Birthday poem · September 14White Dew, the 15th solar term: nights cool and dew forms on the grass.
Birth character
蘭 lán · orchid
蘭 combines 艸 "plant" with 闌 as a sound element; it is a fragrant plant, the orchid.
山下蘭芽短浸溪
“At the foot of the hill, short orchid shoots dip into the stream” — Su Shi, ‘Silk-Washing Stream’
Other dates with this poem: November 18
The poem
“Written as a Traveler” 客中作
- 蘭陵美酒鬱金香lán líng měi jiǔ yù jīn xiāngThe fine wine of Lanling smells of turmeric;
- 玉碗盛來琥珀光yù wǎn chéng lái hǔ pò guāngIn a jade bowl it glows like amber.
- 但使主人能醉客dàn shǐ zhǔ rén néng zuì kèIf only my host can make his guest drunk,
- 不知何處是他鄕bù zhī hé chù shì tā xiāngI will not know which land is strange to me.
Why this poem
Li Bai, far from home, drinks Lanling wine and forgets he is a stranger there.
This day in the Chinese calendar
Solar term: White Dew.