Sheng Sheng Man
To search, searching.
To seek, seeking.
Cold, clear, sorrow, pain.
Cold, clear sorrow, pain.
Hot flashes – sudden chills.
Stabbing pain – slow agonies.
No serenity can I find. I drink
Two cups, then three bowls, of tasteless wine,
Until I can’t stand against fierce wind.
Wild geese fly overhead. They break my heart,
These friends of mine from olden days.
Gold chrysanthemums spread
Across the ground, piled, faded, dead.
I could not bear to pick them this season.
In stillness, alone at my window,
I watch the gathering shadows.
Gentle rain sprinkles through the wu-t’ung trees
And drips, drop by drop through the dusk.
What can I ever do now?
How can I drive away this word
– Hopelessness?
Trans. by M. Dale
Li Quingzhao (1084-1151?), called herself Yian Jushi, from Jiana, Shandong. She is considered China’s greatest woman poet. Her father Li Gefei was a high official as well as a man of letters. Her husband, Zhao Mingcheng, was a governor of Huzhou, Zheijang , author of Jinshi Lu (Epigraphic Records) in 30 volumes. With their aristocratic background, her family nevertheless prided themselves on a life of simplicity, with a focus on things literary and contemplative. This life, however, was interrupted by the invasion of the Jin (Golden Tartars) in 1127. Her family was forced to abandon their home and valuable collection of books, seals, bronzes, manuscripts, calligraphy and paintings. In 1129, when Li was forty-six, her husband in rout to his new official post became ill and died before Li could come to him. The remainder of her life was spent in flight (saving as much of her family collections as possible) from the Jin as they forced the Song out of North China.
“Slow Measured Sound” – In this poem, Li gives voice to her passionate grief over the loss of her husband. One of the best loved Ci-poems of the Song Dynasty. The recurrence of certain sounds/words in the beginning lines was considered the poet’s unique creation. It was thought that wild geese can carry messages.
No comments:
Post a Comment