Little Primer of Du Fu, Poems 26 - 30
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dankodes
This week we're reading poems 26 through 30, inclusive.
How to Read Chinese Poetry has two chapters on forms Du Fu uses extensively:
Ch 8, Recent Style Shi Poetry, Pentasyllabic Regulated Verse (Wuyan Lüshi)
Ch 9, Recent Style Shi Poetry, Heptasyllabic Regulated Verse (Qiyan Lüshi)
Three other chapters on other verse forms Du Fu sometimes employs, or which people quoting Du Fu employ, also mention him:
Ch 10, Recent Style Shi Poetry, Quatrains (Jueju): some mention of Du Fu’s “Three Quatrains, No. 3”
Ch 14, Ci Poetry, Long Song Lyrics on Objects (Yongwu Ci): some mention of Du Fu's “Beautiful Lady” (Jiaren)
Ch 18, A Synthesis: Rhythm, Syntax, and Vision of Chinese Poetry: some mention of Du Fu’s poem “The Jiang and Han Rivers”
Additional Reading for this Week: Chapter 18
26. 寄韓諫議注 Jì Hán Jiàn-yì Zhù
Jì Hán Jiàn-yì Zhù
今 我 不 樂 思 岳 陽
1. Jīn wǒ bū lè sì Yuè-yáng,
身 欲 奮 飛 病 在 牀
2. Shēn yù fèn-fēi bìng zài chuáng.
美 人 娟 娟 隔 秋 水
3. Měi-rén juān-juān gé qiū-shuǐ,
濯 足 洞 庭 望 八 荒
4. Zhuó zú Dòng-tíng wàng bā-huāng.
鴻 飛 冥 冥 日 月 白
5. Hóng fēi míng-míng rì yuè-bái,
青 楓 葉 赤 天 雨 霜
6. Qīng fēng yè chì tiān yǔ shuāng.
玉 京 群 帝 集 北 斗
7. Yù-jīng qún-dì jí běi-dǒu,
或 騎 麒 麟 翳 鳳 凰
8. Huò qí qí-lín yì fèng-huáng.
芙 蓉 旌 旗 煙 霧 落
9. Fú-róng jīng-qí yān-wù luò,
影 動 倒 景 搖 瀟 湘
10. Yǐng dòng dào-jǐng yáo Xiāo Xiāng.
星 宮 之 君 醉 瓊 漿
11. Xīng-gōng zhī jūn zuì qióng-jiāng,
羽 人 稀 少 不 在 旁
12. Yǔ-rén xī-shǎo bú zài páng.
似 聞 昨 者 赤 松 子
13. Sì wén zuó-zhě Chì-sōng-zǐ,
恐 是 漢 代 韓 張 良
14. Kǒng shì Hàn-dài Hán Zhāng Liáng.
昔 隨 劉 氏 定 長 安
15. Xī suí Liú-shì dìng Cháng-ān,
帷 幄 未 改 神 慘 傷
16. Wéi-wò wèi gǎi shén cǎn-shāng.
國 家 成 敗 吾 豈 敢
17. Guó-jiā chéng-bài wú qǐ gǎn!
色 難 腥 腐 餐 楓 香
18. Sè-nán xīng-fǔ cān fēng-xiāng.
周 南 留 滯 古 所 惜
19. Zhōu-nán liú-zhì gǔ suǒ xī,
南 極 老 人 應 壽 昌
20. Nán-jí lǎo-rén yīng shòu-chāng.
美 人 胡 為 隔 秋 水
21. Měi-rén hú-wèi gé qiū-shuǐ?
焉 得 置 之 貢 玉 堂
22. Yān dé zhì zhī gòng yù-táng?
Read Aloud: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUkU_gazr2c
For the Admonisher, Han Chu
Today I am downcast and my thoughts turn to Yo-yang. My body wants to rouse up and fly there, but illness holds me to my bed. There stands the Beloved One of the radiant looks, beyond the waters of autumn, washing his feet in Tung-t’ing’s shallows and gazing towards the world’s eight ends. A wild swan flies in the dark depths of heaven; the sun is moon-white; frost descends on the reddening leaves of the green maples.
In the City of Jade the rulers of the sky are assembling about the Pole Star, some riding on unicorns and some on phoenixes, their lotus banners drooping in the mists. The movement of their fleeting forms casts an inverted image in the waters and makes a commotion on the still surface of the Hsiao and Hsiang. The lords of the starry palace are drunk with immortal wine. Few of the Winged Ones are missing from that company.
Yet I seem to have heard a while past of one Master of the Red Pine, whom I guess to be none other than Chang Liang of Han of our own dynasty. Once he followed Liu Pang in the settlement of Ch’ang-an. Now his great plan remains unchanged, but the spirit that informed it has been crushed. He did not presume to prognosticate concerning the fortunes of our state; he left, revolted by the stink of corruption, to sweeten his mouth with a diet of liquidambar.
Yet the delay in Chou-nan has been deplored throughout the ages; and the Old Man of the Southern Sky promises long and glorious years. So why should the Beloved One tarry beyond the waters of autumn? How can we have him placed, a meet and acceptable offering, in the Hall of Jade?
Re: 26. 寄韓諫議注 Jì Hán Jiàn-yì Zhù
“Jì: ‘send to’, ‘address’. Poems entitled ‘Zèng …’ (e.g. No. 23) were usually presented personally, whilst those entitled ‘Jì …’ were usually sent by post.” neat
“The imagery of this poem is strongly reminiscent of the ‘spirit journeys’ which are so familiar a feature of the third century B.C. poetry of Ch’u.” Is this that Chu Ci thing? Is he going hard on DAOISM bc he’s addressing a noted Daoist?
the Beloved One of the radiant looks: this is a Lot, for the elderly? official he is addressing
gazing towards the world’s eight ends: so why is he gazing towards the ends of the earth/all points of the compass? Just—away from the capital?
“A wild swan flies in the dark depths of heaven; the sun is moon-white; frost descends on the reddening leaves of the green maples.” Is this just—autumn is coming on?
north-dipper/Pole Star: oh, hey cwn
Then some shenmo shit happens
for the Immortal Translation Debate, Hawkes is rendering Du Fu's 'winged immortals', “Yǔ-rén xī-shǎo bú zài páng” as Winged Ones (trans more literally as Feathered-men)
“羽 人 稀 少 不 在 旁”
“Taoists aspired to attain bodily immortality by confining their diet to herbs, drugs, dew, and vapours.” I guess this is where we get all the inedia shit
Ssu-ma Ch’ien: what is with this ss?
“When Emperor Wu inaugurated the much-debated sacrifices on T’ai-shan and other magical rites and ceremonies designed to confirm the power of his dynasty over the spirit world, Ssu-ma T’an, who was deeply interested in these matters, was left behind in Chou-nan. His chagrin at not being invited to accompany the court brought on a sickness from which he never recovered.” huge kidney story energy
“Gòng: literally ‘tribute’, here a verb, ‘offer as tribute” gong is a wily one, like 8 fucking things
“Gòng: literally ‘tribute’, here a verb, ‘offer as tribute’. In former times successful examination candidates and other meritorious or distinguished persons sent up to the capital by the provincial governments for employment at court were considered as part of the ‘tribute’ of the area from which they came." I am begging the Tang dynasty to stop giving me dodgy fic material. please. PLEASE.
Re: 26. 寄韓諫議注 Jì Hán Jiàn-yì Zhù
Yujing (City of Jade) is a Daoist mountain of immortals
"he left, revolted by the stink of corruption" is glossed with a particular fable about... an owl eating a rotten mouse that I think is meant to explain the Daoists practicing inedia?
27. 詠懷古跡 Yǒng huái gǔ-jì (1)
Yǒng huái gǔ-jì (1)
群 山 萬 壑 赴 荊 門
1. Qún-shān wàn-hè fù Jīng-mén,
生 長 明 妃 尚 有 村
2. Shēng-zhǎng Míng-fēi shàng yǒu cūn.
一 去 紫 臺 連 朔 漠
3. Yí qù zǐ-tái lián shuò-mò,
獨 留 青 冢 向 黃 昏
4. Dú liú Qīng-zhǒng xiàng huáng-hūn.
畫 圖 省 識 春 風 面
5. Huà-tú shěng zhì chūn-fēng miàn,
環 珮 空 歸 月 夜 魂
6. Huán-pèi kōng guī yuè-yè hún.
千 載 琵 琶 作 胡 語
7. Qiān zǎi pí-pá zuò hú yǔ,
分 明 怨 恨 曲 中 論
8. Fēn-míng yuàn-hèn qǔ-zhōng
Read Aloud: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16YLQ-cg9cs
Thoughts on an Ancient Site (1)
By many a mountain and many a thousand valley I come to the Gate of Ch’u. The village where Ming-fei was born and bred is to be found there still. Once she had left behind the crimson terraces, the northern desert stretched continuously before her eyes. Now only her Green Tomb is left, solitary against the dusk. Paintings have recorded those features that the spring wind caressed. On moonlight nights the sound of tinkling girdle-gems announces the bootless return of her soul. For a thousand years the p’i-p’a has spoken its foreign tongue, seeming in its music to be discussing all her wrongs and griefs.
Re: 27. 詠懷古跡 Yǒng huái gǔ-jì (1)
V like Songs of a Nomad Flute, another entry in this married out princesses trope
Lol at the INCREASING INSISTENCE ON PURITY!!
“with the Chinese balloon guitar, or p’i-p’a, which was in fact a foreign instrument imported into China during the Han era. She is frequently depicted carrying a guitar” oh this again
Moxa: so some kind of mugwort tattoo?
Debouches: emerge from a confined space into a wide, open area.
“bootless return of her soul.” Why bootless?
Re: 27. 詠懷古跡 Yǒng huái gǔ-jì (1)
Re: 27. 詠懷古跡 Yǒng huái gǔ-jì (1)
Re: 27. 詠懷古跡 Yǒng huái gǔ-jì (1)
Interesting that the wiki article mentions how her portrait is blemished, but the baike article only says that she was not painted beautifully.
28. 詠懷古跡 Yǒng huái gǔ-jì (2)
Yǒng huái gǔ-jì (2)
諸 葛 大 名 垂 宇 宙
1. Zhū-gé dà-míng chuí yǔ-zhòu,
宗 臣 遺 象 肅 清 高
2. Zōng-chén yí-xiàng sù qīng-gāo.
三 分 割 據 紆 籌 策
3. Sān-fēn gē-jù yū chóu-cè,
萬 古 雲 霄 一 羽 毛
4. Wàn-gǔ yún-xiāo yī yǔ-máo.
伯 仲 之 間 見 伊 呂
5. Bó-zhòng zhī jiān jiàn Yī Lǚ,
指 揮 若 定 失 蕭 曹
6. Zhǐ-huī ruò dìng shī Xiāo Cáo.
運 移 漢 祚 終 難 復
7. Yùn yí Hàn zuò zhōng nán fù,
志 決 身 殲 軍 務 勞
8. Zhì jué shēn jiān jūn-wù láo.
Read Aloud: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IT5bp1TOG0
Thoughts on an Ancient Site (2)
Chu-ko Liang’s great fame resounds through the ages. The likeness of this revered statesman still impresses with its sublime expression. The tripartite division of empire hampered his great designs; yet he soars through all the ages, a single feather floating high among the clouds. I Yin and Lü Shang could be reckoned among his peers; whilst Hsiao Ho and Ts’ao Shen would have been as nothing beside him had he only been able to establish his dominion. But the cycle had passed on and the fortunes of the House of Han were not to be restored; and so, hopes blighted, he perished, and his strategy was all in vain.
Re: 28. 詠懷古跡 Yǒng huái gǔ-jì (2)
So Chu-ko Liang has the tomb from earlier and also this separate, now twice mentioned other shrine?
empyrean /ˌɛmpʌɪˈriːən,ˌɛmpɪˈriːən,ɛmˈpɪrɪən/ Learn to pronounce adjective relating to heaven or the sky. "the empyrean domain where human will and God's will became as one"
I: we’re translating a whole first name to one letter now?
“have left Hsiao Ho and Ts’ao Shen standing” weird way of putting it
29. 閣夜 Gé yè
Gé yè
歲 暮 陰 陽 催 短 景
1. Suì-mù yīn-yáng cuī duǎn jǐng,
天 涯 霜 雪 霽 寒 霄
2. Tiān-yá shuāng-xuě jì hán xiāo.
五 更 鼓 角 聲 悲 壯
3. Wǔ-gēng gǔ-jiǎo shēng bēi-zhuàng,
三 峽 星 河 影 動 搖
4. Sān-xiá xīng-hé yǐng dòng-yáo.
野 哭 千 家 聞 戰 伐
5. Yě kū qiān jiā wén zhàn-fá,
夷 歌 幾 處 起 漁 樵
6. Yí gē jǐ chù qǐ yú qiáo.
卧 龍 躍 馬 終 黃 土
7. Wò-lóng Yuè-mǎ zhōng huáng-tǔ,
人 事 音 書 漫 寂 寥
8. Rén-shì yīn-shū màn jì-liáo.
Read Aloud: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUVovup7bpA
Night at West House
In the evening of the year nature’s forces swiftly hustle out the brief daylight. Night at the world’s end is clear and cold after the frost and snow. The drums and bugles of the fifth watch sound, stirring and sad. Over the Three Gorges the luminous shape of the starry river trembles. In the countryside weeping rises from a thousand homes who have learned of the fighting, whilst here and there outlandish songs can be heard, sung by some fisherman or woodcutter about his work. Sleeping Dragon and Horse Leaper ended in the yellow dust. Idle to feel melancholy at the vexations of life and the lack of news from friends and kinsmen!
Re: 29. 閣夜 Gé yè
“local aborigines” they aren’t considered culturally homogenous?
Horse Leaper: weird-ass choice
“Sleeping Dragon and Horse Leaper ended in the yellow dust. Idle to feel melancholy at the vexations of life and the lack of news from friends and kinsmen!” so what’s this ending? Statesmen and emperors associated with this area long ago have passed away, so what’s the point of fretting over news of danger to your relations? What’s the relationship between these lines?
Re: 29. 閣夜 Gé yè
Sichuan in particular still has quite a large ethnic minority population. Baike is incidentally sure that the songs are the songs of the local ethnic minority, not foreign songs.
Baike makes an interesting comment that the ending is how his loneliness doesn't mean much in the face of the more important chaos that is approaching.
30. 八陣圖 Bā zhèn tú
Bā zhèn tú
功 蓋 三 分 國
1. Gōng gài sān-fēn guó,
名 成 八 陣 圖
2. Míng chéng bā zhèn tú.
江 流 石 不 轉
3. Jiāng-liú shí bù zhuǎn,
遺 恨 失 吞 吳
4. Yí hèn shī tūn Wú!
Read Aloud: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZzHnHGQ0kM
The Eight Formations
Of the achievements surpassing those of all others in that divided world of the Three Kingdoms, that which won him greatest renown was the construction of the Eight Formations. The great stones stand unmoved by the river’s currents, a lasting memorial to his regret at having failed to swallow Wu.
Re: 30. 八陣圖 Bā zhèn tú
Wang Anshi: my hobbies include giving the poor any food, and reforming the fucked exam system
Su Dongpo: well I wrote a really elegant poem about how that sucks lol enjoy
*pedalos away*
'hit 'em with a LOT of references, bitches love references--'
ppl are really hungry?
'all the more reason for them to taste my savoury--'
AGAIN this guy!!
Re: 30. 八陣圖 Bā zhèn tú
Re: 30. 八陣圖 Bā zhèn tú
Ch 18, A Synthesis: Rhythm, Syntax, and Vision of Chinese Poetry
“an agent (subject) and the agent’s state or action (predicate) that may or may not involve a recipient (object). A complete subject + predicate construction en- acts or implies a temporal-causal sequence from an agent to its action and to the action’s recipient. In English and other Western languages, this construction is the primary framework for both poetic and common speech. But in Chinese, this construction is far less important or pervasive than in English” ugh, tell me about it
“It should be noted that a typical Chinese subject + predicate construction is far less restrictive than its English counterpart. Neither subject nor predicate is xed in time and space, as they are in Western languages by in ectional tags for tense, case, number, gender, and other aspects. Thus the reader has to contextualize, with or without the aid of grammatical function words.” Grim
“It was singled out by two prominent American critics, Ernest Fenollosa (1853–1908) and Ezra Pound (1885–1972), to support their assertions about the superiority of Chinese as a medium for poetry.” Again, how much to just not talk about Pound all the time?
“reduplicatives in the Book of Poetry primarily express a perceiver’s emotional response to external phenomena by translating it into alliterative and rhyming sounds untainted by conceptualization. This emotive use of reduplica- tives has had a lasting impact on Chinese poetry.” So how are they writing/reading ‘nonsense words’ in Chinese? Is that what’s up here?
“(“You, lovely” [yao miao, an assonant reduplicative])” where are they getting that from?
“however, these disyllabic segments are indispensable be- cause they help to create the quick and powerful rhythm of a shaman chant and dance and amplify emotional expression.” Interesting, it’d be good to get a better sense of this
verse eye again
“In traditional Chinese physiognomy, “sun-horn” denotes the hornlike protrusion on the forehead of someone who is or is destined to be an emperor.” Again, Emperor Horns
This chapter’s p clear and helpful honestly
“the “round toad,” a Chinese mythical metaphor for the moon,” ??
“reduplica- tives were continually reinvented over the millennia as a prized means of emo- tional expression.”
Re: Ch 18, A Synthesis: Rhythm, Syntax, and Vision of Chinese Poetry
you know how chang e and that woodcutter wu guy and the bunny live on the moon? there’s also a (gold) toad (more elegant/archaic term 蟾蜍 rather than the hilarious 蛤蟆 which seems earthier）there, so people use it as part of the florid vocab for the moon all the time.
Re: Ch 18, A Synthesis: Rhythm, Syntax, and Vision of Chinese Poetry
Re: Ch 18, A Synthesis: Rhythm, Syntax, and Vision of Chinese Poetry
the toad is from the arrangement of craters upon the lunar surface, similar to the rabbit in many other mythologies.
...also a three footed crow 三足乌 lives on the sun, because sometimes they saw sunspots, those darker patches with golden tongues of flame flickering out.