Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute: Poems 1-6

[x_los]

Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute is "a series of Chinese songs and poems about the life of Han Dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE) poet Cai Wenji[;] the songs were composed by Liu Shang, a poet of the middle Tang Dynasty. Later Emperor Gaozong of Song (1107–1187) commissioned a handscroll with the songs accompanied by 18 painted scenes." 

This week, we're reading poems 1-6, up to page 40, in this collection. Because of the nature of the book in question, I'll ask you to refer here for Chinese and English copies of the poems and the images together.

You can view the scroll as a whole more easily and read some background on the Met's website; the Wiki page will also help orient you.  

This is the first of three weeks we'll be spending on this collection. I'll link us to some additional background information in the coming weeks, once we've had a chance to orient ourselves; this is the first time the piece we're looking at has come with its own explanatory material, and that's a sound starting-point. 

Comments

Re: 1. The Abduction of Wen-chi

[x_los]

Intro: Why are Wang Anshi and Wenji herself’s versions of these poems not a bigger deal? They’re not even linked from the wiki, are they even mentioned? Are these considered the best treatments to that extent?

Tfw the book goes with some fucking weird pinyin—what’s the t’ang dynasty, are you spelling it Sung dynasty bc it’s past tense, that’s not necessary bruv

It’s really interesting that people copied the painting very closely, rather than just doing their own thing?

So the calligraphy style is essentially a ‘font’ modelled after a particular Emperor’s handwriting? By the way: what do they mean when in NiF they say the emperor’s sister’s husband has a declaration in the Emperor’s own hand above their gate—it’s not like the emperor came and painted a sign. Does the emperor write on a board and then someone installs that board, or is his writing on paper enlarged and then his handwriting copied by an artist?

‘A Chinese’ this is always so weird

I’m really kind of shocked she’s going to walk away from young children? Like it makes sense in a Chopin ‘Awakening’ way, but it’s not at all what I expect to happen in this kind of story.

Here’s a thing about how the ‘flute’ is actually a stringed instrument, just to destabilise Yinharn’s worldview.

1. Kinda poignant treatment of the structure of the interior courtyard (is that the right term for like—civilian rear palace?) as a structure she assumed she could trust, of violated containment/chastity. In a way she’ll have more freedom on the steppe even in being a captive, but what’s the point of being Freer in a really circumscribed world she can’t even communicate in?

Does this guy next to the chief have a leopard pelt? How?

Really cool detail work on these roof beams

This horse armour looks shit like it’s just a blanket

Re: 1. The Abduction of Wen-chi

[vorvayne]

For posterity, it's all standard wade-giles romanisation, which makes sense since this book is from the 70s.

I googled and I'm pretty sure the 'nomad flute' is 胡笳 (from the Chinese title, 胡笳十八拍/Hújiā Shíbā Pāi) which seems to be a kind of reeded woodwind instrument - baidu entry is here, and here's a bilibili video of someone playing one.

Yeah people made 'fonts' sortof of famous calligraphers, and there seem to have been a lot of emperors who were considered great at the calligraphy business. When you're learning chinese calligraphy now you still copy a lot of the works of the old masters; sometimes they were literally carved into stones and stuff. Using a template?

It's so weird that the authors never mention the like...racism inherent in viewing the Xiongnu as unwashed barbarians but repeat it without comment.

This first poem is probably my favourite: I wish I knew more about what the gauze windows and beaded curtains are about.

Re: 1. The Abduction of Wen-chi

[superborb]

Huh, Baike actually has NO gloss at all for this set of poems, though they have a bunch of articles on Wenji's life and the other media that are based on it.

I'm a bit surprised that the book mentions that the copying was done by tracing and filling in. It would seem opposed to all the 'one stroke only' calligraphy I was taught, where you practice by copying over and over? Why is the scribe incapable of copying it freehand.