Chinese 323 Reflecting on History (1)

 

Wang Wei (701-761)

"Lady Xi"*

 

"Do not force me with present favor

to forget my love of days gone by!"

She stares at the flowers, eyes full of tears,

and will not speak to the king of Chu.

 

*When the king of Chu overthrew the state of Xi, he seized Lady Xi and took her home with him. She bore him two children but would never speak to him. Asked the reason, she replied, "One woman that I am, I have served two husbands. Though I could not bring myself to commit suicide [in order to avoid such a disgrace], how would I venture to speak?" Zuozhuan, Duke Zhuang 14th year.

 

Li Bai/Li Bo/Li Po (701-762)

"At Su Terrace Viewing the Past"*

 

Old gardens, a ruined terrace, willow trees new;

caltrop gatherers, clear chant of songs, a spring unbearable;

and now there is only the west river moon

that shone once on a lady in the palace of the king of Wu.

 

*Written when the poet visited the site of Gu-Su Terrace, built by Fucha, king of Wu, just south of the Yangzi; the king's infatuation for Xishi, the "lady" of the poem, weakened his state and led to its overthrow in 472 B.C. by its rival, the state of Yue.

 

"In Yue Viewing the Past"

 

Goujian, king of Yue, came back from the broken land of Wu.

his brave men returned to their homes, all in robes of brocade.

Ladies in waiting like flowers filled his spring palace

where now only the partridges fly.

 

 

Du Fu/Tu Fu (712-770)

"Thoughts on Ancient Sites: Five Poems"

 

III.

 

Many a mountain and a myriad valleys all point to Jingmen Mountain.

Where the Radiant Lady was born and reared, the village is still there.

Once gone from the crimson terrace, the northern desert stretched continuously,

Only her Green Mound is left, solitary against the dusk.

Paintings recorded the face of the spring breeze,

On moonlight nights jangling pendants announce the return of her soul.

For a thousand years the pipa lute speaks in a barbarian tongue,

Clearly all her wrongs and griefs are told in these tunes.

 

Line 1: Jingmen Mountain is located in Jingzhou (modern Hubei), where there is a village known as Zhaojun village, although Wang Zhaojun was said to be a native of Sichuan (Szechwan). The mountain stands at the beginning of the great plain into which the Yangzi debouches at Yizhang.

 

 

Han Yu (768-824)

"On the Temple of King Zhao of Chu"

 

Tombs and mounds fill my eyes, the robes and caps are gone,

Walls and towers stretch to the sky, trees and grass grow over them.

Yet still there are men of his state who feel his former virtue,

And in this single-roomed thatched hut, they pray to King Zhao.

 

(Stephen Owen, The Poetry of Meng Chiao and Han Yü, p. 283)

 

 

Li Shangyin/Li Shang-yin (ca. 813-ca. 858)

"Mawei Slope"

 

I.

 

The horses of Ji and the armors of Yan came shaking the earth;

Alone the beautiful lady was buried, alone she turned to ashes.

If the king had known that she could overthrow the State,

Would the jade carriage have passed the Mawei Slope?

 

II.

 

"What is the good of learning that nine other continents lie beyond the seas?

One cannot prophesy about the next life, but this one is all over!

In vain does one hear the tiger-like night watches beat their wooden bells;

No more will the palace-crier announce the arrival of dawn!

On this day, the Six Armies together stopped their horses;

Formerly, on Seventh Night, we laughed at the Cowherd!"

Why was it that a Son of Heaven who had reigned four dozen years

Could not emulate the man from the Lu family with his Sans Souci?

 

*When An Lushan's rebel forces approached Chang'an in 756, the Emperor fled with his court. When they reached Mawei Slope, the Imperial guards refused to proceed unless the Honorable Consort Yang was killed, since they believed her responsible, together with her cousin, the chief minister Yang Guozhong, for the conditions which brought about the rebellion. The emperor allowed her to be led away to a Buddhist temple, where she was strangled.

Poem I, Line 3: Overthrow the state. A woman whose beauty could cause the downfall of the state, the Chinese equivalent of a femme fatale. The expression is derived from a song by Li Yannian, whose sister was a favorite of Emperor Wu of Han:

In the north there is a beauty:

Surpassing the world, she stands alone.

A glance from her will overthrow a city;

A second glance will overthrow the State.

Don't I know she can overthrow the city and the State?

But such a beauty cannot be found again!

This song is in turn based on the lines from the Book of Poetry:

Wise men build cities;

Wise women overthrow them!

Poem II, line 8: This line alludes to the song about the girl called Sans Souci (Mochou or "Don't Worry"), who married into the Lu family.

 

Chen Zilong/Ch'en Tzu-lung (1608-47)

"Various Feelings On An Autumn Day"

 

Mountains and rivers fill my vision; grief as far as I can see.

Again I linger in the millet fields of the Zhou plains.

Red maples, splendid trees, beautiful throughout the autumn,

White geese, tawny clouds, coming from thousands of miles away.

Evening rain falls on the thicket near the luxuriant park,

At dusk deer descend the Xu Terrace.

Rolling up my sleeves, I alone ascend the tomb of Yaoli,

I wail at the Xin Pavilion as I raise my cup.

 

(Kang-i Sun Chang, The Late-Ming Poet Ch'en Tzu-lung, p. 103)