Birthday poem · December 28Winter Solstice, the 22nd solar term: the longest night of the year.
Birth character
雪 xuě · snow
雪 has 雨 "rain" at the top; it means snow.
獨釣寒江雪
“Is fishing snow in lonely boat.” — Liu Zongyuan, ‘River Snow’
The poem
“Snow and Plum” 雪梅 其一
- 梅雪爭春未肯降Plum and snow compete for spring, neither will give way;
- 騷人擱筆費評章the poet lays down his brush, struggling to judge.
- 梅須遜雪三分白The plum must yield to the snow a little in whiteness,
- 雪却輸梅一段香but the snow loses to the plum in fragrance.
Why this poem
Lu Meipo: plum and snow compete for spring; each has its strength. A winter poem.
This day in the Chinese calendar
Solar term: Winter Solstice.