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Sū Dī Qīng Míng Jí ShìQingming on Su Causeway 苏堤清明即事

Wu Weixin (吴惟信, also known as )｜Southern Song｜seven-character quatrain

Wu Weixin on crowds on the Su Causeway at West Lake at Qingming.

Original Chinese text with pinyin

梨花风起正清明
lí huā fēng qǐ zhèng qīng míng

游子寻春半出城
yóu zi xún chūn bàn chū chéng

日暮笙歌收拾去
rì mù shēng gē shōu shí qù

万株杨柳属流莺
wàn zhū yáng liǔ shǔ liú yīng

Simplified characters; traditional title: 蘇堤清明即事.

The pear-blossom wind rises — it's Qingming;

half the townsfolk have gone out seeking spring.

At dusk the music and songs are packed away;

ten thousand willows now belong to the orioles.

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

梨花风起正清明 · lí huā fēng qǐ zhèng qīng míng — The pear-blossom wind rises — it's Qingming;

游子寻春半出城 · yóu zi xún chūn bàn chū chéng — half the townsfolk have gone out seeking spring.

日暮笙歌收拾去 · rì mù shēng gē shōu shí qù — At dusk the music and songs are packed away;

万株杨柳属流莺 · wàn zhū yáng liǔ shǔ liú yīng — ten thousand willows now belong to the orioles.

Wu Weixin on crowds on the Su Causeway at West Lake at Qingming. The scene stays with you.

Wu Weixin on crowds on the Su Causeway at West Lake at Qingming.

Wu Weixin left seasonal sketches such as the Qingming poem on Su Causeway.

Lifetime: Southern Song. Other famous works: Qingming on Su Causeway (苏堤清明即事).