Sep. 6th, 2021 04:10 am
Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute: Poems 1-6
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dankodesEighteen 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.
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.
Re: 1. The Abduction of Wen-chi
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.