Indispensable guardians of the house

More reasons to enjoy this early-summer delight.

Possible culprit behind the heatwave.

何以銷煩暑？ 端居一院中。 眼前無長物， 窗下有清風。 熱散由心靜， 涼生為室空。 此時身自得， 難更與人同。 How to dispel the sweltering heat? By sitting upright in the courtyard’s heart. Without superfluous things before [my] eyes,[1] And with fresh breezes through the window. Heat fades when [my] heart finds peace, Coolness arises as [my] chamber is empty. This hour, this sense of contentment Is hard to share with anyone else. * From Bai Juyi, Bai Juyi ji 白居易集 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1979), 28.635-6. [1] The phrase wu zhan

性質宜沙地， 栽培屬夏畦。 熟登甘似竽， 生薦脆如梨。 老病消凝滯， 奇功直品題。 故園長尺許， 靑葉更堪韲。 By nature, it loves sandy soil, And grows best in summer furrows. Served cooked, it’s sweet like a taro, Offered raw, it’s crispy as a pear. For the old and infirm, it clears stagnation,[1] A marvellous virtue, well worthy of praise. In my old garden, it grows about a foot, With tender greens fit for pickling. * From Xu Youren 許有壬, Guitang xiaogao 圭塘小藁, Yingyin Wenyuange Siku quanshu 景印文淵閣四庫全書 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji ch

A display of the lingering spring.

A backyard treat, only for a very limited period.

One more reason to grow ginger.

Album leaf by Li Shizhuo 李世倬 (1687-1770), with an inscription by Liang Shizheng 梁詩正 (1697-1763)

A tale from the Liexian zhuan 列仙傳.

An account from the Dongpo zhilin 東坡志林.

A visual delight in April.

A scholar's gardening.

Spring colours.

On the new season.