Silk, Sense, and Sensibility

Against the clear sky,

自古逢秋悲寂寥，我言秋日勝春朝。

晴空一鶴排雲上，便引詩情到碧霄。

The ancients call autumn a melancholy time,

Yet I say autumn surpasses spring.

Against the clear sky,

A crane flies above the clouds,

Making my spirits soar.

—Poem by Liú Yǔxī, Tang dynasty, transcribed by Fan Enze