1902: Not cold

Quatrain by Song dynasty monk Zi Nan

Old wood, in the shade, tie up small boat,
Stick cane, supporting me, cross the bridge east.
Drops on clothes, barely damp, apricot blossom rain,
Blows on face, not cold, poplar willow breeze.


1902 (continued)

My deceased mother, family name Yang, was born in the first year of Guangxu's reign*, in Jioujiang. She is the eldest daughter of her father, Yang Fangzhong. Her mother, from the Wang family, also lived in Jioujiang City. My mother lived with her parents and went to a private school. When she was 27, she married my father. The next year, on June 18, I was born. The fortune teller said I was lacking in gold and water of the five elements, so my mother named me Jing Zhou (gold continent). When I started school, it was changed to a homonym meaning Chastetree. At my hundred days celebration, the relatives gathered to give thanks to God. 

*1875