Literature
The scenery of Daming Lake has been a topic of Chinese literature for at least about 1,500 years. The lake is mentioned in "Commentary on the Waterways Classic" (Chinese: 水经注; pinyin: Shui Jīng Zhù) by Northern Wei Dynasty writer and geographer Li Daoyuan (died 527). It is described in "A Trip to Jinan" by the Jin Dynasty poet Yuan Haowen (1235) and was also described by Marco Polo a bit later. The scenery of Daming Lake is also featured in the novel "The Travels of Lao Can" by Liu E and the essay "The Winter of Jinan" (Chinese: 济南的冬天; pinyin: Jǐnán de Dōngtiān) by Lao She. Daming Lake is also the subject of a poem by Han Fuju, military governor of Shandong from 1930 to 1938, that has been frequently quoted to ridicule him:
大明湖 明湖大
Dàmíng hú míng hú dà
The Daming ("Daming" means "big brightness") Lake, the bright lake is big
大明湖里有荷花
Dàmíng hú lǐ yŏu hé huā
In the Daming Lake are lotus flowers
荷花上头有蛤蟆
Hé huā shàng tóu yŏu há má
On the lotuses are toads
一戳一蹦达
Yī chuō yī bèng dá
prick them once, leap once
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