Poetic China: Serenity, Peace and Joy

Serenity, Peace and Joy

Author: Li Bai (701—762)

It’s early morning in the polished hall.

A servant brings me the news of a snowfall.

I raise the curtains to see the auspicious scene outside the window.

Through the garden, a spray of white blurs all.

The glare of snowy air inspires fire in the stove;

The chill of white grass resembles jade with a glow.

It must be gods drunk in heaven,

Wildly shredding clouds into snow.

Li Bai, styled Taibai, was known for his free spirit. His poems are noted for their sincerity, boldness, imagination and absence of constraint. 

Snow is called “auspicious” in the poem above because the Chinese believe a snowy winter will provide enough moisture to nourish next year’s crops and thus will result in an abundant harvest next fall.