Ch’u Kuang-hsi (707–760?)
Cracking whips, off to the wine shop,
in flashy clothes heading for the whorehouse door;
a million cash spent in an hour—
expressionless, they never speak a word.
Translated by Burton Watson
From Kiangsu, the poet became a Presented Scholar in the year 726. He wrote conventional court poetry, but sometimes gave it a surprisingly ironic or reflective twist. He also wrote bucolic poems, a foil for his absorption in the courtly life of the capital.