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Here's the wikipedia entry on this poem along with the audio. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion-Eating_Poet_in_the_Stone_Den http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion-

• byw 16y ago
  It's interesting to compare the original version in Classical Chinese with the vernacular Chinese one. The Classical Chinese version just sounds (err, reads) so much more awesome, like a smooth-talking wisecrack who can't be bothered to dispense extra breaths, while the vernacular version reads like a seven-year old's essay. I always had the impression that Classical Chinese was painstakingly crafted and preserved by a small group of elitists obsessed with aesthetics and abhorred ease-of-learning. The ultra-minimalist syntax seems very "inorganic", but it makes every line poetry and invitation for puns. As a result, most people were illiterate, but if you were well-read, boy, the fun you could have with words.