愛蓮說 - 周敦頤

愛蓮說 - 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，世人皆愛牡丹；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，花之寶貴者也；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！

There are many lovely flowers and plants both aquatic and terrestrial. Tao Yuanming of Jin Dynasty loved chrysanthemums only. Ever since Tang Dynasty, people have been loving peonies. But I love lotuses only. Coming out of mud, yet stainless; washed by clear water, so charming but not seductive; hollow inside, straight outside; bare of vines and branches; the further, the sweeter; tall, erect and pure ; they can be looked at afar off but not be toyed with profanely.

Among flowers, in my mind’s eye, chrysanthemums are hermits; peonies are people of riches and honors; lotuses are gentlemen. Alas! As for chrysanthemum lovers, they have scarcely been heard ever since Tao Yuanming. As to lotus lovers, who is the same as me? Yet as for as peony lovers are concerned, there are quite a lot.