Birthday poem · October 17Cold Dew, the 17th solar term: temperatures drop and the dew turns cold.
Birth character
清 qīng · clear, pure
清 combines 水 "water" with 青 as a sound element; it means clear water, or pure.
問渠那得清如許
“I ask how it can stay so clear and clean” — Zhu Xi, ‘Thoughts on Reading’
Other dates with this poem: August 17
The poem
“Autumn Evening in the Mountains” 山居秋暝
- 空山新雨後kōng shān xīn yǔ hòuIn empty hills after a new rain,
- 天氣晚來秋tiān qì wǎn lái qiūThe air of evening turns to autumn.
- 明月松間照míng yuè sōng jiān zhàoBright moon shines through the pines;
- 清泉石上流qīng quán shí shàng liúClear spring water runs over the stones.
- 竹喧歸浣女zhú xuān guī huàn nǚBamboo stirs—washerwomen coming home;
- 蓮動下漁舟lián dòng xià yú zhōuLotus moves—a fishing boat goes down.
- 隨意春芳歇suí yì chūn fāng xiēLet spring fragrance fade as it will;
- 王孫自可留wáng sūn zì kě liúA noble guest may still remain.
Why this poem
Wang Wei in the hills after autumn rain: moonlight in the pines, a spring over stones.
This day in the Chinese calendar
Solar term: Cold Dew.