爱 莲 说Love of the Lotus

文/周敦颐 译/顾韶阳

By Zhou Dunyi

水陆草木之花，可爱者甚蕃。晋陶渊明独爱菊。自李唐来，世人甚爱牡丹。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！ □

Loveworthy flowering plants on land and in water are in profusion,yet Tao Yuanming of the Jin Dynasty loved nothing but the chrysanthemum.Ever since the Tang Dynasty, there has been a craze for the peony. As for me,the lotus is my favorite. It rises spotless out of the slimy mud; it stays subdued in the clear water. Its stems are hollow within and upright without, free from the entanglement of vines and twigs. Its delicate fragrance is wafted afar and, with its graceful erectness, it should more be observed at a deferential distance than be approached in a frivolous fashion. Personally, I think chrysanthemum is the flower of seclusion and solitude, peony the flower of wealth and rank and lotus the flower of purity and nobility. Alas! The love of the chrysanthemum since Tao Yuanming has rarely been heard of and the love of the lotus is echoed by none, isn’t it? However, the love of the peony is shared by the multitudes. ■