Ailian Shuo Pinyin Edition

On Love Lotus [ài lián shuō] is an essay written by Zhou Dunyi, a philosopher in the Northern Song Dynasty.

shuǐ lù cǎo mù zhī huā，kě ài zhě shèn fān。 jìn táo yuān míng dú ài jú。 zì lǐ táng lái，shì rén shèn ài mǔ dān。 yǔ dú ài lián zhī chū yū ní ér bú rǎn，zhuó qīng lián ér bú yāo，zhōng tōng wài zhí，bú màn bú zhī，xiāng yuǎn yì qīng，tíng tíng jìng zhí，kě yuǎn guān ér bú kě xiè wán yān。

the flowers of land and water plants are very lovely. Jin Tao Yuanming loves chrysanthemums alone. Since Li Tanglai, the world loves peony very much. To love the lotus alone, the mud is not stained, and it is clear but not demon. It is straight outside, not creeping, and the fragrance is far away and clear. It is slim and graceful, so you can look at it from a distance without being ridiculous.

yǔ wèi jú，huā zhī yǐn yì zhě yě； mǔ dān，huā zhī fù guì zhě yě； lián，huā zhī jūn zǐ zhě yě。 yī！ jú zhī ài，táo hòu xiǎn yǒu wén。 lián zhī ài，tóng yǔ zhě hé rén？ mǔ dān zhī ài，yí hū zhòng yǐ！

to call chrysanthemum, the flowers are secluded; Peony, the flower is rich; Lotus, the gentleman of flowers is also. Hey! The love of chrysanthemum is rarely heard after Tao. Who gives the love of lotus? The love of peony is suitable for all!

Appreciation of "The Theory of Ailian":

The author described the noble image of the lotus in the first part of the poem. Through the description of the lotus, the author praised its superior virtue of purity and ease, especially its respectable and unassuming style of Yamazaki, thus implying that he has the noble character of "emerging from the mud without being stained, cleaning the lotus without being demon".

The author compares and comments on the different characters of the three flower symbols in the next piece of Ci. The author uses flowers as metaphors to describe Tao Yuanming's mentality of avoiding the world and the pursuit of prosperity by all the people, which is vividly described. At this time, the author revealed his pure mentality, indicating his vision of a beautiful ideal.