Great Tang Idyll Volume 02 Chapter 56
Shout out to Dan for commissioning chapters 53-57!
Volume 02 Chapter 56: Discussing the Different Realms
"Into the forest I hastily stroll, all of the trees growing out of control1, sol, do, dore, misol, la~sol, mi, mire~do, la~solla, do~~! "
Wang Juan heard others calling out that they wanted to collect old grains, and this made her feel puzzled for a while. She relaxed her mood and by herself--- no, she was with Zhang Xiao'bao on a small country road--- she began to skip and sing happily.
"I thought you would sing Red Riding Hood. That song is quite old. I didn't think that you would sing the same old thing. The song should be a hundred years old? No wonder you can't remember the lyrics. No matter how you sing, the people who came to collect grains will still collect grains."
Zhang Xiao'bao looked at the people who drove their carriages over to collect the grain. He didn't go up close to them. He also didn't know what they were doing. He spoke to Wang Juan who was singing an old song beside him.
"A hundred year? Haven’t people been playing the song Blossoms On A Moonlit River In Spring2 for more than a thousand years? I used to have a neighbor living downstairs who specializes in teaching people the Chinese plucked zither. As long as I was at home, I could hear this song coming from the floors below. New students came in like flying darts and River in Spring was still there. I suspect that she only knows how to play this one song, so she only taught others this."
Wang Juan did not feel like she was outdated because she thinks that classics are classics.
Zhang Xiao'bao picked up a leaf that fell on the ground. He rubbed the stem with his fingers, and made the leaf rotate. Then, he looked at the small river that appeared nearby, and said, "You are talking about Zhang Ruo’xu's poem? The single poem that conquered the entire Tang Dynasty, Blossoms On A Moonlit River In Spring? I heard that it’s really good."
"It is indeed good, but it isn’t a poem that conquered the entire Tang Dynasty. If it's really that amazing, he should have made the poem rhyme from the beginning to the end. He changed the rhyme for every four lines. In my opinion, only the song is good. Doesn’t the poem just have pairs of antithesis? According to certain things in modern poetry, they’re barely considered an antithesis. Can the antithesis be compared to the Rhymes of the Bamboo Hatted Man? And he wants to conquer the entire Tang Dynasty? Are other older poems not taken into consideration? For example, Star Gauge3. He can’t even make any palindromes in his poem, and he wants to conquer an entire dynasty? I just don't agree with those critics."
Wang Juan looked down at this poem, and she sneered and scoffed as spoke. She has been studying poems from a young age, and she only admitted that certain poems were better than others, but she absolutely disagreed with saying a particular poem could represent an entire era. Not the line ‘Who was the first to see the moon by the river?4’, not the line ‘A bamboo staff and swift grass shoes are superior to horses, so what’s to fear?5’, not the line ‘The black night gave me a pair of black eyes6’, not the line ‘Summer insects stay silent for me7’ , not even the line ‘Swimming in the rushing water in the middle of the river8’. These poems were all just hyped up.
This was how she was---arrogant. All geniuses were arrogant.
"It's not good to say that. You have to acknowledge what deserves to be acknowledged. People did write it out. If you have the ability, you write one." Zhang Xiao'bao tried to persuade her.
"Pftt. If my air conditioner at home doesn’t work well anymore, do I have to know how refrigeration works? I can’t make any comments?"
"These are two different things. You’re looking at poetry. Forget it, let’s not talk about this anymore. Anyway, I think Blossoms On A Moonlit River In Spring is good, especially this line, ‘Which families’ little boats are drifting in the river tonight? Which place has pining in moonlit towers? I quite like it."
Zhang Xiao'bao never really studied poetry. As long as Wang Juan talked about these things, she was able to speak without stopping, but he didn’t want Wang Juan to be too arrogant. He still understood things like, ‘A tree that stands out from the forest will be pushed over by the wind, soil that protrudes from the shore will be eroded by the current, a person that behaves better than others will be criticized by everyone 9.’
"I'm not afraid. I know what you are worried about, but Gorky said, ‘Let the tempest10’... blow on other people!"
Wang Juan smiled as she replied back.
"Eh? He said this? It seems that all of the effort I put into studying was wasted. How could I not know about something this profound? Is this the same as wearing other people's shoes and letting the person who lost their shoes go search?" Zhang Xiao'bao finally caught up with Wang Juan's thinking.
Wang Juan pulled onto Zhang Xiao'bao's arm and laughed, "Xiao’bao, I just found out that you are really interesting. Come on, let's continue talking about the poems. Don't frown. Don't you plan to participate in the Imperial Examination in the future? Do you want to take another exam instead of the Xiu’cai exam just because you don’t understand these?
Hear me out. You can take any random line from Li Bai’s works. For example, ‘Since ancient times, everything flows eastward 11’ Yes, I admit, it’s a bit similar to ‘A spring river flows eastward12’, but the poem’s poet, Li Yu, didn’t mention ‘everything’. The responsibilities one must carry cannot be encompassed by the word ‘everything’. There’s also Little Bai--- ‘The long lasting sky and earth will eventually come to an end 13”. Ah, who’s to blame? Li Long’ji or Yang Yu’huan?"
Wang Juan became sad as she talked. Something beautiful like that had actually disappeared, just like the prosperous Kai’yuan era. In the long river of history, things came quickly, and also left quickly.
Zhang Xiao'bao never had a girlfriend. He worked hard all his life to help realize the Orphanage Director Grandfather’s dream. He had no idea why Wang Juan was acting like this.
"Juan’juan, he is still with us now. If you're afraid that things won’t turn out well in the future, didn't we agree in the beginning that we will think of a way to kill those four people? We’ll let the fantastic couple stay together forever."
"We might be able to protect them for a while, but can we protect them for a lifetime?" Wang Juan was still thinking about ‘On the seventh day of the seventh month in the Longevity hall, at midnight when no one else was around, they vowed 14’.
"Why do we need to protect them for a lifetime? We worked hard to leave honor for the future generations. As for what happens to them, it depends on what they do. They can't complain about ancestors like us, right? I never complained. I never had parents that loved and protected me, but I’m willing to be a parent who loves and protects others.
It's a pity that I have been conning others the whole time, and I didn't do this well. I didn't have any children after coming here either. When we have children later on, how do you think we should educate them? "
Zhang Xiao'bao was led off-topic by Wang Juan’s discussion, or he had caused Wang Juan's thinking to digress. Regardless of which it was, they were off-topic.
Wang Juan looked at Zhang Xiao'bao again, and said with a smile, "I never knew you had a spine. A lot of people resent their parents for not giving them a good family. However, what you’re thinking of is to give your children a good family. With that said, Zhang Xiao’bao, I will let you court me. As for the things of the future, it will depend on how much effort you put into courting me."
"Are you talking about having children in the future?" Zhang Xiao'bao asked.
"Can you not be so superficial?" Wang Juan replied.
"Then are you talking about the inheritance of life? Great love. Infinite tolerance. Everything is just for the salvation of mankind. Together, we will light the lamp." Zhang Xiao'bao had to change his wording.
"Smooth talker. There is no such thing as a good international conman." Wang Juan felt that Zhang Xiao'bao became more and more interesting. He’s smart because anything that involved making plans for mutual benefits was not a problem for him. However, he was also stupid because he did not know to please girls.
Unlike other couples, they didn’t make vows to the mountains and seas. It seemed like she came here with him, so she assumed that she had to live with him. It’s been such a long time already, but they never had a candlelight dinner. Other than giving her good-tasting food when they ate and protecting her from the goose, he had no idea how to please girls.
Smart people would know that they should give flowers every day. All he did was help her tuck her blanket. Back then, a lot of young girls approached him not for romance, but for his money. Just like that song from a hundred years ago, ‘Music, chess, writing, painting, poetry, wine, flower; back then, I couldn’t part with any. Now, everything has changed. Firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea.’
"Speak. Back then, many people said that I’m profound and that I am a good person." Zhang Xiao'bao waited for a while and found that Wang Juan didn’t say anything, so he spoke up again.
"Of course you’re a good person. I would say the same back then. As for being profound, do you know what profound means?" Wang Juan suddenly felt very happy. Zhang Xiao'bao conned so much money, but he never tricked any women. In terms of emotions, he was definitely the one that was tricked.
"I know what it means to be profound. That is to say three parts lies, seven parts truth. That’s what I used to do, otherwise, where would I get so much money from?" Zhang Xiao'bao was still slightly emotionally stirred by this matter.
Wang Juan smiled again. "How is that being profound? True profoundness is divided into different realms. The first type is ‘My clothing gradually becomes looser, but I have no regrets. For the other person, I’m willing to become frail15. The second type is ‘Yesterday, the western wind withered the jade-green tree, alone on the tall tower, looking at all of the roads that lead to the other end of the world.16’. Everyone knows about the third type, ‘Looking for that person hundreds and thousands of times in the crowd. That person is still there at the place with the desolate flame.17’
"Those are lines from three different poems, right? I've heard people say that it's messy and obscure." Zhang Xiao'bao had actually heard others discuss this before.
"Then let’s keep it simple. ‘Seeing a mountain as a mountain, seeing water as water; seeing a mountain not as a mountain, seeing water not as water; seeing a mountain...18"
"’Seeing a mountain as a mountain, seeing water as a water.’ I get it now. So it turns out that’s what they’re going for. How lame. Their realm of profoundness is a bit too low. They’re only at the stage of ’seeing a mountain as a mountain’. I’ll let them know what it means to ‘see a mountain not as a mountain’.”
Zhang Xiao'bao patted his hands together and said happily.
"Xiao'bao, what are you talking about? Who’s seeing mountains as mountains?" Wang Juan found that the expression on Zhang Xiao'bao's face was a bit off.
"Them. The ones who want to collect the old grains. If you didn't talk about these realms, I wouldn’t have thought of this. Now I get it. They keep thinking that they’re very smart. Aren’t they just thinking that the seeds are expensive? Why do they have to do this? Just by cheating our families once, would they be able to reap benefits?
Zhang Xiao'bao spoke as he pointed his hand to the few people who drove the carriages while shouting about collecting grains.
"Are you saying that these grain collectors are together with the group of people that want to buy our seeds?" Wang Juan really didn't think of this. Just now, she just felt that this thing was a bit abnormal.
Zhang Xiao'bao nodded, "I didn't have this thought at first, but when you talk about the realms, I realized that their realm is still a little bit bad. This is what it means by ‘seeing a mountain as a mountain’. They were able to come up with an idea, but they didn’t consider properly instructing the people who they sent here; they’re too blatant about it. I wonder if they’re underestimating themselves, or are they underestimating others? When they leave, we will sell grains--old grains."
"Are we really selling? Four coins per dou of millet, seven coins per dou of rice, six coins per dou of flour. Their prices are a bit high.” Wang Juan looked at the few grain collectors who came by in the carriages again. She shook her head helplessly, feeling sad for them in her heart.
Zhang Xiao'bao led Wang Juan back, and said as he walked, "Not at this price. Increase the price of each item by one coin. The transaction location will also be changed. We will change it to the Little Luo’shui River Wharf. Tell them that we have a lot in stock. There are mountains and water there. It will truly be ‘seeing a mountain not as a mountain, seeing water not as water’."
Translator’s Notes
Into the forest I hastily stroll, all of the trees growing out of control
This is an old song from the 1950s called Evening Bell At Nan’ping Hill (南屏晚钟 nan ping wan zhong) that was sang by the singer Cui Ping (崔萍).
I changed the lyrics slightly to keep the rhyme, but a more direct translation would be “I hastily walked into the forest, the forest was cluttered”.
Listen to the song here on Youtube.
Blossoms On A Moonlit River In Spring
This is a famous traditional Chinese musical work with records dating back to at least 1736-1820. It was a pi’pa (a Chinese four string instrument) performance that accompanied the reciting of a poem of the same name written by Tang Dynasty poet Zhang Ruo’xu.
Watch a recorded performance of this musical work presented by the China Central Orchestra here on Youtube.
Star Gauge 璇玑诗图
This poem was written by the Sixteen Kingdoms poetess Su Hui, thus, preceding the poem Blossoms On A Moonlit River In Spring by a free hundred years.
The unique part of this poem is that it consists of a 29 x29 grid of characters and is palindromic so that it can be read in different ways to form ~3,000 different smaller rhyming poems. It can be read backwards, forwards, horizontally, vertically, diagonally, and in circles.
Who was the first to see the moon by the river?
This is a line from the poem ‘Blossoms On A Moonlit River In Spring’.
A bamboo staff and swift grass shoes are superior to horses, so what’s to fear?
This is a line from the poem ‘Ding Feng Bo: Don’t Listen To The Sounds Of Hitting Leaves When Travelling Through The Forest’ (定风波：莫听穿林打叶声) by the Song Dynastry poet Su Shi.
Here’s my informal translation of the entire poem:
Seventh day of the third month, encountering rain in the Sha’hu Division. Rainwear was transported first, travelling companions are a mess, not feeling excessive loneliness. The sky cleared up after a short while.Thus this poem was written.
Don’t listen to the sounds of hitting leaves when travelling through the forest,
Why not recite poems while proceeding slowly ahead?
A bamboo staff and swift grass shoes are superior to horses, so what’s to fear?
Remaining unruffled after going through smoke and rain with a straw raincoat.
The cool spring breeze blew away the drunken haze,
The angled sun rays met with the mountain peak.
Turning back to the earlier sounds of wind and rain hitting the tree leaves,
Returned, not fearing wind and rain and not liking clear skies.
The black night gave me a pair of black eyes
This is a line from a contemporary poem written in 1979 by the poet Ge Cheng’yu called ‘A Generation of People’.
Here’s my informal translation of the entire poem:
A Generation of People
The black night gave me a pair of black eyes,
Yet I used them to search for light.
Summer insects stay silent for me
This is a line from a contemporary poem written in 1928 by the poet Zu Zhi Mo called “Saying Goodbye to Kang Bridge Again”.
The poem is too long so I didn’t translate it...
Swimming in the rushing water in the middle of the river
This is a line from a contemporary poem written in 1925 by Mao Ze’dong called “Chang Sha”
The informal translation of this poem can be found here on Wikipedia
‘A tree that stands out from the forest …’
This is a line from the literary work “Fortune and Destiny Discussion” by Li Kang, an author from the Three Kingdoms.
‘Let the tempest…’
This a line from the poem “The Song of the Story Petrel” by Maxim Gorky.
The full line should be ‘Let the tempest come strike harder!’, but Wang Juan changed the latter half of the line.
The entire translated poem can be found here on Wikipedia.
Since ancient times, everything flows eastward
This is a line from the poem “A Departing Song Of Travelling In A Dream” by the Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai.
An informal translation of the entire poem is given by eastasiastudent.net
A spring river flows eastward
This line is taken from the poem ‘Lady Yu’ （虞美人）by the poet Li Yu. This poem was written during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, which is the period that came after the fall of the Tang Dynasty.
The translation of the entire poem can be found here.
The everlasting sky and earth will eventually come to an end
This line is taken from the poem “The Song of Everlasting Regret” by the Tang Dynasty poet Bai Ju’yi, and it depicts the tragedy between Emperor Xuan’zong/ Li Long’ji (the emperor in reign in this novel) and his most beloved consort, Yang Yu’huan.
During the An’shi Rebellion (mentioned briefly in the translator’s notes in V02C49), the Emperor’s guards demanded Consort Yang to be executed because they blamed her family for the rebellion. Although reluctant, the Emperor eventually gave in, and ordered people to strangle her to death.
‘On the seventh day of the seventh month….’
This is also another line from the poem “The Song of Everlasting Regret”.
The seventh day of the seventh month is known to be the Qi’xi Festival, which is like the Chinese equivalent of Valentine’s day.
My clothing gradually becomes looser, but I have no regrets. For the other person, I’m willing to become frail.
This is a line from the poem ‘Flower Loving Butterfly’ by the Song Dynasty poet Liu Yong.
Here’s my informal translation of the poem:
Leaning against the railing of a tall tower, thin streams of wind blows,
Looking afar to the sorrows of spring,
Gloominess rises from the horizon.
Remnants of grass colors and wispy fog lit up by the sun,
Without saying anything, who would understand my thoughts?
Planning to drink until I act wild,
Towards wine and music,
I pretend to have fun.
My clothing gradually becomes looser, but I have no regrets.
For the other person, I’m willing to become frail.
Yesterday, the western wind withered the jade-green tree, alone on the tall tower, looking at all of the roads that lead to the other end of the world.
This is a line from the poem that is also called ‘Flower Loving Butterfly’, but it written by another Song Dynasty poet named Yan Shu.
Here’s my informal translation of the poem:
The chrysanthemums on the railings are sorrowful, the orchid smoke is weeping.
The silk curtains are slightly cold,
The swallows fly away in pairs.
The unfamiliar bright moon, hating the bitterness of separation,
At dawn, the oblique sunlight enters the houses of the rich.
Yesterday, the western wind withered the jade-green tree,
Alone on the tall tower,
Looking at all of the roads that lead to the other end of the world.
Yearning to send a letter made with colored silk but there was no silk,
Endless mountains and rivers, where could that person be?
‘Looking for that person hundreds and thousands of times in the crowd. That person is still there at the place with the desolate flame.
This is a line from the poem “Green Jade Table” (青玉案) by the Song Dynasty poet Xing Qi’ji.
Here’s my informal translation of the poem:
The eastern wind releases the flowers of a thousand trees,
More wind falls, stars like rain.
Extravagant horse carriages, the roads filled with fragrance.
Phoenix callings, moonlight moving,
A night of dancing fish and dragon lanterns.
Beautiful golden hair accessories,
Excited appearances of maidens and hidden fragrances,
Looking for that one person hundreds and thousands of times in the crowd,
Suddening turning my head and that person is still there,
At the place with the desolate flame.
‘Seeing a mountain as a mountain....”
This is an explanation of the three realms of zen made by the Tang/Song Dynasty zen buddist Qing’yuan Xing’si.
These are the three realms:
Realm one- Beginning to understand zen:
“Seeing a mountain as a mountain, seeing water as water.”
Realm two--Having some understandings of zen:
“Seeing a mountain not as a mountain, seeing water not as water.”
Realm three- Completely understanding zen:
“Seeing a mountain still as a mountain, seeing water still as water.”
Please leave a comment or a small donation to show support!
Thank you for going the extra miles referencing and translating the poems
ReplyDeleteyou're welcome! thank you for reading!
DeleteThe foot notes are longer than the chapter hahaha
ReplyDeleteI still have immense appreciation for your dedication to all this, this would be the equivalent to asking me to translate Victor Hugo into another language, just urrrrgh.
Let me correct myself, translating Victor Hugo and a dozen more poets into another language*
DeleteThe length of the translator's notes made me laugh too, I was contemplating whether I should place the notes on its own separate page XD
Deletethat is a lot of effort for translations, mate. good job
ReplyDeletethanks!
Delete