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Lín Píng Dào ZhōngOn the Road to Linping 临平道中

Daoqian (道潜, also known as Canliao)｜Northern Song｜seven-character quatrain

Daoqian on lotus and dragonflies below Linping Hill in the fifth month.

Original Chinese text with pinyin

风蒲猎猎弄轻柔
fēng pú liè liè nòng qīng róu

欲立蜻蜓不自由
yù lì qīng tíng bù zì yóu

五月临平山下路
wǔ yuè lín píng shān xià lù

藕花无数满汀洲
ǒu huā wú shù mǎn tīng zhōu

Simplified characters; traditional title: 臨平道中.

Reeds in the wind rustle, toying soft and light;

a dragonfly wants to land but can't hold still.

On the road below Linping Hill in the fifth month,

countless lotus flowers fill the islets.

Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.

风蒲猎猎弄轻柔 · fēng pú liè liè nòng qīng róu — Reeds in the wind rustle, toying soft and light;

欲立蜻蜓不自由 · yù lì qīng tíng bù zì yóu — a dragonfly wants to land but can't hold still.

五月临平山下路 · wǔ yuè lín píng shān xià lù — On the road below Linping Hill in the fifth month,

藕花无数满汀洲 · ǒu huā wú shù mǎn tīng zhōu — countless lotus flowers fill the islets.

Daoqian on lotus and dragonflies below Linping Hill in the fifth month. The scene stays with you.

Daoqian on lotus and dragonflies below Linping Hill in the fifth month.

The monk Daoqian (Canliao), friend of Su Shi, wrote lucid spare poems.

Lifetime: 1043–1106. Other famous works: On the Road to Linping (临平道中).