愛蓮說
宋－周敦頤
水陸草木之花, 可愛者甚蕃. 晉陶淵明獨愛菊. 自李唐來，世人盛愛牡丹. 予獨愛蓮之出淤泥而不染，濯清漣而不妖，中通外直，不蔓不枝，香遠益清，亭亭淨植，可遠觀而不可褻玩焉。
予謂菊，花之隱逸者也；牡丹，花之富貴者也. 蓮，花之君子者也。噫! 菊之愛, 陶後鮮有聞. 蓮之愛, 同予者何人? 牡丹之愛, 宜乎眾矣。
On the Love of Lotus
By Dun-Yi Zhou, Song Dynasty
Of land and aquatic flowers, many are adorable. Y. Tao of Jin Dynasty admires but chrysanthemum. The people since Tang Dynasty prefer peony. I admire lotus alone for it is not fouled rooting in sludge; it appears to be a decent spirit in the crystal water; it is of a hollow stem and grows upright; it declines to be branching and vining; it spreads the fragrance far off; it stands out yet still; it is suited to be watched at a distance rather than to be caressed.
Chrysanthemum, in my eyes, is the hermit of flowers；peony, the rich and the noble； lotus, the virtuous. Alas! For loving Chrysanthemum, few are heard of after Tao. Of loving lotus, who identify the same with me? Loving peony, rather, characterizes the people in general.
P. S. Peony is grown in my yards. A water pool is often visible after a rain.
