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Chūn Rì Ǒu ChéngSpring Day, Impromptu 春日偶成

Cheng Hao (程颢, also known as Cheng Mingdao)｜Northern Song｜seven-character quatrain

Cheng Hao enjoys a spring walk; people think he is idling like a youth.

Original Chinese text with pinyin

云淡风轻近午天
yún dàn fēng qīng jìn wǔ tiān

傍花随柳过前川
bàng huā suí liǔ guò qián chuān

时人不识余心乐
shí rén bù shí yú xīn lè

将谓偸闲学少年
jiāng wèi tōu xián xué shào nián

Simplified characters; traditional title: 春日偶成.

Thin clouds, light breeze, the sky near noon;

by the flowers, along the willows, I cross the river ahead.

People don't understand the joy in my heart —

they think I'm stealing leisure, playing at being young.

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

云淡风轻近午天 · yún dàn fēng qīng jìn wǔ tiān — Thin clouds, light breeze, the sky near noon;

傍花随柳过前川 · bàng huā suí liǔ guò qián chuān — by the flowers, along the willows, I cross the river ahead.

时人不识余心乐 · shí rén bù shí yú xīn lè — People don't understand the joy in my heart —

将谓偸闲学少年 · jiāng wèi tōu xián xué shào nián — they think I'm stealing leisure, playing at being young.

Cheng Hao enjoys a spring walk; people think he is idling like a youth. The scene stays with you.

Cheng Hao enjoys a spring walk; people think he is idling like a youth.

Cheng Hao helped shape Neo-Confucian thought; his poems are plain and clear.

Lifetime: 1032–1085. Other famous works: A Country Walk (郊行即事); Spring Day, Impromptu (春日偶成).