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Lì Chūn Ǒu ChéngBeginning of Spring 立春偶成

Zhang Shi (张栻, also known as Chang Shih)｜Southern Song｜seven-character quatrain

Zhang Shi on the start of spring: the plants know spring has come.

Original Chinese text with pinyin

律回岁晚氷霜少
lǜ huí suì wǎn bīng shuāng shǎo

春到人间草木知
chūn dào rén jiān cǎo mù zhī

便觉眼前生意满
biàn jué yǎn qián shēng yì mǎn

东风吹水绿参差
dōng fēng chuī shuǐ lǜ cēn cī

Simplified characters; traditional title: 立春偶成.

The seasons turn at year's end; ice and frost are few;

spring reaches the world, and grass and trees know it.

At once I feel the life before my eyes is full —

the east wind ripples the water, green and uneven.

Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.

律回岁晚氷霜少 · lǜ huí suì wǎn bīng shuāng shǎo — The seasons turn at year's end; ice and frost are few;

春到人间草木知 · chūn dào rén jiān cǎo mù zhī — spring reaches the world, and grass and trees know it.

便觉眼前生意满 · biàn jué yǎn qián shēng yì mǎn — At once I feel the life before my eyes is full —

东风吹水绿参差 · dōng fēng chuī shuǐ lǜ cēn cī — the east wind ripples the water, green and uneven.

Zhang Shi on the start of spring: the plants know spring has come. The scene stays with you.

Zhang Shi on the start of spring: the plants know spring has come.

Zhang Shi, friend of Zhu Xi, wrote poems of quiet insight.

Lifetime: 1133–1180. Other famous works: Beginning of Spring (立春偶成).