The Path to Taihang Mountain by Bai Juyi (link to Chinese version)
The path to Taihang Mountain can wreck carriages, but compared to the human heart it is smooth
The waters of Wu Gorge can drown boats, but compared to the human heart it is tranquil
When you love a person your love is as vast as the skies, when you hate them, you look at them and only see their ugly scars
Not five years into marriage, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl [soulmates] have turned into two constellations that don’t even share the same sky
History says affection fades as beauty withers—lust cannot capture a man forever, and that was resented by the beautiful women of the past
When I look into the mirror of the luan [mythological bird that saw its own shadow in the mirror and lamented for the first time], I see I have not lost my own beauty, yet I already lost my husband’s heart
I drench myself in fragrances for my husband, who still finds me undesirable
I decorate myself in gold and jade for my husband, who still finds me dull
The path of life is hard and a hard story to tell
It’s best to not be born a daughter, because someone else will control your sorrows and happiness
The path of life is hard, harder than climbing mountains, harder than braving seas
Wife is to husband as rulers to subjects
By dawn my emperor bestows me with titles in gratitude, by dusk my emperor grants me death as a gift
The path of life is hard, not because seas are deep, not because mountains are high, but because one can never trust the human heart