爱莲说 - 周敦颐
水陆草木之花，可爱者甚蕃。晋陶渊明独爱菊；自李唐来，世人皆爱牡丹；予独爱莲之出淤泥而不染，濯清涟而不妖，中通外直，不蔓不枝，香远益清，亭亭净植，可远观而不可亵玩焉。
予谓菊，花之隐逸者也；牡丹，花之宝贵者也；莲，花之君子者也。噫！菊之爱，陶后鲜有闻；莲之爱，同予者何人？牡丹之爱，宜乎众矣！
There are many lovely flowers and plants both aquatic and terrestrial. Tao Yuanming of Jin Dynasty loved chrysanthemums only. Ever since Tang Dynasty, people have been loving peonies. But I love lotuses only. Coming out of mud, yet stainless; washed by clear water, so charming but not seductive; hollow inside, straight outside; bare of vines and branches; the further, the sweeter; tall, erect and pure ; they can be looked at afar off but not be toyed with profanely.
Among flowers, in my mind’s eye, chrysanthemums are hermits; peonies are people of riches and honors; lotuses are gentlemen. Alas! As for chrysanthemum lovers, they have scarcely been heard ever since Tao Yuanming. As to lotus lovers, who is the same as me? Yet as for as peony lovers are concerned, there are quite a lot.
