Birthday poem · May 27Grain Buds, the 8th solar term: wheat and barley begin to fill.
Birth character
清 qīng · clear, pure
清 combines 水 "water" with 青 as a sound element; it means clear water, or pure.
問渠那得清如許
“I ask how it can stay so clear and clean” — Zhu Xi, ‘Thoughts on Reading’
Other dates with this poem: August 4
The poem
“Summer Mood” 夏意
- 別院深深夏簟清In the secluded courtyard, deep, deep, the summer mat is cool;
- 石榴開遍透簾明pomegranates bloom everywhere, bright through the blinds.
- 樹陰滿地日當午Tree shade covers the ground, the sun stands at noon;
- 夢覺流鶯時一聲waking from a dream, I hear an oriole's single call.
Why this poem
Su Shunqin wakes from a summer nap to pomegranate flowers and one oriole call.
This day in the Chinese calendar
Solar term: Grain Buds.