Flaky Delight
- Poetry of Su Shi

《为甚酥诗》

English Rendering

With a gourd bottle on my thigh,

Without any care in my mind,

I sat down for a sip of wine

to flowers blooming in the wild.

Pan’s water wine kills my daytime;

Now I desire your Flaky Delight.

Original Text (中文原文)

野饮花前百事无，腰间唯系一葫芦。

已倾潘子错注水，更觅君家为甚酥。

Analysis & Context

There’s an interesting story behind this little poem. One day Su Shi was invited to a dinner hosted by Scholar Ho at Huangzhou. A local pastry was served for tea. Dongpo really loved the flaky flavor and asked Ho: “what’s the name and how they made it so flaky. It’s delightful.” Ho replied: “It doesn’t have a name, but now it does. You’ve given it one. How about ‘Flaky Delight’?” Then Ho served Dongpo with a local rice wine from Pan’s, Su Shi tasted it and laughed: “Pan must have mixed it with water by mistake.” His humour was shared by other quests, hence Pan’s wine was named ‘Water Wine’. This poem was likely written when he was enjoying a carefree moment before his favorite capapple tree at Huangzhou, a very poor period when he could hardly afford enough food for his family. He loved drinking a bit of wine, and got used to Pan’s Water Wine. The flaky pastry has become a famous local specialty in the name of ‘Dongpo’s Flaky Delight’ which you can buy from the local supermarket today.

Reader's Companion

The Essence of the Verse

Classical Chinese poetry thrives on Concision and Ambiguity. Without tense or number, the words create a timeless space where the reader becomes the co-creator of the poem's meaning.

Reading Between the Lines

Look for Contrasts: light and shadow, movement and stillness. Don't just translate the words; feel the Yijing (artistic conception) that lingers long after the last character.

The Masters' Directory

Journey through the dynasties. Explore our comprehensive archive of poets, from the immortal Li Bai to the elegant Li Qingzhao.

View All Poets →