In the ancient city of Hangzhou, where the West Lake shimmers like a mirror and the hills are cloaked in a veil of mist, autumn arrives with a double blessing: the ripening of chestnuts and the blooming of osmanthus flowers. The air fills with a fragrance so intoxicating that locals have found a way…
–Mao Zedong, May 11, 1957 I lost proud Yang; you lost brave Liu,Their souls like willow-catkins soar to heaven’s height anew.We ask Wu Gang: “What have you?”He brings sweet osmanthus wine, pure and true.