Lizhi Tree Poem
荔 枝 叹
十 里 一 置 飞 尘 灰
五 里 一 堠 兵 火 催。
颠 坑 仆 谷 相 枕 藉
知 是 荔 枝 龙 眼 来。
飞 车 跨 山 鹘 横 海
风 枝 露 叶 如 新 采。
宫 中 美 人 一 破 颜
惊 尘 溅 血 流 千 载。
永 元 荔 枝 来 父 州
天 宝 岁 贡 取 之 涪。
至 今 欲 食 林 甫 肉
无 人 觞 酹 伯 游。
我 愿 天 公 怜 赤 子
莫 生 尤 物 为 疮 痏。
雨 顺 风 调 百 谷 登
民 不 饥 寒 为 上 瑞。
君 不 见 武 夷 溪 边 粟 粒 芽
前 丁 后 蔡 相 笼 加。
争 新 买 宠 名 出 意
今 年 斗 品 充 官 茶。
吾 君 所 乏 岂 此 物
致 养 口 体 何 陋 耶。
洛 阳 相 君 忠 孝 家
可 怜 亦 进 姚 黄 花。
Li Zhi Tan
Shi li yi zhi fei chen hui
Wu li yi hou bing huo cui.
Dian keng pu gu xiang zhen jie
Zhi shi li zhi long yan lai.
Fei che kua shan gu heng hai
Feng zhi lu ye ru xin cai.
Gong zhong mei ren yi po yan
Jing chen jian xue liu qian zai.
Yong yuan li zhi lai fu zhou
Tian bao sui gong qu zhi fu.
Zhi jin yu shi lin fu rou
Wu ren xing shang lei bai you.
Wo yuan tian gong lian chi zi
Mo sheng you wu wei chuang wei.
Yu shun feng diao bai gu deng
Min bu ji han wei shang rui.
Jun bu jian wu yi xi bian su li ya
Qian ding hou cai xiang long jia.
Zheng xin mai chong ming chu yi
Jin nian dou pin chong guan cha.
Wu jun suo fa qi ci wu
Zhi yang kou ti he lou ye.
Luo yang xiang zhong xiao jia
Ke lian yi jin yao huang hua.
Lizhi Tree Poem
Every ten li. one rest station for horses
Every five li, cairn markers spur them on
Traveling through valleys and potholes, broken bodies along the way
Everyone knows this is lizhi and longyan season.
From mountain horses, to carts on highways, to ocean ship transit
They arrive at the palace, whole branches like freshly picked with dew still on the leaves
All this to make happy palace faces on the beautiful people
Blood spilled for one thousand years to create these smiles.
Since the Han Dynasty, lizhi has come through Jiaozhou
Over the years these trees planted closer and closer to the capital
From Tang times everyone wants to beat Lin Fu, who started this madness
Later, Bo You stopped this practice so some people still toast him.
I hope the Ruler of Heaven shows compassion for these peasants
This rare fruit has caused too many wounds and scars
With rain on the wind, let the many valleys enjoy their own harvests
People not hungry or cold make for superior fates.
Don’t you see the Wuyi mountains and streams make suliya tea
First Ding, then later Cai, took control of this crop
They did everything possible to make this tea coveted by the palace
Every year they compete to be the palace’s official tea.
Doesn’t the palace have enough fine tea?
What kind of people are selling tea to the palace?
Xiang Jun of Luoyang, from a loyal and fine family
Even he provides yellow tree peonies to supply the palace.
Notes:
Li: One half of one kilometer
Lizhi: Tropical, fruit-bearing trees native to the Chinese provinces of Guangdong and Fujian
Longyan: Tropical, fruit-bearing trees in the same family as the lizhi. Chinese characters literally mean “dragon eyes”.
Jiaozhou: Near the modern city of Qingdao, Shandong Province.
Lin Fu: High level official and chancellor (734-752) during the Tang Dynasty. Famous for his flattery of Emperor Xuanzong, and for his ruthless and effective political skills.
Ruler of Heaven: The emperors of China
Wuyi Mountains: Located in northern Fujian Province.
Suliya tea: Literally means tea made from millet grain sprouts.
Luoyang: One of two of the ancient capital cities during the Tang Dynasty.