3月18日

讚 蓮
宋 周敦頤 ( 1017~1073 )

陸上百花競芬芳，碧水潭泮默默香；
不與桃李爭春風，七月流火送清涼。

──選自《周元公集》

March 18th

Praises to Lotuses
Zhou Dunyi (1017 - 1073, Song Dynasty)
English translation: Hsin-Yu Huang

While flowers on land
    contend for beauty and glamour,
Lotuses quietly spread their scents
    from the cyan waters of the pond.
They do not vie with peach blossoms and plums
    for the spring wind,
But deliver coolness to the stream of summer heats.

── from Zhou Yuangong Ji (Collection of Zhou Duke of Yuan's Works)