爆竹声中一岁除 (bào zhú shēng zhōng yí suì chú, amid the bang of firecrackers, the old year is gone) opens 元日 (yuán rì), New Year's Day, by Wang Anshi of the Song dynasty, the classic poem for Chinese New Year. In four lines it shows the whole festival: firecrackers, a warm spring breeze, the tusu wine families drank on New Year's morning, and every household swapping its old peach-wood door charms for new ones, the custom that became today's spring couplets. This worksheet sets out the four seven-character lines with pinyin for copying and then writing from memory, followed by an English translation and notes on 屠苏 (tú sū, a spiced wine), 曈曈 (tóng tóng, the bright rising sun) and 桃符 (táo fú, peach-wood charms). Use it alongside the Chinese New Year worksheets in the weeks before the festival. Print it free or save the PDF, and read it aloud on New Year's Day.
元日 (yuán rì) with pinyin and English
- 爆竹声中一岁除， bào zhú shēng zhōng yí suì chú: Amid the bang of firecrackers, the old year is gone;
- 春风送暖入屠苏。 chūn fēng sòng nuǎn rù tú sū: the spring breeze brings warmth into the New Year wine.
- 千门万户曈曈日， qiān mén wàn hù tóng tóng rì: The rising sun shines bright on thousands of homes,
- 总把新桃换旧符。 zǒng bǎ xīn táo huàn jiù fú: and every family swaps its old door charms for new ones.
About the poem
元日 (yuán rì), New Year's Day: by 王安石 (Wáng Ānshí), Song dynasty (960-1279).
屠苏 (túsū) is a spiced wine drunk on New Year's Day; 桃符 (táo fú) were peach-wood charms hung on doors, the ancestors of today's spring couplets.
More Chinese poems for kids
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- Min Nong (悯农): Copy Li Shen's 悯农 (mǐn nóng), the poem about every grain of rice, line by line with pinyin. 锄禾日当午 汗滴禾下土 谁知盘中餐 粒粒皆辛苦
- Jiang Xue (江雪): Copy Liu Zongyuan's 江雪 (jiāng xuě), River Snow, line by line with pinyin. 千山鸟飞绝 万径人踪灭 孤舟蓑笠翁 独钓寒江雪
- You Zi Yin (游子吟): Copy Meng Jiao's 游子吟 (yóu zǐ yín), the classic poem about a mother's love, with pinyin. 慈母手中线 游子身上衣 临行密密缝 意恐迟迟归
- Shui Diao Ge Tou (水调歌头): Copy the best-known lines of Su Shi's Mid-Autumn poem 水调歌头 (shuǐ diào gē tóu), with pinyin. 明月几时有 把酒问青天 不知天上宫阙 今夕是何年
Frequently asked questions
What does 元日 (yuán rì) mean?
元日 (yuán rì) means 'New Year's Day'. Firecrackers see the old year out, the spring breeze brings warmth to the túsū wine, the rising sun shines on every home and each family swaps its old peach-wood door charms for new ones.
Who wrote 元日 (yuán rì)?
元日 (yuán rì) was written by 王安石 (Wáng Ānshí), the Song-dynasty statesman and poet best known for his reforms. Wang Anshi wrote it in the Song dynasty, about 950 years ago.
How long is 元日 (yuán rì)?
元日 (yuán rì) has four lines of seven characters, 28 characters in all, a little longer than the five-character poems children learn first. The worksheet gives each line its own row of grids with pinyin above.
What are 屠苏 (tú sū) and 桃符 (táo fú) in 元日 (yuán rì)?
屠苏 (tú sū) was a spiced wine families drank on New Year's morning to keep illness away. 桃符 (táo fú) were peach-wood boards hung on doors to ward off evil; they became the red spring couplets, 春联 (chūn lián), that families paste up at New Year today.
Is this worksheet free to print?
Yes. The 元日 (yuán rì) worksheet is free to print or save as a PDF, with no account or email needed, and you can print as many copies as you like for a class. Choose A4 or US Letter before you press Print or Save PDF.