“The brimming waves delight the eye on sunny days;
The dimming hills give a rare view in rainy haze.
The West Lake looks like the fair lady at her best
Whether she is richly adorned or plainly dressed.”

—  Su Shi

"The West Lake, the Beauty" (《饮湖上初晴后雨》) (1073), in Song of the Immortals: An Anthology of Classical Chinese Poetry, trans. Yuanchong Xu (Beijing: New World Press, 1994), p. 200

Original

水光潋滟晴方好，山色空蒙雨亦奇。 欲把西湖比西子，淡妆浓抹总相宜。

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Nov. 9, 2023. History

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Su Shi 4
Chinese writer 1037–1101

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