The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

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29

Raising girls brings up many fears.
Those already born should be trained well.
Push at their heads to make them attentive,
whip their backs to keep their mouths shut.
If they can’t operate a shuttle and loom,
how can they use brooms and dustpans?
Old woman Zhang tells her donkey foal,
“When you grow up, don’t be like your mother.”

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