Birthday poem · June 28Summer Solstice, the 10th solar term: the longest day of the year.

Birthday poem card for June 28: “The Gold-Threaded Robe” by Du Qiuniang. Birth character 金, gold.
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Birth character

金 jīn · gold

金 first meant metal in general; it came to mean gold.

金陵子弟來相送
“The young men of Jinling have come to see me off” — Li Bai, ‘Farewell at a Jinling Tavern’

Other dates with this poem: November 17

The poem

“The Gold-Threaded Robe” 金縷衣

  1. 勸君莫惜金縷衣I urge you, don't treasure your gold-threaded robe;
  2. 勸君惜取少年時I urge you, treasure the days of your youth.
  3. 花開堪折直須折When flowers bloom and can be picked, pick them straight away —
  4. 莫待無花空折枝don't wait till the flowers are gone and break off empty twigs.

Du Qiuniang 杜秋娘 · Tang dynasty · fl. 9th c. · seven-character verse

English translation by Poetune.

Why this poem

Make the most of youth: "pick the flower when it can be picked".

This day in the Chinese calendar

Solar term: Summer Solstice.

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