Opening of
刘禹锡《
秋词二首·
其二》(Liu Yuxi, Autumn Songs II, No. 2, Tang, early 9th c.):
山明水净夜来霜，
数树深红出浅黄。
试上高楼清入骨，
岂如春色嗾人狂 (Bright hills, clean waters, frost by night; a few trees of deep red stand out among the pale yellows. Try climbing the high tower — the clarity pierces to the bone. How could spring's riot compare?). Liu Yuxi is famous for rejecting the stock 'autumn-as-melancholy' trope; for him autumn is crisper and more inspiring than spring.
