Buying Flowers
- Poetry of Bai Juyi
The capital's in parting spring,
Steeds run and neigh and cab bells ring.
Peonies are at their best hours
And people rush to buy the flowers.
They do not care about the price,
Just count and buy those which seem nice.
For hundred blossoms dazzling red,
Twenty-five rolls of silk they spread.
Sheltered above by curtains wide,
rotected with fences by the side,
Roots sealed with mud, with water sprayed,
Removed, their beauty does not fade.
Accustomed to this way for long,
No family e'er thinks it wrong.
What's the old peasant doing there?
Why should he come to Flower Fair?
Head bowed, he utters sigh on sigh
And nobody understands why.
A bunch of deep-red peonies
Costs taxes of ten families.
The poem "Buying Flowers" is the tenth piece in Bai Juyi's collection Qinzhong Yin, written around 810 during the reign of Emperor Xianzong of Tang. This series of poems reflects Bai Juyi's profound observations of social injustices in Chang'an. Through direct expression, he exposes societal contradictions. "Buying Flowers" specifically contrasts the extravagant flower-buying habits of the wealthy in the capital with the struggles of ordinary people, illustrating the sharp reality of wealth disparity in the Tang Dynasty.
帝城春欲暮，喧喧车马度。
共道牡丹时，相随买花去。
贵贱无常价，酬直看花数。
灼灼百朵红，戋戋五束素。
上张幄幕庇，旁织巴篱护。
水洒复泥封，移来色如故。
家家习为俗，人人迷不悟。
有一田舍翁，偶来买花处。
低头独长叹，此叹无人喻。
一丛深色花，十户中人赋。
- Why Chinese poems is so special?
- The most distinctive features of Chinese poetry are: concision- many poems are only four lines, and few are much longer than eight; ambiguity- number, tense and parts of speech are often undetermined, creating particularly rich interpretative possibilities; and structure- most poems follow quite strict formal patterns which have beauty in themselves as well as highlighting meaningful contrasts.
- How to read a Chinese poem?
- Like an English poem, but more so. Everything is there for a reason, so try to find that reason. Think about all the possible connotations, and be aware of the different possibilities of number and tense. Look for contrasts: within lines, between the lines of each couplet and between successive couplets. Above all, don't worry about what the poet meant- find your meaning.