A Way To Paradise

1 東升白雲野山風 Rising in the east are white clouds and wild mountain winds,
2 隱約紫霞瑤池夢 Wafting in and out are purple mists of a Jasper Pool dream.
3 酒淡千杯作瓊液 A thousand cups later, cheap wine becomes liquid from goblets of jade,
4 青鳥引向瀛洲逢 And blue birds usher the path for a Blessed Isle rendezvous.

2 Jasper Pool is believed to be somewhere in the Kunlun mountain range where the Queen Mother of the West resides. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Mother_of_the_West

3 瓊液, “jade/jasper liquid” is used to refer the finest wine served in jade cups, usually in imperial settings.  A thousand cups is a poetic exaggeration.  If not, death arises from alcohol poisoning! I myself never partake a single drop in life.

4 Blue birds are messengers of the Queen Mother of the West. 瀛洲 is one of the three immortal isles in the Eastern Ocean.  The other two are 蓬萊 and 方丈.

Friday, April 14, 2023