Birthday poem · May 31Grain Buds, the 8th solar term: wheat and barley begin to fill.
Birth character
紅 hóng · red
紅 combines 糸 "silk" with 工 as a sound element; it first meant pink silk, then red.
霜葉紅於二月花
“Frost-bitten leaves look redder than early spring flowers.” — Du Mu, ‘Mountain Walk’
Other dates with this poem: July 30
The poem
“The Pond Behind Qi'an” 齊安郡後池絶句
- 菱透浮萍綠錦池Water chestnuts push through duckweed on the green brocade pond;
- 夏鶯千囀弄薔薇summer orioles trill a thousand times among the roses.
- 盡日無人看微雨All day no one watches the fine rain;
- 鴛鴦相對浴紅衣a pair of mandarin ducks bathe face to face in red plumage.
Why this poem
Du Mu on a summer pond: water chestnut leaves, orioles, mandarin ducks in drizzle.
This day in the Chinese calendar
Solar term: Grain Buds.