Words of the Day

This is how Su Dongpo labelled Wang Anshi:

【天命不足畏，眾言不足從，祖宗之法不足用】
"Heaven's mandate is not worth fearing, everyone's words are not worth following, the ancestor's ways are not worth using."


拗ao4
To disobey, to go against

Chapter Title:  拗相公
The Disobedient Minister

籠罩long3zhao4
to envelop, to shroud

我們必須了解此一政治鬥爭的本質，因為蘇東坡的一生都被黨爭所籠罩。

We must interpret the source of governance conflict because Su Dongpo's entire life was shrouded by partisan bickering.

堅毅jian1yi4
Persistence

我們都知道堅毅是優良的美德，但是要看一個人決定做什麼事而定。
We all know that perseverance is a good moral quality, but we must look at what the person is doing in order to persist.

標籤biao1jian3
label

Words of the Day: The Tearful Citizens Painting

End of the Chapter:

It was only when a brave small official name Zheng Xia painted the atrocities outside the court walls did the Northern Song emperor finally retract his economic reform.  

**Unfortunately, the original painting lost with time, but here is a a Ming interpretation of the painting of the 【流民圖】or "Tearful Citizens".  (Source)

拖垮tuo1kua1

to be tired out or collapse from burden

暴政bao4zheng4

tyranny

就算沒有異族侵略，暴政也能把國家拖垮。

This counts as not having foreign invasion.  Tyranny can collapse a country.

Words of the Day

詼諧hui1xie2
Humorous, funny

有一天蘇東坡遇到他，就詼諧地說：“那麼 ‘滑’ 字一定是 ‘水之骨’ 囖。”

One day Su Dongpo encountered him [Wang Anshi], and humorously said, "'Slippery' must be 'the bone of water'."

**You have to know the Chinese to get this pun.

遵循zun1xun2
comply with, follow

符合fu3he2
conform to, to suit

後來有些中國學家者遵循西方集產主義的觀念，想洗刷王安石在歷史上的罪名，說他的思想 “符合現代社會主義”。

Later on some Chinese scholars followed western collectivism, and thought about erasing Wang Anshi's tarnished name, saying that his thoughts were "in accordance to modern socialism."

Su of the Eastern Slope 蘇東坡

I've been on hiatus studying for a test that could not test me.  I'm back on my blog!

I have to put "The Dream of the Red Chamber" on hold for this man, Su Shi:

(Yuan Dynasty, Painted by Zhao Mengfu)

I recently bought the Chinese copy of Lin Yutang's "The Gay Genius:  The Biography of Su Dong Po" delivered from Taiwan.

I have many reasons for reading Su Shi, but before I make any sweeping statements about his life, please read this poem first:

(Emperor Huizong "draft cursive" 12th century)

No, please don't read the draft cursive.  Heck, I can barely read it.  Su Shi's poem is a reaction to a friend who could write this script.

Su Shi, Shi Cang-shu's "Hall of Drunken Ink" (1068)

All worry and woe in life begins

from learning to read and write---

be able to roughly mark your name

and then you should call it quits.

What point is there in cursive draft

that flaunts the spirit's speed?---

the blur in my eyes when I open a scroll

makes me ill at ease.

Yes, i too have been fond of it,

but always I laugh at myself;

how can we cure this affliction

as it shows itself in you?

You tell me that in doing this

you find a perfect joy,

mind's satisfaction, not distinct

from spirit's roaming free.

Just recently you built a hall

and named it "Drunken Ink,"

comparing this art to drinking wine

that melts anxieties.

I see now that Liu Zong-yuan

wrote something not untrue;

such affliction may crave dirt and ask

as if it were haute cuisine.

Still we may say that in this art

you have achieved the heights:

worn-out brushes pile by your walls

like little hills and knolls.

When the whim strikes, one swish of the hand

and a hundred sheets are gone:

in a fleeting moment a splendid steed

bestrides an entire land.

My own script takes shape to my mood,

I have no special technique:

the dots and lines just follow my hand,

it's a bother to try too hard.

Then tell me why in your critiques

I am singled out for praise,

isolated words an scraps of paper

all find themselves collected.

Your script may be properly judged

no lower than Zhong or Zhang;

on a lower level my own is still better

than that of Luo or Zhao.

You should no longer sit by the pool

and practice so ardently,

in the end just take all that writing silk

and use it to stuff a quilt.

Owen, Stephen. "The Ornaments of "Literati" Culture." An Anthology of Chinese Literature: Beginnings to 1911. New York: W.W. Norton, 1996. 640-41. Print.

During my darker, colder days of college, Su Shi knew the right words to speak to my soul.  His life by some standards may be seen as a "failure" because of his fall from political power.  Yet after a thousand years we remember him like an good old friend.

Lin Yutang puts it this way:  knowing a thousand year old dead guy isn't hard, you just need to write.  The living haven't finished telling their stories.  As the old saying goes, we can decide when the coffin shuts.

Time to Enjoy the Moon

(Portrait of Su Shi by Zhao Mengfu.  Yuan.  Source)

水調歌頭

Shui Diao Ge Tou

蘇軾

Su Shi

明月幾時有？把酒問青天。

When will the moon be bright?  I raise my wine to the blue sky.

不知天上宮闕，今夕是何年。

Not sure if the lunar palace, knows what year it is.

我欲乘風歸去，又恐瓊樓玉宇，高處不勝寒。

I wish to ascend with the wind to the top,  I also fear at the marble jade palace, its high and can't withstand the cold.

起舞弄清影，何似在人間。

I dance making a shadow, like you were in the mortal world.

轉朱閣，低綺戶，照無眠。

Orbiting through the red chambers, hanging low by the window, with brightness I cannot sleep.

不應有恨，何事長向別時圓？

You shouldn't respond with such hatred, why must you be full when people separate.

人有悲歡離合，月有陰晴圓缺，此事古難全。

Humans are sad, happy, seperated and together, the moon waxes and wanes. From old times it's hard to be complete.

但願人長久，千里共嬋娟。

But I long for people to live long, so from far away we can bask in your beauty.

Poor Su Shi, after living for years in exile you still pain to see you little brother. After 900 years, your longing for warmth and love still resonate today.

Regardless of whether you are enjoying mooncakes with tea and family, or contemplating your blessings in loneliness, just remember that with the vicissitudes of life, everyone has the yearning for love and belonging.  Feel the present, and count the people who love you.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

Record of The Yueyang Tower 岳陽樓記

作者，　范仲淹

By　Fan　Zhongyan

Translated by Yoyo

1046 AD, Northern Song Dynasty

慶曆四年春，

In the spring of 1044

滕子京謫守巴陵郡。

Tong Zijing of Ba Ling was banished as governor.

越明年，政通人和，

Passing into the next year, governance was successful and people were peaceful.

百廢具興，乃重修岳陽樓，

100 things that were cast aside are now reintroduced, thereupon the Yueyang Tower was retrofitted.

增其舊制，刻唐賢今人詩賦於其上，

And more added to the establishment.  Carvings of the poetry of Tang worthies are at the top of this place.

屬予作文以記之。

It is entrusted with essays in order to commemorate it.

予觀夫巴陵勝狀，

Ba Ling has a fine and exquisite appearance in my opinion.

在洞庭一湖。銜遠山，吞長江，浩浩湯湯(音：商) ，橫無際涯，

At Dong Tang Lake, distant mountains swallow the Yangze, magnificent and mighty, it is vast with no boundary.

朝暉夕陰，氣象萬千。

Dawn is radiant and dusk is gloomy, atmosphere and scenery has 10000, 1000 aspects.

此則岳陽樓之大觀也，前人之述備矣。

This place is Yueyang Tower's great spectacle, people of the past narrate how they were possessed.

然則北通巫峽，南極瀟湘；

This place also connects north to Wu Xia.  To the extreme south there is the Xiao and Xiang River.

遷客騷人，多會於此。覽物之情，得無異乎？

Banished travelers and poets all meet there to perceive the scenery.  How would they feel differently?

若夫霪雨霏霏，連月不開﹔

As for the incessant rain falling fast, for continuous months they do not open,

陰風怒號，濁浪排空﹔

Dark wind wails incessantly, muddy waves soar,

日星隱曜，山嶽潛形；

The sun and stars are hidden, Shan Qiu a hidden form;

商旅不行，檣傾楫摧﹔

Business and travel cannot traverse,

薄暮冥冥，虎嘯猿啼﹔

The mast topples and the oar breaks, the tiger growls and the gibbon cries.

登斯樓也，則有去國懷鄉，

When one climbs the tower, they are away from the capital and long for home country.

憂讒畏譏，滿目蕭然，感極而悲者矣！

There is anxiety for slander and fear of mockery at court.  One's eyes are full of desolation.  One's emotions are full of sadness.

至若春和景明，波瀾不驚﹔

As for spring's peaceful and bright scenery, waves are undisturbed

上下天光，一碧萬頃﹔

up and down the sky glows,  all jade green for 10000 mu.

沙鷗翔集，錦鱗游泳﹔

Sand gulls flock together, beautiful fish swim;

岸芷汀蘭，鬱鬱青青；

Angelica by the river, rich and luxuriant;

而或長煙一空，皓月千里﹔

Pervasive mist fills the sky, bright moon thousands of li away;

浮光躍金，靜影沉璧；漁歌互答，此樂何極！

Floating golden light dances, deep beneath the water the jade disk, brother fisherman call each other, this is the fullest extent of joy!

登斯樓也，則有心曠神怡，

When one climbs the tower, the heart opens and the spirit rejoices,

寵辱皆忘，把酒臨風，其喜洋洋者矣！

The emperor's favor forgotten, grasping wine and facing the wind, there is vast joy among us!

嗟夫！予嘗求古仁人之心，

Ahh!  I always search for benevolent heart of the ancients,

或異二者之為，何哉？

How would there be a difference in people's emotions?

不以物喜，不以己悲；

They're not happy for this, or sad for this;

居廟堂之高，則憂其民﹔

The neighboring shrine's height, there is anxiety for the people;

處江湖之遠，則憂其君；

Situated rivers and lakes are distant, there is anxiety over the land;

是進亦憂，退亦憂，然則何時而樂耶？

There is anxiety at court, leaving the court, how is there time to be happy?

其必曰：「先天下之憂而憂，後天下之樂而樂」

This must be said: "Before all under heaven, I will be anxious if there is anxiety.  After all under heaven is happy, then I will be happy."

歟！噫！微斯人，吾誰與歸。

Aye, if not this person, who will I turn to?

時六年九月十五日。

The time is 6 years, 9 months, and 15 days.

(Source)

It still exists after 1800 years!!!!

Instagram and the Retro

When I first saw someone instagram a photo on facebook, I reminded me of my parent's wedding picture.

I thought, "Oh how nice, looks very retro chic."

Then it became too much.  Not everything needs to have a sense of nostaligia.  I remember one of friends instagram-ed a plate of pickles and salami I cut.  Why does preserved food need to evoke a warm fuzzy feeling?  (If you do, you should call a doctor.)

I think it speaks to a deeper, more disturbing symptom beyond being an annoyance:

 We live in a culture that does not value historical context.

 Big Brother isn't systematically erasing history.  We intuitively feel the need to feel history, but most of us can't figure out how to analyze it.  Using our hearts instead of our heads, most of us simply  "feel good" about the good times, and suppress or ignore the bad.

For now let's talk about feeling nostalgia in art.

Whenever I look at a piece of art, I only ask one question:

Why does it make you feel?

It's a bit cliche, but for me this is how I define art.  The artwork may or may not need the aid of historical context.

In this case let's talk about a very famous instagram painting.

《谿山行旅》范寬  -  The Stream and Mountain Traveling Path by Fan Kuan

Late 10th century Northern Song Dynasty.

The scene depicts travelers passing by Cuihua mountain in Shanxi province ( 翠華山  陝西省)。Legend has it that Laozi climbed this mountain to escape the world a hermit.

This Taiwanese art historian points out a few interesting facts:

1.  This painting is a really cool version of Where's Waldo.  People knew this was a Cai Kuan painting because of the seals of later artists, but his actual signature wasn't found until 1971!!!!

2.  Cai Kuan painted this from memory.  He wasn't painting this live.

3.  The Song Dynasty had a whole array of colors to use to paint, but he chose black.  He paints using some Tang techniques, or from his point of view techniques that are 300 years old.  That's like someone now using techniques from Rococo France.

Time to bust out my inner Sister Wendy!

The mountain instantly grabs your eye.  Remember, this painting is roughly 4 feet tall.  Paradoxically, even though you understand the size and magnitude of the mountain, it's also obscure.  We have to also notice the negative space in the painting.  The misty clouds that separates the background with the foreground.

Whenever an artwork attempts to evoke the past and nostalgia, time inevitably takes detail from us, leaving a partial void.  When I imagine myself being a later Chinese scholar or emperor looking at this painting, I can't help put feel humbled by this mountain.  Even this majestic mountain must naturally fade away. Time's arrow is as naturally fades the moment, but the majestic beauty of the moment still exists in front of us.

One's  ego must relate to the didactic truth in this painting.

Perhaps we instagram to emphasize to the viewer that this image was significant to someone, and that specific moment will slowly fade away with time.  It makes us more conscious of the value of the moment.

Curling Up with a Lovely Cup of Tea

It's Friday night and my legs are sore from work.  This is my moment to de-tox and unwind with a good cup of tea before going to bed.  Don't worry, Chrysanthemum tea has no caffeine.

Here's a poem by Sushi (蘇軾  SUE-SHRRR, not raw fish) that captures the feeling:

   (btw, this is "The Metal Bodhisattva", my favorite kind of tea)

 

汲江煎茶

蘇軾

活水還須活火煮，自臨釣石取深清

大瓢貯月歸春甕，小杓分江入夜瓶

雪乳已翻煎處腳，松風忽作瀉時聲

枯腸未易禁三碗，坐聽荒城長短更

 

Jian Tea from River Well Water

by Sushi

translated by me, Yoyo

 

Live water still needs a live flame to boil, I fetch clean deep water from the fishing stone.

A big dipper holds the moon returning to a spring vase, the little ladle parts the river entering a nocturnal pot.

Snow froths as tea leaves roll, pine wind whips as it flows.

My parched innards cannot easily take three forbidden cups, I sit and hear the lonely city's uneven night toll drum.