陸遊《今年立冬後菊方盛開小飲》“Having a cup when the chrysanthemums are in full bloom following the Beginning of Winter this year” by Lu You (1125-1210)

胡床移就菊花畦，

飲具酸寒手自攜。

野實似丹仍似漆，

村醪如蜜復如韲。

傳芳那解烹羊腳，

破戒猶慚擘蟹臍。

一醉又驅黃犢出，

冬晴正要飽耕犂。

[I] take a folding chair to the chrysanthemum bed,

With shabby drinkware in my hands.

Wild fruits [glow] like cinnabar, like lacquer;

The village brew [is as thick] as honey, as a seasoned paste.

What do those fragrance-bearers [1] know of a cooked lamb shank?

Though ashamed of breaking fast, [I] crack the crab open.

Once drunk, [I] drive [my] calf out again

To work in the field with a full belly on a fine winter day.

* From Lu You 陸遊 (1125-1210), Jiannan shi gao jiaozhu 劍南詩稿校注 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1985), 25.1817.

** The "Beginning of Winter this year" in the title corresponds to 31st October, 1190.

[1] The original phrase chuanfang 傳芳 (literally “to pass on fragrance”) ostensibly refers to the chrysanthemums in this context, but it is also a familiar metaphor for leaving a good reputation that is commemorated for generations. Meanwhile, the chrysanthemum is a well-known symbol for a respected gentleman in reclusion like Tao Yuanming 陶淵明 (ca. 365-427), which strongly suggests a second layer of meaning of this line: posthumous reputation is nothing compared to the simple pleasures of the present.

Tao Yuanming and his chrysanthemums, album leaf by Chen Hongshou 陳洪綬 (1599–1652)

Image credit: The Cleveland Museum of Art

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1979.27.2.12