Birthday poem · December 21The Winter Solstice, in the Winter Solstice period.
Birth character
梅 méi · plum blossom
梅 combines 木 "tree" with 每 as a sound element; it is the plum, which flowers in early spring.
牆角數枝梅
“At the wall corner a few plum sprays” — Wang Anshi, ‘Plum Blossoms’
The poem
“Winter Solstice Eve” 小至
- 天時人事日相催The seasons and human affairs press on day by day;
- 冬至陽生春又來at the winter solstice yang is born, and spring comes again.
- 岸容待臘將舒柳The banks wait for the twelfth month to loosen the willows;
- 山意衝寒欲放梅the hills brave the cold, about to open the plum.
Why this poem
Du Fu at the winter solstice: "the yang returns and spring comes again".
This day in the Chinese calendar
Solar term: Winter Solstice. Near the Winter Solstice.