Birthday poem · July 13Minor Heat, the 11th solar term: the heat begins.
Birth character
玉 yù · jade
玉 is a picture of jade pieces on a string; it means jade.
碧玉妝成一樹高
“The slender beauty's dressed in emerald all about” — He Zhizhang, ‘Ode to the Willow’
The poem
“Lotus-Picking Song” 採蓮曲
- 菱葉縈波荷颭風Water-chestnut leaves twine with the ripples; lotus leaves sway in the wind;
- 荷花深處小船通deep among the lotus flowers a small boat slips through.
- 逢郎欲語低頭笑Meeting her sweetheart, she wants to speak, but lowers her head and smiles —
- 碧玉搔頭落水中and her jade hairpin falls into the water.
Why this poem
Bai Juyi on a lotus picker who meets her sweetheart, smiles, and drops her hairpin.
This day in the Chinese calendar
Solar term: Minor Heat.