爱莲说
宋－周敦颐
水陆草木之花, 可爱者甚蕃. 晋陶渊明独爱菊. 自李唐来，世人盛爱牡丹. 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。
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.
