What does it mean to say "Peony is the favorite of spring, but I never envy peony"?
This sentence comes from Wang Zhenbai's Peony.
The full text of this poem is as follows:
Peony is the favorite of spring, and I never envy peony. Wheat autumn can last for several days, but Grain Rain is only slightly cold. Jealousy is frequent, and my makeup is exposed. Hibiscus Huan gauze companion, long hate the waves.
The translation of the whole poem is as follows:
Spring breeze dotes on peony. How can you envy peony? How many days are there in the autumn wheat harvest season? It's only a little colder in Grain Rain. Because of jealousy of her charm, the breeze blows frequently. I envy the delicate makeup, and the night dew wants to make it disabled. Only the beauty like lotus and the face like calligraphy deserve to accompany you. I have to sigh your beauty in the tumbling water.
Wang Zhenbai (875-958 AD) was born in Yongfeng, Xinzhou (now Guangfeng District, Shangrao City, Jiangxi Province). Famous poets in the late Tang Dynasty, Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. Gan Tang was a scholar in the second year of Ning's reign (AD 895), and seven years later (AD 902), he served as a school librarian, auditioning with Luo Yin, Fang Gan and Guan Xiu. He is the author of 7 volumes of Lingxi Collection and 1 volume of modern poetry collection. His famous saying "an inch of time and an inch of gold" has been widely circulated among the people. In the first year of Zhongxing in the Southern Tang Dynasty (AD 958), Wang Zhenbai of the Liang Dynasty died of illness in his hometown. The imperial court awarded Dr. Guanglu the title of "Duke of Shanggu" to Wang Zhenbai, and established the Taoist Temple, which was buried in the moat outside the west gate of Guangfeng District.