Translation and commentary
Read the original Chinese next to a plain English translation, then commentary on the imagery, the history and why the lines still matter.
Classical Chinese poetry · iPhone
The great poems of China, with English beside every line.
Read more than 600 Tang poems and Song lyrics in the original Chinese, with clear English translations, commentary on each poem, and guqin music while you read.
Download on theApp Store
Free to download. Works in English, 简体 and 繁體.
Poem of the day
A new poem each morning, and 600 more to browse.
The collection
Two anthologies that every Chinese reader grows up with.
The Three Hundred Tang Poems and the Three Hundred Song Lyrics have shaped how China reads poetry for centuries. Ink & Verse gathers both, so English readers can meet the same poems, in the same words.
600+Tang poems and Song lyrics, each with an English translation
1,300years of verse, from the High Tang to the Southern Song
1new poem on your home screen every day
Inside the app
A quiet page of ink and paper for every poem.
No feeds or streaks. Each poem opens on its own page, and you read it at your own pace.
A poem every day
A new poem waits on the home screen each morning. Read it with your coffee, or tap Random for something unexpected.
Meet the poets
Each poet has a profile with their life, courtesy name and era, and links to every poem of theirs in the collection.
Guqin music for reading
Play recordings of the guqin, the seven-string zither of the scholar’s study, while you read. Every track is credited to its performer.
- Search by title, poet or line
- Calligraphic typefaces
- Simplified and traditional script
- Save the poems that move you
- Ink-wash paper backgrounds
Your seal
Your name, carved in Chinese.
Chinese poets and painters signed their work with a carved seal. Ink & Verse makes one for you. Type your name, and the app finds Chinese characters that sound like it and cuts them in ancient seal script.
- Tap any character to swap it for another with the same sound.
- Choose a relief seal in red, or an intaglio seal cut white from the red with Pro.
- Your seal is stamped on the poems you save and the images you share.
- Already have a Chinese name? The seal uses it as it is.
Today’s poem
Try a poem now.
A sample of how a page reads in the app, with the original, the translation and a short note.
竹里馆
独坐幽篁里
弹琴复长啸
深林人不知
明月来相照
Bamboo Lodge
Wang Wei · Tang dynasty · Five-character quatrain
Alone in the deep bamboo grove, I play my zither and whistle at length. No one knows I am here in the forest; only the bright moon comes to shine upon me.
Bamboo, music, a whistle, and moonlight create a quiet world complete in itself. The speaker is alone but not bereft: the moon becomes a companion.
One of 600+ poems in the app
The poets
Li Bai, Du Fu, Su Shi and the rest of the canon.
Each poet has a portrait, a short biography and every poem of theirs in the collection.
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Li Bai 李白
701–762 · Tang
The “Poet Immortal” of the High Tang, known for his unrestrained imagination: mountains, moonlight and wine.
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Du Fu 杜甫
712–770 · Tang
He recorded a turbulent age and its people with moral force, and wrote movingly of friendship, family and home.
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Wang Wei 王维
701–761 · Tang
A poet and painter whose landscapes are tranquil and spacious, with the clarity of a picture and the stillness of Zen.
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Su Shi 苏轼
1037–1101 · Song
A master of poetry, lyric, prose and calligraphy, ranging from open-hearted grandeur to close attention to daily life.
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Li Qingzhao 李清照
c. 1084–1155 · Song
The great woman lyricist of China. Her early songs are light and vivid, and her later work deep and restrained.
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Xin Qiji 辛弃疾
1140–1207 · Song
A soldier-poet who rode south to fight for the Song. His bold, generous lyrics pair him with Su Shi.
Questions
Frequently asked
Do I need to read Chinese?
No. Every poem has an English title, a plain English translation and commentary on its imagery and history. The original Chinese sits beside it for anyone who wants to follow the characters.
Which poems are included?
The two classic anthologies: the Three Hundred Tang Poems and the Three Hundred Song Lyrics. That is more than 600 works by Li Bai, Du Fu, Wang Wei, Su Shi, Li Qingzhao, Xin Qiji and many others.
Is it free?
The app is free to download, and poems by the best-known poets are free to read. Ink & Verse Pro unlocks every poem and poet in the collection. You can choose a monthly or yearly subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase.
Which devices does it run on?
Ink & Verse is an iPhone app, available on the App Store.
Still have a question, found a mistake in a translation, or want to share an idea? Email raowenjieszu@gmail.com. I read and reply to every message. You can also write from Settings in the app.
欲穷千里目，更上一层楼
“To see a thousand miles farther, climb one more storey.” — Wang Zhihuan