Birthday poem · August 26End of Heat, the 14th solar term: the summer heat eases.
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: October 25
The poem
“For Liu Jingwen” 贈劉景文
- 荷盡已無擎雨蓋The lotus is done; no leaves are left to hold up the rain;
- 菊殘猶有傲霜枝the chrysanthemums fade, yet stems still defy the frost.
- 一年好景君須記Remember the best scenery of the year —
- 正是橙黃橘綠時it's just now, when oranges are yellow and tangerines green.
Why this poem
Su Shi to a friend: the best time of year is when oranges are yellow and green.
This day in the Chinese calendar
Solar term: End of Heat.