— Zheng Gu
The vernal breeze has brightened your color so fine;
You stir my mind to write a verse before good wine.
With rain impearled on you, more beautiful you grow;
You’re all the more bewitching when about to blow.
The fair forgets to powder her face before you;
The painter hesitates to draw your picture new.
Nor verse nor wine’s enough to show delight in me;
I envy butterflies perching deep in your tree.
Note
Zheng Gu (c. 851–910) was a prominent poet of the late Tang Dynasty, celebrated for his refined aesthetic sensibility and mastery of lyrical description – particularly in poems about flowers, birds, and seasonal beauty. He was so admired for his poem on the cuckoo that he earned the nickname “Zheng the Cuckoo” (Zheng Du Juan). His work often blends vivid imagery with subtle emotion, capturing fleeting moments of natural grace.
His poem “Begonia” (also translates to The Crabapple Flower, or To the Crabapple Flower, Hai Tang in Chinese) is a delicate and affectionate portrait of the begonia flower at its most enchanting moment – just before full bloom, glistening after a spring rain. The opening lines praise how the spring breeze seems to deliberately blend the flower’s hues with care, making it worthy of wine and poetry. Zheng emphasizes that the begonia’s peak beauty lies not in full bloom, but in its budding stage – fresh, tender, and full of promise.
He then evokes legendary figures: even the famed beauty Mo Chou would set aside her makeup in awe, and the great painter Liang Guang would hesitate to put brush to paper, fearing he could never do justice to such loveliness. The poet himself is utterly captivated – drinking and reciting verses from morning till night – yet still can’t get enough. In the end, he confesses envy toward butterflies that get to rest among the deep branches, close to the flower all night.
Through this poem, Zheng Gu elevates the begonia into an ideal of restrained, anticipatory beauty – one that stirs admiration, artistic humility, and quiet longing.
海棠
— 郑谷
春风用意匀颜色，
销得携觞与赋诗。
秾丽最宜新著雨，
娇娆全在欲开时。
莫愁粉黛临窗懒，
梁广丹青点笔迟。
朝醉暮吟看不足，
羡他蝴蝶宿深枝。
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