Enjoying sleep and shunning sadness,she blossoms late,
Afraid an icy look might not be up to date.
Like peach and apricot she rouges her fair face;
Like snow and frost she has her lonely,slender grace.
Her heart is cold and will not seek to please as spring;
Her skin like jade is tinged with the hue wine would bring.
How can she be described?An old poet knows not
But says she's leafless peach and green-boughed apricot.
怕愁贪睡独开迟，自恐冰容不入时。
故作小红桃杏色，尚余孤瘦雪霜姿。
寒心未肯随春态，酒晕无端上玉肌。
诗老不知梅格在，更看绿叶与青枝。
The Chinese plum tree produces reddish blossoms thinly spotting her slim but strong boughs, with petals of snow jade texture, before her green leaf buddings. The flower is, arguably, the national flower of China, or safely we may say, one of the national flowers of China. Her stoicism and fortitude in braving the cold winter are often held in high regard by the Chinese poets, thus established a popular symbol of noble courage and a proud lofty spirit that finds her a sublime solitude in a pure world of snow and frost. Dongpo loved the plum blossom which, together with bamboo trees, rugged stones, and seemingly-dead wood, are often found in his paintings, connoting his isolated status and his enhanced spiritual qualities.
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.
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.
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