劝君莫惜金缕衣,劝君惜取少年时。花开堪折直须折,莫待无花空折枝。· Love not your golden dress,I pray,| More than your youthful golden hours. | Gather sweet blossoms while you may,|And not the twig devoid of flowers!
· If you will take advice,my friend,| For wealth you will not care. | But while fresh youth is in you,| Each precious moment spare. | When flowers are fit for culling,| Then pluck them as you may. | Ah,wait not till the bloom be gone,| To bear a twig away.
(Anonymous [of the Tang Dynasty]: “The Golden Dress”)