Birthday poem · February 9Start of Spring, the 1st solar term: spring begins in the traditional calendar.

Birthday poem card for February 9: “Spring Dawn” by Meng Haoran. Birth character 鳥, bird.

Birth character

鳥 niǎo · bird

鳥 is a picture of a bird.

處處聞啼鳥
“Not to awake till birds are crying.” — Meng Haoran, ‘Spring Dawn’

Other dates with this poem: April 12

The poem

“Spring Dawn” 春曉

  1. 春眠不覺曉chūn mián bù jué xiǎoThis spring morning in bed I'm lying,
  2. 處處聞啼鳥chù chù wén tí niǎoNot to awake till birds are crying.
  3. 夜來風雨聲yè lái fēng yǔ shēngAfter one night of wind and showers,
  4. 花落知多少huā luò zhī duō shǎoHow many are the fallen flowers!

Meng Haoran 孟浩然 · Tang dynasty · 689–740 · five-character verse

English translation by Poetune.

Read “Spring Dawn” in full, with notes →

Why this poem

Meng Haoran's "Spring Dawn": waking to birdsong and thinking of last night's wind and rain.

This day in the Chinese calendar

Solar term: Start of Spring.

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