DU MU (803 52)

Tang poet, calligrapher, painter, and essayist Du Mu was born in Changan, capital of the Tang dynasty and present-day Xian, to an illustrious family, but after the death of his father and grandfather when he was still young the family fell on lean times and was forced to give up servants and sell off property to survive, yet he managed to gain a classical education and passed the imperial exam at twenty five. He had a number of minor positions, but not enough to satisfy his ambition, and he made it a habit of writing those in high places, praising his credentials and critiquing civil and military policies, but only achieved a post he was happy with a few months before his death in 852. 524 of his poems survive.
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Mountain Hiking

Up the distant cold mountain a stone path extends slant.
At the place where white clouds rise there is a house.
I stop my carriage and sit to enjoy the late maple forest.
The frost-bit leaves are redder than February flowers.

        ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping