Birthday poem · August 19Start of Autumn, the 13th solar term: autumn begins in the traditional calendar.
Birth character
江 jiāng · river
江 combines 水 "water" with 工 as a sound element; it once meant the Yangtze.
唯見長江天際流
“Where I see but the endless River rolling by.” — Li Bai, ‘Farewell to Meng Haoran at Yellow Crane Tower’
Other dates with this poem: October 18
The poem
“Song of the Moon over Mount Emei” 峨眉山月歌
- 峨眉山月半輪秋é méi shān yuè bàn lún qiūThe crescent moon looks like old Autumn's golden brow;
- 影入平羌江水流yǐng rù píng qiāng jiāng shuǐ liúIts deep reflection flows with limpid water blue.
- 夜發清溪向三峽yè fā qīng xī xiàng sān xiáI'll leave the town on Clear Stream for Three Canyons now.
- 思君不見下渝州sī jūn bù jiàn xià yú zhōuO Moon, how I miss you when you are out of view!
Why this poem
Written as Li Bai left Sichuan: the autumn moon over Mount Emei on the river.
This day in the Chinese calendar
Solar term: Start of Autumn.