as we call it today, the very simple and a bit weird poem is reasoned.
江南
佚名
江南可采莲，
莲叶何田田，
鱼戏莲叶间。
鱼戏莲叶东，
鱼戏莲叶西，
鱼戏莲叶南，
鱼戏莲叶北。
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