Original text:
There is a lot of silk in the sky above the avenue, which is as delicate and moist as butter. The grass is vaguely connected in the distance, but it looks sparse in the near future.
This is the most beautiful season of the year, far better than the late spring of the green willow.
Translation:
There is drizzle in Chang 'an, which moistens everything. From a distance, the grass is green, but when you look closer, it is sparse and sporadic.
This is the most beautiful early spring scenery in a year, far better than the late spring in the city of green willows.
Poetry appreciation
This is a seven-character quatrain that describes and praises the beauty of early spring. The first sentence points out the light rain in early spring, and describes it as smooth and moist with "moist as crisp", which accurately captures its characteristics. The sentence is fresh and beautiful. There is also Du Fu's "Good rain knows the season, when spring comes." Sneaking into the night with the wind, moistening things silently "has the same effect."
This poem is a seven-character quatrain for Zhang Ji, the Ministry of Water Resources, which describes and praises the beautiful scenery in early spring. Ranked eighteenth among the brothers, so he was called Zhang Eighteen.