清明
qīng míng清明shí jié时节yǔ雨fēn fēn纷纷，
lù shang路上xíng rén行人yù欲duàn断hún魂。
jiè wèn借问jiǔ jiā酒家hé chù何处yǒu有，
mù tóng牧童yáo遥zhǐ指xìng huā cūn杏花村。
The poet & the story
Du Mu (803–852), the great poet of the late Tang, was famous for quatrains that compress a whole scene into four lines. This one is so tied to the Qingming festival that newspapers reprint it every April; the “Apricot Blossom Village” it mentions is now claimed by several rival towns — and a famous baijiu brand.
Interpretation
Endless drizzle at Qingming, and travellers on the road feel their souls dissolving — grief for the dead mixed with cold and weariness. Where can a man find a tavern? A herd-boy points, without a word, to a village deep in apricot blossom. Sorrow turns to warmth in a single gesture.