Wen Kexing Poetry Episode 2 - I’ll prepare a pot of good wine and place it among the flowers.  I’ll drink by myself, with no relative or friends in sight.”

In Episode 2, Wen Kexing invites Zhou ZIshu to drink with him on board his boat (which fails spectacularly lmao).  In his invitation, he cites this poem - 花间一壶酒，独酌无相亲 (Huā jiān yī hú jiǔ, dúzhuó wū xiāngqīn).

This arises from the Tang poem to “Drink Under the Moon”.  Written by Li Bai, the poem depicts the cold and lonely scene, where the author drinks alone under the moonlight.  The author is depressed and he speaks to the moon, pouring out his sorrows while drinking wine.  This poem is written in an interesting way as on the surface, the poet looks as though he’s enjoying himself, but deep within he is lonely and sorrowful. 

On the surface, it does look as though wkx is merely flirting with zzs.  However, I’m wondering if this is a possible foreshadowing of wkx’s character (ie. on the surface he looks well and he’s constantly surrounded with people. whereas on the inside ..  KNIVES)

青山不改，绿水长流 (the mountains evergreen, the river always flows)

I’ve picked this up because LOL CQL uses this as well. 🤣

Zhang Chengling bades Zhou Zishu goodbye with this phrase as he leaves.  In CQL, Wei Weixian also says goodbye to Lan Wangji at the end of the show the same way as well.

This is a phrase that’s commonly used in wuxia films.  It means “the mountains are evergreen, the river always flowers, just as the mountains and the rivers will never change, when we meet again, our feelings will always remain the same.”  Just a note though, this phrase is commonly used to express hatred.  It has the same vibe of two arch nemesis facing off with each other, of which one party would say, “I’ll be back.” LOL. So the way that it’s used in shl and cql is a little… different.

The original phrase came from poem “Parting” written by Bai Juyi.

The poem is as follows

Resource: (1), (2), (3)

Wen Kexing Poetry Analysis Episode 4 - “the clouds in the sky are like white clothes, but soon they’ll start turning into black dogs”

In Episode 4, Wen Kexing joins Chenling and Zhou Zi Shu beside the fire.  He then quotes this line “天上浮云似白衣，斯须改变如苍狗“ (Tiānshàng fúyún shì báiyī, sī xū gǎibiàn rú cāng gǒu) 

(Wen Kexing actually quotes the entire poem but the poem’s generally known for the very first two lines so I’ll be explaining that.)

This is a common idiom that’s taken from Du Fu’s poetry “To sigh”.  Literally translated this means, “the clouds in the sky are like white clothes, but soon they’ll start turning into black dogs”.  

The subject in the poem is Wang Jiyou, a friends of Du Fu.  His wife left him because he was poor (he was poor as his father had gotten into trouble and the family was driven into poverty), but yet he was blamed for his wife’s departure. Du fu wrote poem, lamenting his friend’s injustice.  

In modern times, this phrase describes the uncertainty in the world, and how it’s subjected to change at any moment.

In the show, Wen Kexing uses this as an opening statement to speak to Zhou ZIshu about the Baiyi Sword (Translated: White Clothes Sword) Of course, he’s also trying to show off lmao.

Resources: (1), (2), (3)

Wen Zhou Flirty Poetry Moments Episode 4 - “such are the stars in the night sky”

This is uh… so romantic LOL

In Episode 4, Zhou Zi Shu and Chengling are sitting by the river when Wen Kexing and Ah Xiang joins them.  When he arrives, Wen Kexing quotes this line, "如此星辰如此夜 (Rúcǐ xīngchén rúcǐ yè) (such are the stars in the night sky).

This was in the poem “Huai Huai” written by Huang Jing Ren (Qing Dynasty Poet).  绮, refers to an silk flower embroidery, which is subsequently taken to mean “beautiful”.  怀 means to “miss.”  Jing Ren was in love with his cousin which did not end well, and hence, he wrote this poem. Therefore, the title can be taken to describe a type of beauty that arises from the despair of a love that is lost. (Lol Wen Kexing, you romantic nutcase lmao)

The entire poem is as follows:

几回花下坐吹箫，银汉红墙入望遥 (Jǐ huí huā xià zuò chuī xiāo, yínhàn hóng qiáng rù wàng yáo)

似此星辰非昨夜，为谁风露立中宵。(Shì cǐ xīngchén fēi zuóyè, wèi shéi fēng lù lì zhōng xiāo)

缠绵思尽抽残茧，宛转心伤剥后蕉。(Chánmián sī jǐn chōu cán jiǎn, wǎnzhuǎn xīn shāng bō hòu jiāo.)

三五年时三五月，可怜杯酒不曾消。(Sānwǔ nián shí sānwǔ yuè, kělián bēi jiǔ bùcéng xiāo.)

When translated:

I sit among the flowers and blow the Xiao. Although the red wall is close at hand, it is as far as the silver moon that lies in the sky.

The stars before us aren’t the stars of yesterday, for whom did I brave the winds for the whole night?

The lingering feelings are like that of a silkworm cocoon, the spinning heart is like a banana that’s stripped.

Reminiscing the beautiful scene when she was fifteen years old under the full moon night, I sigh as the wine in my hand cannot wash away the sorrow in my heart.

Wen Kexing loosely rephrases the second line of the poem (如此星辰如此夜 Rúcǐ xīngchén rúcǐ yè) which means "such are the stars in the night sky”. The romantic implication is pretty obvious in the second part of the second line, "for whom did I brave the winds for the whole night”. This foreshadows the later part of the episodes, where Wen Kexing stays up the whole night blowing the Xiao to heal Zhou Zishu’s injuries. (Omg boyfriend goals)

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Resource: (1), (2), (3)

I’ve realised Zhou Zi Shu called Gu Xiang a 小善人 (Xiǎo shànrén small philanthropist) in episode 1, so Wen Kexing is basically teasing him back by insisting he’s a 温大善人 (Wēn dà shànrén, Wen the big philanthropist). Which explains why Zhou Zishu rolls his eyes whenever Wen Kexing calls himself Wēn dà shànrén.