What are the classic famous poems about narcissus?
The narcissus is pure and elegant, transcendent and set apart from the crowd. With its fragrant bearing that "holds scent in a plain body, enough to captivate a city," its character that "permits no mud to encroach upon its whiteness," and its spirit that "fears not the cold of dawn," and with only a spoonful of water it takes root and sprouts everywhere, blooming to welcome spring. It is deeply loved by people, regarded as a symbol of good fortune and peace and friendship, and an indispensable treasure of the "pure offering for the New Year" in countless households. No wonder even the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing dynasty could not help but write a poem praising it: Green cloak and pale-gold crown with white jade earrings, its pure bearing never sullied by mud or sand. The poets vainly sang of fragrant angelica, not knowing the first flower that walks upon the waves.
Narcissus
Song dynasty, Huang Tingjian
The fairy who treads the waves wears socks of dust, lightly stepping upon the water in the faint moon.
Who summoned this heart-breaking soul, planted as a cold flower to lodge utter sorrow?
Holding scent in a plain body, enough to captivate a city; the sweet whiteleaf is its younger brother, the plum its elder.
Sitting facing it, I am truly vexed by the flower; stepping out the door, I laugh as the great river stretches across.
Narcissus
Song dynasty, Liu Kezhuang
The year's blossoms scatter and all things look desolate, yet one kind of pure breeze is utterly lovely.
It does not fear that mud may encroach upon its whiteness; it relies wholly on wind and dew to bring forth its hidden beauty.
The soul of the poet spills forth like that of the exile who sank in the Xiang, its jade-like hue faintly that of the immortal who grasped the moon.
Yet I laugh that Fu Weng is too fond of rouge and powder, mistakenly matching such lofty elegance with a mere beauty.
Narcissus
Song dynasty, Liu Bangzhi
Given water it can become immortal, a wonder bestowed by heaven; its cold fragrance in solitude stirs its icy flesh.
Who today possesses immortal wind and Daoist bone? Lightly penciling moth eyebrows, pinning a single sprig.
Narcissus
Yuan dynasty, Yang Zai
The flower is like a golden cup offered on a jade plate, brightly illuminating the cold of a whole courtyard.
If there were again a ladder of clouds in this world, I would present it to Chang'e to gaze upon in the moon.
Four Quatrains on Narcissus
Ming dynasty, Yang Shen
Riding the carp, Qin Gao gathers the fresh blooms; in the azure sky there is little red dust.
By the shore of the Yellow Maiden's isle, the water for washing skirts is not the ford of the jealous woman of the human world.
Narcissus
Qing dynasty, Tao Fuyin
How could it be neighbor to the orchid of the school pool and the angelica of the Yuan? In its gentle swaying it seems to raise dust on silken socks.
Last night beneath the bright moon I stood upon the river, not knowing to whom it would untie its girdle-jade as a gift.
Narcissus
Qing dynasty, Wang Fuzhi
What can be done about the chaotic throng of red clouds? It does not know that the human world has spring waves.
Its mortal heart washed clean, it keeps only a fragrant shadow, delicate and small with icy flesh, a single shuttle of jade.
Broad Compendium of Fragrant Blossoms
Qing dynasty, Liu Hao
Six-petaled jade plate and golden crooked goblet, a flowering branch emerges from the thicket of green jade.
Its clear fragrance is confident in surpassing all other grades, and so it appears together with the river plum.
Narcissus
Song dynasty, Yang Wanli
Its charm is peerless and its fragrance peerless too; the flower is pure while the moon is not yet pure.
A heavenly immortal does not walk upon the earth, and so borrows water for its name.
Where it blooms, who is its companion? So solitary it cannot be approached.
In the snow palace it plays alone with its shadow; in the water hall there is no one all around.
Narcissus
Qiu Jin
The wave-treading maiden of the Luo's banks, her weary eyes open facing the wind.
Its petals seem to be jade cups; its roots were banished from the jade terrace.
Its tender white should outdo the snow; its clear fragrance yields not to the plum.
In my remaining years I have a passion for flowers; facing this one I linger day after day.
Narcissus
Song dynasty, Lai Shi
From the jade pool it came to feast at the old immortal's house, drunk and fallen, the elegant Calyx Green Flower.
White jade broken hairpin and golden-haloed crown, transformed into a bewitchingly lovely maiden flower.
Borrowing water to bloom is itself a wonder; with water-sinker wood for bone and jade for flesh.
Its hidden fragrance already presses down the sweetbriar in defeat; only this cold plum has no fine branches to match.
The Song dynasty poet Liu Bangzhi, in his poem "Ode to the Narcissus," praised the narcissus for standing gracefully erect in the bitter cold of winter with only a spoonful of clear water.
Zhu Xi's poem says: "Where does the fairy in the water come from, with green sleeves and yellow crown and white jade blossoms." Yao Wenhuan's poem says: "Parting thoughts like clouds, an ode to the Luo goddess; the flower's face is graceful, jade bringing forth spring. The wave-treading socks grow cold, the fragrant soul far away; jade pendants tinkle as the moonlight is new." In the Qing dynasty, Wu Maoqian wrote in his poem "Narcissus": "The true ones of Gushe emerge new from the water, standing tall like jade bowls that of themselves transcend the dust. With icy flesh and even more an immortal bone, they do not learn from those who hide their sleeves in the spring wind。”
Huang Tingjian wrote many poems on the narcissus. The most famous is "Wang Chongdao Sends Fifty Stems of Narcissus": "The fairy who treads the waves wears socks of dust, lightly stepping upon the water in the faint moon. Who summoned this heart-breaking soul, planted as a cold flower to lodge utter sorrow? Holding scent in a plain body, enough to captivate a city; the sweet whiteleaf is its younger brother, the plum its elder. Sitting facing it, I am truly vexed by the flower; stepping out the door, I laugh as the great river stretches across." It says the narcissus is the transformation of the sentimental fairy of the Luo River, and the phrase "fairy who treads the waves" vividly captures the narcissus's charm. Thus, from the moment Huang's poem appeared, the elegant title and lovely name "fairy who treads the waves" has been passed down to this day.
The narcissus has two major cultivar lines, single-petaled and double-petaled. Zhu Xi's line "green sleeves and yellow crown and white jade blossoms" describes the single-petaled flower: its petals are white, and the central corolla is bright yellow, shaped like a six-ridged white jade plate holding up a golden wine cup, hence the alternate name "golden cup and silver terrace." The double-petaled form produces no secondary corona and is white as jade throughout, hence the alternate name "jade exquisite." The Ming dynasty poet Chen Chun greatly admired it, writing: "A jade face like a beauty, small and delicate; its sandalwood heart is richly fragrant. Full of immortal bone it stands, truly wishing to leave the wheat waves。”
The narcissus possesses a plain and noble character, winning the praise of countless famous people. The Song dynasty poet Jiang Teli's poem says: "Its clear fragrance is confident in surpassing all other grades, and so it appears together with the river plum." This praises the narcissus's clear fragrance that rises above all other grades. The Ming dynasty poet Li Dongyang's poem says: "Light ink gently blended with the fragrance of jade dew, the fairy in the water in plain garments. Wind-tousled hair and misty temples with no binding, not the adornment of wealth and rank in the human world." This praises the narcissus's plain and unadorned character. The modern-era woman revolutionary Qiu Jin wrote in a poem: "Its petals seem to be jade cups; its roots were banished from the jade terrace; its tender white should outdo the snow, its clear fragrance yields not to the plum." She praised the narcissus's noble temperament, and one cannot help but seem to see its beauty and smell its fragrance, giving much to ponder.
Among Chinese narcissus, the Zhangzhou narcissus of Fujian is the most famous. Every year millions of bulbs are exported far away to Japan, the United States and the countries of Southeast Asia, and it is hailed as the "Chinese Yichun narcissus." The modern poet Guo Moruo sang of the nature of the Chinese narcissus as "relying only on a spoonful of water and a few columns of pebbles to live"; the contemporary poet Ai Qing deeply praised the narcissus: "It does not vie with the hundred flowers for splendor, but alone leads with faint, tranquil fragrance”。