‘Spring Is Back Already’ and Other Poems

‘Spring Is Back Already’ and Other Poems

Xin Qiji was a Chinese poet, calligrapher, and military general whose works of ci—poetic verses written or sung to existing musical patterns—are considered by many to be the best of the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279).  From an early age, Xin Qiji’s life was marked by hardship. Losing his father at 8 years old, Xin Qiji was raised by his grandfather. While he had a brief spell studying poetry under the tutelage of Liu Zhan 劉瞻, Xin Qiji quickly…