Birthday poem · October 19Cold Dew, the 17th solar term: temperatures drop and the dew turns cold.
Birth character
晴 qíng · clear sky
晴 combines 日 "sun" with 青 as a sound element; it means the sky clearing after rain.
晴空一鶴排雲上
“On a fine day a crane cleaves the clouds and soars high” — Liu Yuxi, ‘Autumn Song’
Other dates with this poem: September 22
The poem
“Autumn Song” 秋詞
- 自古逢秋悲寂寥zì gǔ féng qiū bēi jì liáoSince olden days we feel in autumn sad and drear;
- 我言秋日勝春朝wǒ yán qiū rì shèng chūn zhāoBut I say spring cannot compete with autumn clear.
- 晴空一鶴排雲上qíng kōng yī hè pái yún shàngOn a fine day a crane cleaves the clouds and soars high;
- 便引詩情到碧霄biàn yǐn shī qíng dào bì xiāoIt leads the poet's lofty mind to azure sky.
Why this poem
Liu Yuxi rejects autumn sadness and says autumn beats spring, with a crane in a clear sky.
This day in the Chinese calendar
Solar term: Cold Dew.