Source: Taizhou Literary and Art Net

Author: Su Shaokang

 

Prologue:
Qingtan lies in Yanjiang Town, Linhai, Zhejiang
The red bayberry here is famous for its high quality and low price.
At the invitation of my friends, I went there with several collogues from the Linhai Writers’ Association.
I was intoxicated by the charming landscape and delicious red bayberries, so I wrote this ode.

 

Ode:
The famous Qingtan was a relay of the ancient track. It lies in the north of Xuankong Temple, and beside Fuyan Pavilion. Yiyi Mountain was so beautiful and the pagoda was lofty; waterfalls gushed down into green pools. It was a lucky light from the world, covered in red clouds; bathed in beauty of the universe, majestic in all its variety. No wonder good red bayberries are grown in the environment.

 

Delicacies were brewed up amid fantastic mountain and water; nectar was stored in harem. Its roots were buried in good soil, and branches and leaves reflected in pools. The mountains were tainted red by a thousand mu of red bayberries; ten thousands of people were picking all over the mountains in joy. I put a bayberry into my mouth and its sweetness soon reached my heart and spleen; my mouth was watering before it got to my stomach. I came to taste the bayberries, which left me with an endless after taste; they were so mellow that the fragrance lingered between my teeth and moistened my lung; they were so acid that the taste was soft, moistening and refreshing. The red bayberries were so wonderful that they stimulated my appetite and relived my tongue and recalled my love hurt for the beauty.

 

If we eat several bayberries every day, our spleen would be strengthened and our stomach be protected; if we eat the core along, wastes inside our bodies would be removed. Infused in wine, its fragrance would fill the room and also cure many diseases, its fragrance would relieve summer heat and stimulate appetite, so they can invite body fluid and pacify thirst; they would induce dieresis and benefit kidney, so they are reliving and refreshing. Some are sparkling and pure than agate; while some are more mellow and fresh than crystals. Besides, they are produced in the dust-free environment, and kept in vacuum package, so they are pollution-free, green and safe.

 

Yi! As the tributes from the south, they reveal essence of the holy river; they are wonders of Taizhou and show the style of south bayberries.

 

“Leechee of Fujian, Guangxi, and Guangdong and grape of western Liang are all incomparable to red barberries of Wuyue,” said Dongpo. And the bayberries of Qingtan are the best among those of Wuyue.

 

“The red bayberries are more precious than leechee, more fragrant than magnolia. Their pistils are strong, and the color turns from yellow to red when they are ripening. They are grown in bright sun, beautiful valley, shining cloud, and gorgeous mountain. Be my wings, be your jade plate.” said Jiang Yan in his ode, so the bayberries are the sweetest in the world.

 

Author: Su Shaokang, Member of the All China Cifujia Association, Vice President of the Linhai Writers’ association