[updated November 2022]
Good Fortune to Have a Rear Lake Banquet to Appreciate the Lotus Blossoms
幸 后 湖 开 宴 赏 荷 花 作
蓼 梢 蘸 水 火 不 灭
水 鸟 惊 鱼 银 梭 投。
满 目 荷 花 千 万 顷
红 碧 相 杂 敷 清 流。
孙 武 已 斩 吴 宫 女
琉 璃 池 上 佳 人 头。
Xing Hou Hu Kai Yan Shang He Hua Zuo
Liao shao zhan shui huo bu mie
Shui niao jing yu yin suo tou.
Man mu he hua qian wan qing
Hong bi xiang za fu qing liu.
Sun wu yi zhan wu gong nu
Liu li chi shang jia ren tou.
Good Fortune to Have a Rear Lake Banquet to Appreciate the Lotus Blossoms
Knotwood tips dipped in the water, their fire is never extinguished
Water fowl startles the fish, their silver scales flash and disappear.
Into view come thousands of acres of lotus blossoms.
Blossoms red and a bluish-green appear varied amid the clear flows.
Sunzi and his military killed the troupe of Wu palace ladies
These beautiful women like the blossoms upon the colored and glazed ponds.
Notes:
Sunzi: (544-496 BC) Army general from the Eastern Zhou dynasty famous for writing the book “The Art of War”. In it, Sunzi mostly describes political, as well as military strategies, that can be used to avoid direct war and conflicts.