
It was in my chinese textbook last time...
爱莲说 《Ai Lian Shuo》
Ai = love
Lian = Lotus
Shuo = talk/tales/prose
水陆草木之花,可爱者甚蕃。晋陶渊明独爱菊。自李唐来,世人甚爱牡丹。予独爱莲之出淤泥而不染,濯清涟而不妖,中通外直,不蔓不枝,香远益清,亭亭净植,可远观而不可亵玩焉。
予谓菊,花之隐逸者也;牡丹,花之富贵者也;莲,花之君子者也。噫!菊之爱,陶后鲜有闻。莲之爱,同予者何人?牡丹之爱,宜乎众矣。
There are many lovely flowers in the world. Tao Yuanming in Jin Dynasty loved only chrysanthemum. Since Tang Dynasty, most of the people likes peony. But I personally admire lotus, which remains clean and pure even it grows from the mud. It bathes in clear water but not coquettish. Its stem is hollow and straight, without any entwining branches Its delicate fragrance reaches out far. It can be only appreciated from far but not touched blasphemously.
I think that the chrysanthemum is like a recluse while the peony is signifying wealth to people and the lotus is undoubtedly the sovereign. After Tao Yuanming, chrysanthemum lovers were seldom found.
Who shows the enthusiasm in the lotus in the same way as I do?
But peony? Almost everybody loves it.
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Perhaps you are wondering why suddenly I'm writing about lotus. Hehe...Long story....