A Pot of Tea

This picture of a modern fake Ch'ing Dynasty ceramic style was posted by Fred Liu to the Chinese Poetry Group in Facebook…  He wrote a poem and he translated into English.  I was inspired more by the picture than his poem.

壶心

那些柔美的线条 Those charming curves
神秘的图案         Enticing patterns
和明媚的颜色     And pleasing colors
怎将内心的况味 How can they speak
稍稍诉说？        For their contents


©️德江 Fred Liu
Photo from the web.

This was my inspiration… To my first reaction was how a modern piece can speak of past happenings, especially when private details that were not witnessed first hand.  However, I changed the tone and theme to one that has more than one interpretation.

黃底花彩紅, Yellow background with flowers of red,
近代仿乾隆, New imitation of the Chien Lung period.
琺瑯一壺茶, A famille rose pot of tea,
難盡清宮夢. For Ch’ing Palace dreams still lingering on…

Thursday, August 6, 2020