Birthday poem · December 22Winter Solstice, the 22nd solar term: the longest night of the year.
Birth character
竹 zhú · bamboo
竹 is a picture of bamboo stems with hanging leaves.
竹杖芒鞋輕勝馬
“A bamboo staff and straw sandals, lighter than a horse” — Su Shi, ‘Calming the Waves’
Other dates with this poem: September 29
The poem
“Calming the Waves” 定風波
- 莫聽穿林打葉聲Don't listen to the sound of rain beating through the woods and leaves;
- 何妨吟嘯且徐行why not chant and whistle, and walk on slowly?
- 竹杖芒鞋輕勝馬A bamboo staff and straw sandals, lighter than a horse —
- 誰怕who's afraid?
- 一蓑煙雨任平生A straw cape in the misty rain — I'll live my life like this.
Why this poem
Su Shi caught in rain on the road: "a straw cape in the misty rain, all my life".
This day in the Chinese calendar
Solar term: Winter Solstice.