The world's most complex poem: 841 characters encoding 7,958+ interlocking poems, composed in 357 CE.
In 357 CE, Su Hui (蘇蕙) wove an impossible poem into silk brocade to win back her exiled husband. The result: a 29×29 grid of Chinese characters readable in any direction—horizontally, vertically, diagonally, spiraling, reversed—each path producing distinct rhyming poetry.
Her husband returned. The poem survived 1,700 years.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Characters | 841 |
| Grid | 29 × 29 |
| Extractable poems | 7,958+ |
| Reading directions | 8+ |
| Year composed | ~357 CE |
琴清流楚激弦商秦曲发声悲摧藏音和咏思惟空堂心忧增慕怀惨伤仁
芳廊东步阶西游王姿淑窕窈伯邵南周风兴自后妃荒经离所怀叹嗟智
兰休桃林阴翳桑怀归思广河女卫郑楚樊厉节中闱淫遐旷路伤中情怀
凋翔飞燕巢双鸠土迤逶路遐志咏歌长叹不能奋飞妄清帏房君无家德
茂流泉情水激扬眷颀其人硕兴齐商双发歌我衮衣想华饰容朗镜明圣
熙长君思悲好仇旧蕤葳粲翠荣曜流华观冶容为谁感英曜珠光纷葩虞
阳愁叹发容摧伤乡悲情我感伤情徵宫羽同声相追所多思感谁为荣唐
春方殊离仁君荣身苦惟艰生患多殷忧缠情将如何钦苍誓穹终笃志贞
墙禽心滨均深身加怀忧是婴藻文繁虎龙宁自感思岑形荧城荣明庭妙
面伯改汉物日我愁思何漫漫荣曜华雕颀孜孜伤情幽未犹倾苟难闱显
殊在者之品润乎兼苦艰是丁丽状观饰容侧君在时岩在炎在不受乱华
意诚惑步育浸集悴我生何冤充颜曜绣衣梦想劳形峻慎盛戒义消作重
感故昵飘施愆殃少章时桑诗端无终始诗仁颜贞寒嵯深兴后姬源人荣
故遗亲飘生思愆精徽盛翳风比平始璇情贤丧物岁峨虑渐孽班祸谗章
新旧闻离天罪辜神恨昭感兴作苏心玑明别改知识深微至嬖女因奸臣
霜废远微地积何遐微业孟鹿丽氏诗图显行华终凋渊察大赵婕所佞贤
冰故离隔德怨因幽元倾宣鸣辞理兴义怨士容始松重远伐氏妤恃凶惟
齐君殊乔贵其备旷悼思伤怀日往感年衰念是旧愆涯祸用飞辞姿害圣
洁子我木平根尝远叹永感悲思忧远劳情谁为独居经在昭燕辇极我配
志惟同谁均难苦离戚戚情哀慕岁殊叹时贱女怀叹网防青实汉骄忠英
清新衾阴匀寻辛凤知我者谁世异浮奇倾鄙贱何如罗萌青生成盈贞皇
纯贞志一专所当麟沙流颓逝异浮沉华英翳曜潜阳林西昭景薄榆桑伦
望微精感通明神龙驰若然倏逝惟时年殊白日西移光滋愚谗漫顽凶匹
谁云浮寄身轻飞昭亏不盈无倏必盛有衰无日不陂流蒙谦退休孝慈离
思辉光饬粲殊文德离忠体一违心意志殊愤激何施电疑危远家和雍飘
想群离散妾孤遗怀仪容仰俯荣华丽饰身将与谁为逝容节敦贞淑思浮
怀悲哀声殊乖分圣赀何情忧感惟哀志节上通神祗推持所贞记自恭江
所春伤应翔雁归皇辞成者作体下遗葑菲采者无差生从是敬孝为基湘
亲刚柔有女为贱人房幽处己悯微身长路悲旷感生民梁山殊塞隔河津
The center row contains 苏心玑 — "Su's Heart Gauge" — the author's signature embedded in her own work.
The outer ring forms a circular poem readable in both directions:
Clockwise:
仁智怀德圣虞唐，贞志笃终誓穹苍，钦所感想妄淫荒，心忧增慕怀惨伤
Benevolence and wisdom cherish virtue—sages Shun and Yao. Chaste will sincere to the end, swearing to the vault of heaven. Revering what I feel—vain, lustful, desolate. Heart's grief grows in yearning, cherishing miserable wounds.
Counter-clockwise:
伤惨怀慕增忧心，荒淫妄想感所钦，苍穹誓终笃志贞，唐虞圣德怀智仁
Wounded and miserable, cherishing yearning, worry in my heart grows. Desolate licentiousness, vain thoughts—feeling what I revere. Vault of heaven, swearing to the end, sincere will. Yao and Shun—sage virtue cherishing wisdom and benevolence.
The character 唐 (táng) does NOT refer to the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE), which wouldn't exist for 260+ years after this poem was written.
唐虞 refers to the legendary sage-emperors Yao (堯, ~2300 BCE) and Shun (舜, ~2200 BCE)—a classical phrase meaning "the golden age of virtuous rule."
The Tang Dynasty later took its name from this ancient association.
The live demo lets you:
- Click any character to see pinyin and English meaning
- Trace paths through the grid to extract poems
- Load preset readings (border, rows, columns, diagonals)
- See real-time translations as you build paths
| Element | Why it can't translate |
|---|---|
| Rhyme schemes | Based on Chinese phonology |
| Palindrome properties | Chinese grammar allows reversibility |
| Tonal musicality | Four tones create untranslatable melody |
| Character density | Each character = 1–5 English words |
This translation preserves meaning and structure. The music lives only in the original.
| Year | Scholar | Poems Found |
|---|---|---|
| ~690 CE | Empress Wu Zetian | 200+ |
| ~1100 CE | Monk Qizong | 3,752 |
| ~1600 CE | Kang Wanmin | 4,206 |
| 2000s CE | Computational analysis | 7,958+ |
| File | Description |
|---|---|
index.html |
Interactive grid explorer |
star_gauge_translation.md |
Complete character-by-character translation |
git clone https://github.com/consigcody94/star-gauge.git
cd star-gauge
open index.htmlOr visit the live demo.
Public domain (CC0). The original poem is 1,700 years old.
For Su Hui, who wove infinity into silk.