Birthday poem · March 6Awakening of Insects, the 3rd solar term: the first thunder; insects stir.
Birth character
綠 lǜ · green
綠 combines 糸 "silk" with a sound element; it first meant green-dyed silk, then green.
萬條垂下綠絲絛
“A thousand branches droop like fringes made of jade.” — He Zhizhang, ‘Ode to the Willow’
The poem
“Picking Mulberries” 采桑子
- 輕舟短棹西湖好A light boat with short oars — West Lake is lovely;
- 綠水逶迤green water winding,
- 芳草長堤fragrant grass along the long dike,
- 隱隱笙歌處處隨faint songs of reed pipes following everywhere.
Why this poem
Ouyang Xiu boating on West Lake among green water, grass and music.
This day in the Chinese calendar
Solar term: Awakening of Insects.