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Tiān Zhú Sì Bā Yuè Shí Wǔ Rì Yè Guì ZiOsmanthus Seeds on the Mid-Autumn Night 天竺寺八月十五日夜桂子

Pi Rixiu (皮日休, also known as P'i Jih-hsiu)｜Late Tang｜seven-character quatrain

Pi Rixiu picks up osmanthus seeds at Tianzhu Temple on mid-autumn night.

Original Chinese text with pinyin

玉颗珊珊下月轮
yù kē shān shān xià yuè lún

殿前拾得露华新
diàn qián shí dé lù huá xīn

至今不会天中事
zhì jīn bú huì tiān zhōng shì

应是嫦娥掷与人
yīng shì cháng é zhì yǔ rén

Simplified characters; traditional title: 天竺寺八月十五日夜桂子.

Jade seeds tinkle down from the wheel of the moon;

before the hall I pick them up, fresh with dew.

To this day I don't understand what happens in heaven —

it must be Chang'e tossing them down to us.

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

玉颗珊珊下月轮 · yù kē shān shān xià yuè lún — Jade seeds tinkle down from the wheel of the moon;

殿前拾得露华新 · diàn qián shí dé lù huá xīn — before the hall I pick them up, fresh with dew.

至今不会天中事 · zhì jīn bú huì tiān zhōng shì — To this day I don't understand what happens in heaven —

应是嫦娥掷与人 · yīng shì cháng é zhì yǔ rén — it must be Chang'e tossing them down to us.

Pi Rixiu picks up osmanthus seeds at Tianzhu Temple on mid-autumn night. The scene stays with you.

Pi Rixiu picks up osmanthus seeds at Tianzhu Temple on mid-autumn night.

Pi Rixiu wrote sharp social satire as well as landscape verse.

Lifetime: c. 834–c. 883. Other famous works: Osmanthus Seeds on the Mid-Autumn Night (天竺寺八月十五日夜桂子).