Love Seeds

—Wang Wei

The red beans grow in southern land;

How many load in spring the trees?

Collect them till full is your hand;

They would recall sweet memories.

Translated by Xu Yuanchong and simplified by the editor

①Love is a popular theme in Chinese poems. What symbols do you think best stand for love? The heart, rose or chocolate? This time we are going to look at a classic Chinese poem, Love Seeds. It was written by the Tang Dynasty poet Wang Wei who had a different understanding of the symbol of love.

②In the first two lines, the poet expresses his feelings of missing his friend, who lives in the southern part, by describing the growth of red beans in spring. In classic Chinese poems, poets prefer to express feelings in an indirect or symbolic way. When describing the natural environment or showing some symbols, Chinese poets always mean more than what’s described on the surface.

③In Chinese culture, red beans are seen as “love seeds”, which have a strong cultural meaning. Because they are often hard, come in a heart shape and can be stored for a long time, those beans have long been used as a symbol of love and loyalty between lovers.

④In the last two lines, the poet wishes his faraway friend to collect as many red beans as possible, as the beans will bring back his friend’s memories of him.

⑤Instead of showing love to others by directly saying “I miss you” or using flowery language, this short poem can make readers feel deep love.

Start of Winter is one of the 24 solar terms（节气）in China. It is the start of winter. Chinese people usually have a big meal on that day. In the north（北方）, people love eating dumplings very much. In the south, people eat chicken, duck and fish. It is said that eating well can help people keep warm on cold days.

In the old days, the Start of Winter was also a time for people to store（贮存）vegetables. At the time, there were not many fresh vegetables to eat during the winter in the north. There were also no supermarkets like today. People had no place to buy fresh vegetables in winter.

So, around the Start of Winter people put lots of cabbages in a cellar, a room under a house, often used for storing things. They also make fresh tomatoes into tomato sauce（酱）. It is delicious if you put some salt into it and you can use it instead of（代替）vegetables when you eat noodles in winter.

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Chinese knots are one of the traditional crafts of China. They are important in Chinese culture. Not only Chinese people but also foreign visitors love Chinese knots. Let’s get to know some facts about Chinese knots.

Chinese knots have a long history. It first began in ancient times and developed during the Tang and Song Dynasties. It became popular during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

In Chinese, the “knot” means reunion (团聚), friendliness, peace, happiness and love. Chinese knots are often used to express good wishes, including happiness (繁荣) and love.

Chinese knots are famous for their bright colors. In Chinese culture, different colors have different traditional meanings. Here are some examples about colors and their meanings. Red means good luck and happiness. Green means health. And yellow means wealth.

Chinese knots come in different sizes. Some Chinese knots are small. Some of them are as small as a button. Some Chinese knots are large. Some of them are about 1 or 1.5 meters in length and width.

Chinese knots are widely used in our everyday life. During festivals, some Chinese knots are hung outdoors and indoors as decorations. They are also given to relatives and friends as gifts. Some Chinese women love to use small Chinese knots as buttons on their traditional clothes.