Birthday poem · August 5Major Heat, the 12th solar term: the hottest time of the year.
Birth character
香 xiāng · fragrance
香 combines grain with 甘 "sweet"; it first meant the smell of grain, then fragrance.
暗香浮動月黃昏
“A hidden fragrance drifts in the moonlit dusk.” — Lin Bu, ‘Little Plum in the Mountain Garden’
Other dates with this poem: May 28
The poem
“At the South Tower of Ezhou” 鄂州南樓書事
- 四顧山光接水光On every side the glow of the hills meets the glow of the water;
- 憑欄十里芰荷香leaning on the rail, ten miles of water-chestnut and lotus scent.
- 清風明月無人管The clear breeze and bright moon belong to no one —
- 併作南樓一味涼together they make the South Tower one pure coolness.
Why this poem
Huang Tingjian enjoying the cool on a tower on a summer night.
This day in the Chinese calendar
Solar term: Major Heat.