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A light sweat glistens on the green silk; tomorrow, on Dragon Boat Festival, I’ll bathe in the fragrance of orchids. The fragrance spreads, filling the entire sunny riverbank. Colorful threads gently wrap around the red jade arms, while small talismans hang diagonally from the green cloud-like hair. Beautiful souls meet after a thousand years. “Huanshi Sha · Dragon Boat Festival” is a ci poem written by Su Shi, a literary figure from the Northern Song Dynasty. This poem mainly depicts women celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival. The first part describes the various preparations they make before the festival, while the second part depicts them following traditional customs by wrapping colored threads around their arms and hanging small amulets in their hair, as they exchange festive greetings with one another. The entire poem is structured in antithetical sentences, through which one can faintly discern the shadow of Chaoyun, the concubine who remained by the poet’s side with loyalty and dedication.
This is Su Shi’s poem \"Huan Xi Sha\"; it describes the arrival of the Dragon Boat Festival. In its place of origin, that is, Qu Yuan’s hometown, people take baths using fragrant orchids, wear beautiful silk garments, and adorn themselves with colorful accessories. The air is filled with the sweet scent of bamboo leaves, mugwort, and calamus, as people commemorate this noble lady.
Su Shi’s \"Huan Xi Sha·Duan Wu\" from the Song Dynasty
A light sweat glistens on the green silk; tomorrow, on Dragon Boat Festival, I’ll bathe in the fragrance of orchids. The fragrance spreads, filling the entire sunny riverbank. Colorful threads gently wrap around the red jade arms, while small talismans hang diagonally from the green cloud-like hair. Beautiful souls meet after a thousand years. 「Huanshi Sha: The Dragon Boat Festival」—Su Shi
Su Shi of the Song Dynasty, “Huanshi Sha: The Dragon Boat Festival”
Huaxi Sha · Dragon Boat Festival, Song Dynasty, Su Shi