In this episode, let's talk about the secret weapon for practicing Chinese tones, classic poetry.

For poems, tones are everything, they are like songs minus the music, they are beautiful and they rhyme, and not like modern poems that only rhyme at the end of verse, classic poems rhyme at every single character.
So, here’s secret for how to use them for your benefit.

The full version of the opening song could be found here with the full lyrics:

You could contact me at [email protected].

Appendix:

Poem from Meryl Streep
鹿柴
空山不见人，但闻人语响。 
返景入深林，复照青苔上。

5 Poems for Practice

#1. 大林寺桃花
人间四月芳菲尽，山寺桃花始盛开。
长恨春归无觅处，不知转入此中来。

The peach flower in Da Lin temple.
In June, the petals all have fallen,
But the mountain temple's peach blossom has just begun to bloom.
I regretted so much that spring had gone without a trace,
But I didn't know that it had only moved up here.

#2. 江南逢李龟年
岐王宅里寻常见，崔九堂前几度闻。
正是江南好风景，落花时节又逢君。

Meeting Li Guinian at south of the river
In Prince Qi's mansion house, I met you often,
By Cui Jiu's hall, I heard you several times.
Truly the landscape south of the river is good,
I meet you again in the season of falling blossom.

#3. 赠汪伦
李白乘舟将欲行，忽闻岸上踏歌声。
桃花潭水三千尺，不及汪伦送我情。

For Wang Lun
Li Bai is already on the boat, preparing to depart,
I suddenly hear singing on the shore.
The water of Taohua pond reaches a thousand feet in depth,
But still it's not as deep as Wang Lun's feelings seeing me off.

#4. 静夜思
床前明月光，疑是地上霜。
举头望明月，低头思故乡。

Thinking at Night
The moon is shining bright beside my bed.
I thought that it was frost upon the ground.
I raised my head and look at the bright moon,
And I lowered my head missing my home.

#5. 草
离离原上草，一岁一枯荣。
野火烧不尽，春风吹又生。

Grass
The grass spreads out across the plain,
Each year, it dies, then flourishes again.
It's burnt but not destroyed by fires,
When spring winds blow they bring it back to life.