Ecstatic Chinese Poetry

Lately, I've been studying Tang poetry. I'm reading well-known poem by Meng Jiao called Deng Ke Hou (登科後，孟郊). Here's the poem in Chinese:

登科後

昔日齷齪不足誇
今朝放蕩思無涯
春風得意馬蹄疾
一日看儘長安花

I like it so much, I decide to translate it into English:

After Passing the Imperial Exam

My life before this (just think "destitute) isn't worth a mention.
Today, though, I'm wild and my thoughts soar.
Filled with delight, I gallop around town, furiously.
In one day, I've just seen all the flowers in Chang An.

A little background. Meng Jiao was 42 when he first took the Imperial Exam, but failed it. He took it again, but failed again. Finally, when he was 45, he passed it.

I like Meng Jiao and his poem, as it reminds me of Rumi's poetry. Meng Jiao is definitely the "lame goat" that Rumi mentions, and he's got the ecstatic joy that is so central to most Sufi poetry.

Of course, after he passed his exam, he gets assigned to a low-level post and "goes back" to being poor!

More ecstatic poetry!