— Luo Yin
You grow around a tree with a name bright,
You cling together steeped in autumn light.
If your flowers could be stored up like gold,
The rich would pluck you down since days of old.
Note
Luo Yin (833–909 CE) was a late Tang Dynasty poet famed for his sharp social satire, philosophical skepticism, and deep empathy for the common people. Often critical of corruption and inequality, he used everyday objects and flowers as vehicles to expose greed, hypocrisy, and the injustices of his time.
His poem “Money Flower” (Jin Qian Hua or the Coinlike Golden Flower) – referring to the round, coin-like blooms of the chrysanthemum or possibly the Alcea rosea (hollyhock) – begins by praising its lovely name and fragrant clusters that bloom gracefully into autumn, “circling the tree in beauty” and “keeping gentle company with the fall light.”
But the tone shifts abruptly in the final couplet: “If this flower could truly be stored away like real money, the wealthy would surely dig it all up without mercy.” Luo Yin uses biting irony to contrast the flower’s innocent charm with human avarice. By imagining the rich treating blossoms as currency to hoard, he critiques how the elite commodify and exploit everything – even beauty and nature – for profit.
The poem is a concise yet powerful commentary on materialism, class disparity, and the corruption of values in a decaying society.
金钱花
— 罗隐
占得佳名绕树芳，
依依相伴向秋光。
若教此物堪收贮，
应被豪门尽劚将。
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