My Poetic Idol

When I was at a coffee shop with a couple of my closest friends, they asked me which two people I wished I could spawn from.  I said Muhammad Ali and Su Shi  (That's, "Sue! Shhhh" for being  too loud in the library, not sushi you eat). I want to be a hydraulic engineer, politician, alcoholic poet that can knockout someone.

Of all the people I know in Chinese literature so far, Su Shi someone way ahead of his time, even by today's standards.  Every time I read Su Shi, he turns the most minute things turn into some heartfelt and touches my soul.  Whether it be about boiling water, or admiring is little plant from home, you can tell he writes with his soul.  My tagline alludes to a poem Su Shi wrote to his brother Su Che  (蘇澈　Pronounce "suture"):

和子由澠池懷舊

With Ziyou Fondly Remembering Mian Chi

( ZiyouPen name for Su Che)
人生到處知何似，應似飛鴻踏雪泥。

Where has everyone gone, like a flying crane that stepped into the muddy snow.
泥上偶然留指爪，鴻飛那復計東西。

By chance on the mud a clawprint, the crane flew east or west.
老僧已死成新塔，壞壁無由見舊題。

The old monk died and a new pagoda built, the ruined wall I do not see our couplet.
往日崎嶇還知否，路長人困蹇驢嘶。

Do you remember in the old days our rugged journey?  The road long, I'm tired and this old donkey whinnies.

Su Shi 11th century

(Translated by Daniel Tran)

The written word is like the crane's snow print.  In this case, Su Shi is writing to his little brother about the good times they had.  At the moment he writes this poem, traveling is still rough as he journeys into the unknown future.  What's most striking is his humor at the end.  An old Chinese man rides a slow donkey.

I'm a young Chinese dude typing on an old computer chair.  I blog fondly about the past and type slowly into the unknown future.

Note: I should be using pinyin, but I personally think it's non-intuitive to begin with.  I learned the Taiwanese pronunciation system and didn't learn pinyin until college.  Plus, I think it's fun if you want to know the pronunciation just for the moment.  Sadly, pinyin is now the international standard for pronunciation, so please don't use my half-baked system to methodically pronounce Chinese!

Note II: Stephen Owen does a much better translation of this poem