MUME AND SNOW

Lu Meipo

(Southern Song Dynasty)

The mume blossoms and snow vie in announcing spring;

A poet knows not in whose praises he should sing.

The mume blossoms are not so white as winter snow;

In fragrance snow can't match mume blossoms when they blow.

雪梅

[南宋]卢梅坡

梅雪争春未肯降,骚人搁笔费评章。

梅须逊雪三分白,雪却输梅一段香。

About the poet 

Lu Meipo was a Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) poet who was particularly fond of writing about flowers and plants. The plum blossom was one of his favorite flowers addressed in poetry.

About the translator 

Xu Yuanchong (1921-2021) was born in Nanchang in East China's Jiangxi Province. He was a professor of literary translation at Peking University.

About the book 

Golden Treasury of Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Poetry Translated by Xu Yuanchong & Xu Ming Published by China Intercontinental Press, Beijing, 2019