Following the Rhyming Pattern of "Treasuring Spring"
Chao, Bu-zhi 1 (1053 A.D.-1110 A.D.)
I ask Spring, "Why do you hasten your pace, carrying wind and accompanying
rain, like a galloping horse?" Delicate flowers and thin calyxes by the garden
railing have not yet been fertilized. The wind has blown off all the petals.
Blossoms are unable to hold onto Spring as long as the hanging willow trees can.
Even if Spring were to stay with us, people would still worry that it might
flee. Spring sorrow only exists among human beings.
Most of the time in Spring my mind is filled with sorrow. How can I endure
being unworthy of the fragrant wine? The peach trees do not pine for Spring
sorrow. Instead, they bloom and bear fruits. I am old and no longer interested
in social ranks and worldly honors. Fortunately, in front of wine I still have
my congenial friends. We meet and talk as in old times.
1
Wu-jiu was Chao's other first name. He was a native of Ju-ye City in Ji
County. When he was seventeen, his father, Duan-you, went to the newest city of
the Hangzhou Metropolitan Area to assume the office of mayor. Bu-zhi traveled with his father and
wrote a book, Seven Essays About Qian-tang City. Bu-zhi Chao, a student
of Dong-po Su, passed the Advanced Exam in 1079 A.D. He was ranked first both in
the contest held at the capital (the Advanced Exam) and the contest held at the
palace (the exam for admission of the scholars into the Royal [Hanlin] Academy).
At the peak of his career, he was the Minister of Publications. Around 1096
A.D., he was demoted to be the supervisor of wine taxes in Xin County because
his party lost in a power struggle. In 1110 A.D., he died while he was the
commissioner of Si County.