Birthday poem · June 15Grain in Ear, the 9th solar term: wheat harvest and rice planting.
Birth character
清 qīng · clear, pure
清 combines 水 "water" with 青 as a sound element; it means clear water, or pure.
問渠那得清如許
“I ask how it can stay so clear and clean” — Zhu Xi, ‘Thoughts on Reading’
The poem
“Summer Evening at the South Pavilion” 夏日南亭懷辛大
- 散髮乘夕涼Hair let down, I enjoy the evening cool,
- 開軒臥閑敞open the window and lie in the quiet space.
- 荷風送香氣The lotus breeze carries its fragrance;
- 竹露滴清響dew drips from the bamboo with a clear sound.
Why this poem
Meng Haoran enjoying the cool on a summer night: lotus scent, dew dripping from bamboo.
This day in the Chinese calendar
Solar term: Grain in Ear.