Another Music Inspiration

I was listening to one of my favorites - The Butterfly Dream Concerto and once more my Muse came for a visit. This the result of one revision. The performer this time is Takako Nishizaki (西崎崇子) on the violin. I just love her crane motif red dress. Such a classic and classy garb.

花間春眠長, By the flowers, a long spring slumber,
人生蝶夢短.Life is but a short dream of the butterfly.
飛燕梅楊去,The flying swallows, the plum blossoms and the poplars are all gone,
水流不斷斷.Only the river is still flowing unceasingly.

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

The Chinese reader might be puzzled by the word order of 梅楊 which usually means the Chinese strawberry (Myrica rubra). Actually, the double meaning in the poem do not refer to their literal meanings. They are the names of three great beauties in Chinese history. I have listed their names in chronological order. "Flying Swallow" is Chao Fei-yen, the Han Dynasty Empress. The "plum blossom" is the official title of a Tang Dynasty concubine because of her love for it. As for the "poplar", it is the last name of the imperial concubine who later replaced the former as the emperor's new favourite. Once they were the number two in the land but in the end were dealt with a tragic end.

Without launching into a lengthy discussion, the butterfly dream in the poem refers to the dream of the philosopher Chuang Tze who was wondering if he had dreamt of himself as a butterfly or that it is the butterfly dreaming of a man.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXBL6iftZmw

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Metamorphosis of a Poem

 

Friday, April 17, 2015

Sudden phrases pop into my mind as usual when I am busy with something else. This time it was 飛雪紅梅 (flying snow, red plum blossoms). I had to place it somewhere in a box of my mind for later retrieval. Then as I lay in bed and pondered on
it, my feet were literally getting cold despite being safely tucked underneath the blanket. A theme began to coalesce -- the colder it is, the blossoms will bloom with greater vigor. No wonder the Chinese admire this flower so much. It has the tenacity to not be afraid in the face of adversity. Along with the two other "Friends", the pine tree and the bamboo, it is prominently featured in the traditional arts, whether in paintings or as porcelain-ware motifs.

My idea was about the mores of a frustrated scholar in his preparation to pass the imperial examinations. In today's terms, "study hard and be successful".

飛雪紅梅又一冬      Fluttering snow and plum flowers blossoming - another winter
十年苦讀功未成/通 Ten years of hard study gone by and still unable to succeed/understand

For a few days, I was stuck. I could not proceed beyond these two lines. I tried to look at the masters for inspiration but no such luck. I just had to let it lie there and languish. Then a few more days later, a friend posted a link on Facebook. It was a video about an interracial marriage between an Australian lady and a Singapore man in the 1960s. The video talked about their love lasting through the decades despite harassment and prejudice in the societies they lived in. https://www.facebook.com/irememberSG?fref=nf

It was the inspiration I was looking for. The first line is so appropriate to their situation. A draft was formed along the lines of,

飛雪紅梅又一冬, flying snow red plum again one winter
流水盡去與夢同. flowing waters completely flow past and dream same
蝶殘花香早已謝, butterfly crippled flower fragrance early already withered

I could not end the poem. The last line eluded me. To put my mind at ease, I continued to read more articles on this couple. April 16th came and I suddenly remembered an old 1930's movie, The Enchanted Cottage,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKted5j6ZpI

Finally I could cap the poem with the theme of the movie,

心中視覺仍龍鳳 In hearts, still seeing we are the dragon and phoenix.


The "Dragon and Phoenix" is a great metaphor for male prowess and feminine beauty. Now with the structure complete, I could work on the refinements...
First of all, I felt that 飛雪 (flying snow) was not colorful enough. A quick change was easy. 白雪紅梅 (White snow red plum) is bursting in color. However, in the English mind of mine, I was thinking in modern terms that unless it is polluted, the color of snow can only be white. To me, this is redundancy and a waste of words. "Red plum blossoms" is fine since they can take on other colors.

There is plenty of movement in 飛雪橫梅 (flying snow, sideway plum blossoms), colors being hinted at and the imagery is good -- stretched out boughs, laden with blossoms looked as if there were being blown flat by the wind. With more word twiddling,

白雪横飛紅梅冬, The white snow flying across a red plum blossom winter

A good compromise, however, I ran into trouble as the second line is now out of place and the change of scene is too abrupt. "又一冬" (Again another winter) in the first line is the lead-in to the next.

"Flowing waters" denotes the swiftness of time passing. I considered splitting the idea into two lines,

白雪横飛又一冬, White snow flying sideways again another winter passes
紅梅盡放 ? ? 同

The problem now is that I do know how to fill in the places denoted by the question marks. To change the theme or rhyme is something which I did not want. Have to leave this as it is and continue with the rest of the poem. The last line has the idea but the wording is coarse and inelegant. More mulling and I came up with,

彼此彼此仍龍鳳 Each other, with one another, still a dragon and a phoenix.

At first I was quite happy but the repeat of 彼此 bothered me. It hints of exasperation, a mood I do not want to portray. I wanted something happy...

彼此相觀仍龍鳳, In the gaze of one another, still a dragon and phoenix.

Though an improvement, something is still amiss. My present inspirations, like the magic potions in the computer game that I am now playing, were all used up. I just have to wait for another day of renewal...

Thursday, April 23, 2015

I rewrite my essays over again and again to gain refinement. Unlike typing with versatility on an English keyboard, it is better to kill two birds with a stone by practising my Chinese "calligraphy" with the brush in an old-fashioned manner. Sure enough, as the poem was repeatedly written, like some gene mutation over a time, words began to transform and ideas become more settled. The flow seemed more fluent as the characters were expressed through the ink and brush.

In the end, I decided to forgo the idea of having color in the first line. After all, there's plenty of "colors" through the shades in the black-inked character strokes contrasting with the snow-white underside of the now scrap paper of a now defunct computer printout. Yes, I do recycle.

The first line remained the same while the second became,

江水盡流與夢同. The river waters flow unceasingly like a dream.


盡流 can be interpreted either as the flow had completely stopped or that its flow is carefree with no sign of stopping!

I remembered I had learnt 倦蝶 (tired butterflies) from a Chinese writer in an "italki" essay, which I now will use it to the fullest. Whoever that unknown writer is, one "I thank you".

倦蝶殘香早已逝 tired butterfly crippled/weak fragrance early already passed.

Here 逝 also evokes the imagery of death. Still, the final line lacks the punch I intended. I had considered other characters such as 看, 望 but not 見 (since 相見 means "to meet up"). They did not make the cut. Then I remembered a song from an old classic Chinese movie of the 1960s, 江山美人, The Kingdom and the Beauty starring Lin Dai (林黛).

http://www.56.com/u98/v_NTQwMTgxODM.html

The theme song was in a form of a classical poem,

一瞥驚鴻影, One furtive glance, a startled swan,
相蓬似夢中. Our meeting is like a dream.
廣寒身未到, To the Lunar Palace of the Great Cold not reached yet, (a sexual allusion)
分手太匆匆, Too quickly comes our departure.

Unabashedly, I am lifting 瞥 to convey the full force of the poem's intent of a furtive gaze of an old couple whose love had endured the ages.

飛雪橫梅又一冬, Across laden boughs of plum blossoms, flurry snow yet of another winter,
江水盡流與夢同, The river flows towards its end like a passing dream.
倦蝶殘香早已逝, Tired butterflies and withered fragrance had long since gone,
彼此相瞥仍龍鳳. To each other, a furtive glance exchanged, still a dragon and a phoenix be.

By no means this is the end of the story. As time passes and with more experience and knowledge gained, there may be changes yet to come.

Friday, April 24, 2015

Epilogue

What prophecy! No sooner than what I had written was proofread by someone and posted on my blog, a minor change occurred as I tried to get a better brush writing version. I accidently wrote a wrong word which proved to be a blessing. Instead of writing 流 (flow), I wrote 去 (to go, past). I pondered on this and finally decided that this new change was for the better since there is hint of something long gone. At the same time, there is no need to have extra words in the English translation when there are none in the Chinese version.

江水盡去與夢同.

On December 17 & 18, 2022, while practising my Chinese brush writing to see if my handwriting had improved, more changes were made…

飛雪橫梅又一冬, Across laden boughs of plum blossoms, flurry snow yet of another winter,
水流盡去與夢同, The river flows towards its end like a passing dream.
倦蝶殘香久已謝, Tired butterflies and withered fragrance had long since gone,
彼此相瞥仍龍鳳. A furtive glance to each other, still a dragon and a phoenix be.

One Sunny Spring Saturday in Southern California

Another winter had passed. It is now spring. A sunny day indeed in Southern California but under the bamboo grove, the blowing wind is cold. As I sat and admired the garden scenery sipping my hot cup of Chinese tea and listening to the Butterfly Concerto performed by Vanessa Mae, I can't help but to ponder what's up in the heavens.

Surely eternal youth and beauty are there without physical pains or aches from this mortal world. At least this is the image that I am led to believe. How great it is to be an immortal without Old Age nibbling away at Youth and without the worries if one had all the 1040¹ entries correctly filled out for the dreaded looming tax day of April the fifteenth! How I all hate the IRS! I suppose that's the price to pay to live in an almost weather paradise of a sunny Southern California. Now you know the reason of my being in the garden.

I long to be a denizen of that upper world. However, on a second thought, beware of what you wished for. I should be grateful and satisfied with all the good things my life had brought me. I am sure that there are plenty of others who would envy the kind of life I have now. At least I am not in some war torn country nor a disease ravaged place. I should be counting my blessings instead and not bemoaning such trifles as the IRS.

Once more my mind is drifted to the ethereal realm for a quick respite. I needed the break from the daily drudgery of the week. Jeff, Jeff, Jeff! Can't blame you for thinking otherwise. After all you are a human being and yes, each and every one of us do have dreams. Without them, life even with material comfort will not soothe the restless mind. Fantasy journeys are good for our mental health; as long as they don't become an opiate. So stop your yearnings. Write some poetry instead!

1 蝴蝶兒,    Oh butterflies,

2 花香淡.    The fragrance of flowers is weak.

3 春日和,    One warm spring day,

4 風来冷.    But the blowing wind is cold.

5 瑤池²仙子, The Jasper Pool fairy,

6 無配³,          Matchless,

7 黄臉⁴凡妻,   A mortal's wife of a yellow aged face

8 難比!     Can hardly be compared!

So I fibbed! Actually, I am in the office, longing to be out there in the warm sunshine but alas... It is also true that I am listening to the repeated Vanessa's Mae's violin playing with my headphones on as I try to seek inspiration to write something as I am waiting for the computer to finish its processing... I hate idle minds. Better to finish things quickly here and get out of this air conditioned place and literally fly to my garden sanctuary before the sun goes down!

Saturday, April 04, 2015

1.  The number of the US income tax form.

2.  Paradise.

3.  It can also mean that no one is good enough [for her]
4.  Self deprecation to avoid hubris

Then in 31 April 2016, the some changes to the poem were made. Line 6's 配 was changed to 偶, companion, the last line's 難比 to 有伴 - having someone around and about a year later on 24 Apr 2017, 伴 was modified to 婿 which in this context to mean "husband" and not a son-in-law.  In Cantonese, 婿 has the same pronunciation as 勢, power, control. So the last line can be a pun to the reason the beautiful fairy is lonely because of a fierce and powerful wife!

蝴蝶兒,  Oh butterflies,

花香淡.  The fragrance of flowers is weak.

春日和,  One warm spring day,

風来冷.  But the blowing wind is cold.

瑤池仙子,The Jasper Pool fairy,

無偶,         With no companion.

黄臉凡妻,  A mortal's wife of a yellow aged face,

有婿!        But has a husband!

A Dream Meeting With The Servant Girl

There, her image was clear in my mind, still the same as it was eons ago.  Why she came to me in a dream, I do not know.  All I wanted to ask of her now was of her family, her background, her likes, her dislikes, and her hopes.  She was just a servant girl, older by a few years than this teenage boy of 15 or so.  Thus her name or rather her title was "Older Sister Plum Blossom".  Of course "sister" was just a civility; a mere deference accorded to her in acknowledging that she came into this world earlier than my siblings and I.

It was not that I am the young master and she, of a lower status; but someone, a companion or perhaps even a friend.  All I cared about was how we interacted.  Her background, her station and her past meant nothing to me.  A friend to chat with after school.  How I wish I could have gone back in time, armed with today's technology of a digital camera and a laptop to record my life both in pictures and in videos.

In my dream, I asked of her family.  She replied without hesitation.  Her father was a no good bum who barely kept debtors away from their doorstep.  More questions asked; more answers given.  Now in my awakened state, I remember them not.  The crux of this dream is that I told her that I had never been a real friend to her since I had never asked of her personal background as a friend should.  She replied with a thank you.  I could not help myself but to quip that this meant I wasn't a friend at all then.  She just smiled and said something to the effect, "never too late".  As she continued on with her maternal side of her family, this dream ended abruptly, the same way she came to me so suddenly.  All the exact words and details have turned into a distant fuzziness.  However, the nostalgia, the meaning and the warmth remain.

Of course, things were never easy.  The very, VERY much older female servant was jealous of our coziness.  I was too innocent and naive.  Now, I can see her fear that this upstart might one day become her superior, her mistress.  How silly of the grownups!  If they only knew what my inclinations were.  I think my mother had tried to have a talk with me filled with innuendoes and subtle warnings.  Of course, this "talk" resolved to make our bonds even stronger as we faced someone not from our age group, an adversary arising from jealousy.  So many misunderstandings and so many suspicions.  However, everyone's fears were allayed when they saw I had other interests to pursue - my hobbies, my schoolwork, my male school friends that were beginning to occupy most of my spare time.  One day, we were told that she was leaving us since the children were getting older and no longer need supervision.

I could not go back to sleep.  I was thinking.  After all these years, never once had I dreamt of her or thought of her.  Why did she come into my dream now? Was this meeting, an occasion for her last words of goodbye before stepping into the world yonder?  I know that this is but a dream.  Strange is the mind seeking closure to address lingering wishes unfulfilled. 

As I am recording this, I wonder where had she been all these years after leaving the service of my family.  In my dream, I should have asked, "Did you get married?  If so, you should by now have become a grandmother.  Did you have a good life?"

Time, a cruel master, taking one-by-one away and insidiously replacing clear memories of yore with haziness; repackaging a sleek version of charm and nostalgia.

Wednesday, February 04, 2015, 5:13am - 6:20am