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Zèng Liú Jǐng WénFor Liu Jingwen 赠刘景文
Su Shi to a friend: the best time of year is when oranges are yellow and green.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
荷尽已无擎雨盖
hé jǐn yǐ wú qíng yǔ gài
菊残犹有傲霜枝
jú cán yóu yǒu ào shuāng zhī
一年好景君须记
yī nián hǎo jǐng jūn xū jì
正是橙黄橘绿时
zhèng shì chéng huáng jú lǜ shí
Simplified characters; traditional title: 贈劉景文.
English translation
The lotus is done; no leaves are left to hold up the rain;
the chrysanthemums fade, yet stems still defy the frost.
Remember the best scenery of the year —
it's just now, when oranges are yellow and tangerines green.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Su Shi to a friend: the best time of year is when oranges are yellow and green. The scene stays with you.
Background
Su Shi to a friend: the best time of year is when oranges are yellow and green.
Key words
- 菊残 jú cán
- key word in the poem
- 荷尽 hé jǐn
- key word in the poem
- 已无 yǐ wú
- key word in the poem
About the poet: Su Shi
Su Shi, better known as Su Dongpo, was a poet, essayist, painter, calligrapher and official — the great all-rounder of the Song dynasty. Repeatedly exiled, he met hardship with humor and philosophy, and made the ci (song lyric) a vehicle for grand themes.
Lifetime: 1037–1101. Other famous works: Prelude to Water Melody (When Will the Moon Be Clear?) (水调歌头); Spring Night (春夜); Remembering the Past at Red Cliff (念奴娇·赤壁怀古); Written on the Wall at West Forest Temple (题西林壁); Drinking at West Lake: First Sun, Then Rain (饮湖上初晴后雨); Red Cliff Rhapsody (赤壁赋); Gazing South from Chaoran Terrace (望江南); Drunk at Lake View Tower (六月二十七日望湖楼醉书); Spring River at Dusk (惠崇春江晚景); Crabapple (海棠); Silk-Washing Stream (浣溪沙); Silk-Washing Stream: Dragon Boat Festival (浣溪沙); Eating Lychees (食荔枝); On the Road to Xincheng (新城道中); Calming the Waves (定风波); For Liu Jingwen (赠刘景文).
More by Su Shi
- Spring Night春夜
- Written on the Wall at West Forest Temple题西林壁
- Drinking at West Lake: First Sun, Then Rain饮湖上初晴后雨
- Prelude to Water Melody (When Will the Moon Be Clear?)水调歌头
- Remembering the Past at Red Cliff念奴娇·赤壁怀古
- Gazing South from Chaoran Terrace望江南
- Drunk at Lake View Tower六月二十七日望湖楼醉书
- Spring River at Dusk惠崇春江晚景