Birthday poem · October 6Autumn Equinox, the 16th solar term: day and night are equal again.

Birthday poem card for October 6: “Impromptu (Youth Ages Easily)” by Zhu Xi. Birth character 光, light.

Birth character

光 guāng · light

In its oldest form, 光 shows fire above a kneeling person; it means light.

床前明月光
“Before my bed a pool of light” — Li Bai, ‘Quiet Night Thoughts’

Other dates with this poem: June 25

The poem

“Impromptu (Youth Ages Easily)” 偶成(少年易老學難成)

  1. 少年易老學難成shào nián yì lǎo xué nán chéngYouth ages easily; learning is hard to complete.
  2. 一寸光陰不可輕yī cùn guāng yīn bù kě qīngDo not treat lightly even an inch of time.
  3. 未覺池塘春草夢wèi jué chí táng chūn cǎo mèngBefore you wake from dreams of spring grass by the pond,
  4. 階前梧葉已秋聲jiē qián wú yè yǐ qiū shēngPaulownia leaves by the steps already sound of autumn.

Zhu Xi 朱熹 (attributed) · Southern Song dynasty · 1130–1200 · seven-character verse

English translation by Poetune.

Read “Impromptu (Youth Ages Easily)” in full, with notes →

Why this poem

"Do not waste an inch of time." Traditionally attributed to Zhu Xi.

This day in the Chinese calendar

Solar term: Autumn Equinox.

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