A story for the new solar term: Beginning of Summer

楊太醫妄稱詩高，詠其《立夏詩》云：“昨夜春歸去，今日景風生。”公聽之，驟徵其解。或戲應曰：“此令親何景峰諱春者，昨夜惡發暴亡，今日再生。太醫作詩慶之耳。”公徑起急走詣何，值何正啖飯，公雪涕被面，掣其筯曰：“兄魂魄初復，神觀未定，飯且少進。”何大怪疑，以為祟，並且唾且罵驅閉門外。公怒，遂與何絕交。

Imperial Physician Yang boasted that he was a good poet and [once] recited his “Poem on the Beginning of Summer”, “Spring left last night, and a pleasant wind rises today.” Hearing this, a lord immediately inquired about its implications.

Someone replied in jest, “This is about your relative He Chun, courtesy name Jingfeng,[1] who died of a sudden illness last night and was reborn today. The imperial physician wrote the poem to celebrate it.”

His lordship rose immediately and ran to visit He [Chun], catching him having his meal. With tears falling like snow all over his face, his lordship grabbed He [Chun]’s chopsticks and said, “My dear brother, your soul just returned, and your spirit is not yet settled. Don’t eat too much.” He [Chun] was totally puzzled and suspected his lordship was haunted. He spat and swore at his lordship, shooing him out of his gate. His lordship was furious and severed their friendship thereafter.

* From Feng Menglong 馮夢龍 (1574-1646) ed., Gujin tangai 古今譚概 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2007), 68. 

[1] The personal name Chun reads “spring”, and the courtesy name Jingfeng is homonymous with jingfeng (pleasant wind) in the physician’s poem.

Album leaf on the solar term "Beginning of Summer" by Zhang Ruoai 張若靄 (1713-1746)

Image credit: National Palace Museum, Taipei