Ma Zhiyuan's 'Tianjingsha: Autumn Thoughts' is called the forefather of autumn poems.
Tips
culture
In Chinese poetry autumn means homesickness and time running out. Wang Jian's Mid-Autumn poem ends with everyone looking at the same bright moon: 不知秋思落谁家, 'who knows whose home the autumn longing falls on'.
history
Ma Zhiyuan's 28-character 《天净沙·秋思》 opens with three lines of nothing but images (withered vines, old trees, crows at dusk; a small bridge, flowing water, homes) and ends 断肠人在天涯, 'the heartbroken traveler at the edge of the world'.
