Birthday poem · October 8Cold Dew, the 17th solar term: temperatures drop and the dew turns cold.
Birth character
琴 qín · zither
琴 is a picture of a stringed instrument, the qin zither.
彈琴復長嘯
“I play my lute and croon carefree.” — Wang Wei, ‘Bamboo Grove Retreat’
Other dates with this poem: July 1
The poem
“Bamboo Grove Retreat” 竹里館
- 獨坐幽篁裏dú zuò yōu huáng lǐSitting among bamboos alone,
- 彈琴復長嘯tán qín fù cháng xiàoI play my lute and croon carefree.
- 深林人不知shēn lín rén bù zhīIn the deep woods where I'm unknown,
- 明月來相照míng yuè lái xiāng zhàoOnly the bright moon peeps at me.
Why this poem
Wang Wei alone in a bamboo grove playing the qin, with only the moon for company.
This day in the Chinese calendar
Solar term: Cold Dew.