The Sun and Moon Turn Full Circle

“...The pavilions and towers where songs once rang out, all that splendor swept away by wind and rain. By grassy trees in the slanting sun, along ordinary streets and lanes, they say Lord Ji Nu once lived. Think of those days, when his armored warriors and iron steeds swept forth, their force enough to swallow ten thousand miles like tigers...”

Some say the Eastern Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties were the darkest and bloodiest period in Chinese history. It was an age of chaos, when cities and clans were slaughtered at the drop of a hat and people were treated as walking meat.

Over those two hundred-plus years, dynasties founded by various peoples produced a total of sixty-five emperors.

The best known among them was Liu Yu, Emperor Wu of Song, admired by the great Southern Song poet Xin Qiji. Born a commoner, he ultimately founded a dynasty and became emperor in an age dominated by aristocratic clans.

The only poem of Liu Yu's to survive is this one:

“Since you left, my gold and kingfisher adornments have lost their luster. I think of you as the sun and moon, circling through day and night.”

The Sun and Moon's Revolving Cycle