Home › Poems › Leaving Jingci Temple at Dawn
Xiǎo Chū Jìng Cí Sì Sòng Lín Zi FāngLeaving Jingci Temple at Dawn 晓出净慈寺送林子方
Yang Wanli on the lotus of West Lake in the sixth month, at the height of summer.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
毕竟西湖六月中
bì jìng xī hú liù yuè zhōng
风光不与四时同
fēng guāng bù yǔ sì shí tóng
接天莲叶无穷碧
jiē tiān lián yè wú qióng bì
映日荷花别样红
yìng rì hé huā bié yàng hóng
Simplified characters; traditional title: 曉出淨慈寺送林子方.
English translation
After all, West Lake in the sixth month
has scenery unlike any other season's.
Lotus leaves touch the sky in endless green;
lotus flowers in the sun glow a different red.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Yang Wanli on the lotus of West Lake in the sixth month, at the height of summer. The scene stays with you.
Background
Yang Wanli on the lotus of West Lake in the sixth month, at the height of summer.
Key words
- 净慈寺 jìng cí sì
- key word in the poem
- 莲叶 lián yè
- key word in the poem
- 荷花 hé huā
- key word in the poem
About the poet: Yang Wanli
Yang Wanli developed a fresh, witty style that captured small moments of nature as if seen for the first time. He wrote over four thousand surviving poems.
Lifetime: 1127–1206. Other famous works: The Little Pond (小池); A Child Playing with Ice (稚子弄氷); Leaving Jingci Temple at Dawn (晓出净慈寺送林子方); Waking from an Early-Summer Nap (闲居初夏午睡起); Seeking Cool on a Summer Night (夏夜追凉); Boating Past Anren (舟过安仁); At Xu's Inn in Xinshi (宿新市徐公店).
More by Yang Wanli
- The Little Pond小池
- A Child Playing with Ice稚子弄氷
- Waking from an Early-Summer Nap闲居初夏午睡起
- Seeking Cool on a Summer Night夏夜追凉
- Boating Past Anren舟过安仁
- At Xu's Inn in Xinshi宿新市徐公店