One Thought, a Mortal Life · Stubborn and Foolish by Nature · 20 / 102
· The Top Scholar in Red
A fine horse draped in red satin; beyond the palace gates the peach blossoms burst open. A style lush and lovely — a lifelong wish come true, just as he pleased.
and the shift and change together; rank and the robes of office come at twenty, the capping age. Received in the jade hall, the girdle-pendants swaying slow — and spring warms the world of men.
Glosses—
The capping age (ruò guàn): in old times a Han Chinese man of twenty was said to be at the capping age;
Girdle-pendants (jìn bù): an ornament of antiquity. Jade pendants of various shapes were strung on colored cords into a set and tied at the waist, used at first to weight down the hem of the skirt. Worn while walking, they gave out a sound measured in its pace and proper in its weight. If the rhythm fell into disorder it was held to be a breach of manners, and the ancients took this very seriously.
*This work is original. If you repost it, please credit the original author Shixi Lin; any infringement, once discovered, will be pursued to the full extent of the law. In addition, the accompanying image comes from the internet and belongs to the original artist Nayan Yao Niepanpan.