Birthday poem · October 18Cold Dew, the 17th solar term: temperatures drop and the dew turns cold.
Birth character
水 shuǐ · water
水 is a picture of flowing water.
爲有源頭活水來
“Because fresh water flows in from the source unseen.” — Zhu Xi, ‘Thoughts on Reading’
Other dates with this poem: August 19
The poem
“Song of the Moon over Mount Emei” 峨眉山月歌
- 峨眉山月半輪秋é méi shān yuè bàn lún qiūThe crescent moon looks like old Autumn's golden brow;
- 影入平羌江水流yǐng rù píng qiāng jiāng shuǐ liúIts deep reflection flows with limpid water blue.
- 夜發清溪向三峽yè fā qīng xī xiàng sān xiáI'll leave the town on Clear Stream for Three Canyons now.
- 思君不見下渝州sī jūn bù jiàn xià yú zhōuO Moon, how I miss you when you are out of view!
Why this poem
Written as Li Bai left Sichuan: the autumn moon over Mount Emei on the river.
This day in the Chinese calendar
Solar term: Cold Dew.