Another doodling while practising my calligraphy.
1 金風玉露伴秋時 The Golden Wind and Jade dew are autumn’s handmaidens,
2 黄菊紅葉配雲衣 Yellow chrysanthemums and red maple leaves accessorize the clouds,
3 今生歲月太匆匆 In this life, time passes too hurriedly,
4 修來此恩何容易 Accumulated merit from previous lives - ain’t easy in finding true love.
1 In the Chinese theory of the Five Elements, autumn belongs to the metal/gold element. Hence autumn wind is known as the “golden wind”. Autumn here refers to twilight of one’s years and white clouds, white hair.
Jade dew is a euphemism for the dew in autumn. The meaning is also extended to mean “fine wine”. A modern meaning refers to Gyukuro, a type of Japanese green tea.
2 In the original text, “maple“ is inferred.
4 修來 is short for 修業將來 “to improve for the future”, that is to do good in this life so that future life will become better.
Basically, the poems speaks of time passing too quickly when one is enjoying life with one’s beloved.
Friday, January 21, 2022
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