Cold Food Days
鹧 鸪 天
寒 日 潇 潇 上 锁 窗
悟 桐 应 恨 夜 来 霜。
酒 阑 更 喜 团 茶 苦
梦 断 偏 宜 瑞 脑 香。
秋 已 尽， 日 犹 长
仲 宜 怀 远 更 凄 凉。
不 如 随 分 尊 前 醉
莫 负 东 篱 菊 蕊 黄。
Zhe Gu Tian
Han ri xiao xiao shang suo chuang
Wu tong ying hen ye lai shuang.
Jiu lan geng xi tuan cha ku
Meng duan pian yi rui nao xiang.
Qiu yi jin, ri you chang
Zhong huan huai yaun geng qi liang.
Bu ru sui fen zun qian zui
Mo fu dong li ju rui huang.
Cold Food Days: (Partridge Sky)
Cold food days, sound of wind through locked windows
Parasol and paulownia trees should hate the arrival of evening frost.
Wine replaced with happiness, need to grind some bitter tea
Dream breaks up, only the residues of a fragrant incense stick.
Autumn ends, days still long
Zhongxuan’s heart also remote, more lonely and cool.
But not like following the old example, I get drunk again
Cannot sustain myself with yellow chrysanthemums along the eastern fence.
Notes:
Cold Days: More commonly known as Cold Food Festival. Celebrated during the three days before Qing Ming. Qing Ming is the annual observance of tomb sweeping, or ancestral tomb maintenance. Originally a time when firewood used for cooking changed from winter wood sources to those used during the spring and summer months. There are many legends and stories surrounding these two festivals. One of the more popular ones says that the people should abstain from cooking their food to honor hermit Jie Zhitui, who let himself be burned to death rather than obey an imperial summons. He died during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256 BC) when the Duke of Jin set fire to the mountain forest where Jie was hiding.
Parasol trees: Tree sized ornamental plants that are deciduous and bearing small fragrant flowers. The wood is used in the making of Chinese string instruments because of it’s soundboards qualities.
Paulownia trees: A deciduous tree native to China. Also used as an excellent soundboard for several Chinese stringed musical instruments.
Zhongxuan: Government official during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) who followed and supported the wrong imperial son. When this son did not ascend to the throne, Zhongxuan had to run away for his life.
Yellow chrysanthemums along the eastern fence: Literary allusion to the poem Drinking Wine No. 5 by Tao Yuanming. See the whole poem on this website.