Poetic China: Wintry Night

Wintry Night

Author: Du Lei

Tea replaces wine for a visitor on a wintry night;

Water boils on top of the bamboo stove with a newly started red flame.

The same moon shines through the window as usual,

But looks different with ume blossoms as its frame.

Du was a Song Dynasty writer who worked for a local government first and later became an adviser in the military. He died in a military coup.

This poem was composed at an untraceable time. It tells the story of a wintry night when a guest visited the house of the poet. Sipping tea and talking under the moonlight with someone like-minded, what a pleasant and lovely night!