Birthday poem · October 1Autumn Equinox, the 16th solar term: day and night are equal again.
Birth character
綠 lǜ · green
綠 combines 糸 "silk" with a sound element; it first meant green-dyed silk, then green.
萬條垂下綠絲絛
“A thousand branches droop like fringes made of jade.” — He Zhizhang, ‘Ode to the Willow’
Other dates with this poem: December 5
The poem
“The Banks of the Qi” 淇奧
- 瞻彼淇奧Look at that bend of the Qi,
- 綠竹猗猗its green bamboo so lush and fine.
- 有匪君子There is an accomplished gentleman,
- 如切如磋as if cut and filed,
- 如琢如磨as if carved and polished.
Why this poem
The Book of Songs compares a gentleman to green bamboo, "as if cut and polished".
This day in the Chinese calendar
Solar term: Autumn Equinox.