September 

Happy birthday Lan Xin 

Blossoms of Phalaenopsis

— Dedicated to Lan Xin , In the Name of Purity

Poem by Shangguan Changfeng

Translated by Lan‑Xin Samei

Phalaenopsis are in bloom,

Beneath the morning glow of Wenbi Lake.

Blossom after blossom,

Like letters from the snow‑capped mountains,

Sent down unto the mortal world.

Pure and immaculate.

Nothing but whiteness,

Nothing more, nothing less.

Nothing but wholeness,

Nothing wanting, nothing excess.

That pristine heart,

Grown from this very land.

The Dongba paper knows it,

That bamboo brush knows it.

Every first stroke upon the page,

Is a seed,

Slowly awakening through the night.

You plant these seeds into poetry,

Into the crevices between two languages,

Upon the invisible road stretching from Hunan to Lijiang.

Thirty years long,

You have walked yourself into a river,

Carrying those ancient characters,

Flowing toward souls who scarcely believe in the moon.

White butterflies rest upon your shoulders,

Their wingtips trembling gently —

Blessings taking flight from the Dongba scriptures.

They utter no word,

Simply abide in whiteness, simply exist.

With their pure radiance,

they bring soft closure to a love that has traveled far.

This pristine heart is no garden‑plucked flower.

It grows of itself from this land steeped in healing.

Every petal

is a thought of love and compassion,

resting lightly in your hands.

Today the wind breathes soft.

Sweet osmanthus shall bloom in a few days,

yet phalaenopsis are already in full flower,

blooming just right.

Like your well‑tendered gentleness,

your unyielding resolve,

and the perfect way

you have graced this world

through all these years.

— By Shangguan Changfeng 

For Lan Xin’s birthday

At Dongba Culture Academy, when osmanthus is soon to bloom, September 5, 2026