Reminiscing

It had been a long time since I had posted last.  I have been very busy as I am still working on the "Wanderings of the Lute", 琵琶行, a Po Chu-i's 616 character long poem. In the meantime, an updated poem from 2019...

I was trying to find the meaning of 垣 as in 屬耳垣牆 from the Thousand Character Classic. In the MGDB dictionary, I saw 垣衣… This led to 夕陽西偏垣衣翠.

I was stuck for quite awhile. I tried making it into a couplet.  No help from the couplet generator. Then in my daily jog,  銀月東起霓裳聚 came up.  With 霓裳, my fuzzy idea changed direction and solidified.

1紫霞斜映垣衣翠 Purple evening clouds and slanted green reflected from the moss-clothed wall
2 疏影橫舞霓裳隨 Sporadic shadows dancing with the Rainbow Skirt.
3 珠箔動搖竟太真 And when the bejeweled drapes swayed, it’s her!
4 急前鴻驚暗香去 In my haste, my daunted swan left, nary any scent of hers lingered.

5 長生誓約舊日夢 The promise made in the Palace of Eternal Life is but a dream of long ago,
6 上陽寂寥老人醉 And in the loneliness in the Palace of Supreme Brightness, an old man in stupor.
7 難信一朝重相見 Hard to believe that one day, we shall meet once more…
8 金風留恨玉露淚 Regrets left with the Golden Wind, jade dew tears upon the leaves.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

1 A reference to 綠腰, a courtly dance in which female performers are dressed in green, baring their mid-drifts, reminiscent of Indian classical dances.

2. 霓裳羽衣曲 - The Song of the Feathered Dress and Rainbow Skirt is a melody purported created by the Emperor Hsuan Tsung from a dream he heard in the Lunar Palace, and choreographed by Yang Guifei, his imperial concubine.

3. This is a play on words – 太真, “too real”. Here it refers to the Taoist title of Yang Guifei meaning “Supreme Verity”. There was a story that a Taoist priest flew to the Moon on the Emperor’s behalf to meet her many years after her forced suicide. At the end of the meeting, she broke a jade hairpin in half and gave one half to him to be brought back to the Emperor. To ensure that it is indeed from her, she let the priest know of a secret vow made in the Hall of Eternal Life on one Seventh Night. A very similar story is that of Emperor Han Wu and his favorite, 李夫人. In the Han Dynasty, 夫人 is a rank equivalent to “Imperial Concubine”, second only to the Empress. When she fell ill, she refused to see the Emperor. Hiding under the covers whenever he came. A thousand gold pieces was offered to her and gave high positions to her brothers if he could see her. No entreaty could sway her. As the enraged Emperor left, her family became fearful and pled with her. They were admonished instead for their stupidity. The Emperor loves her only because of her beauty and nothing else. By not letting him see her in her present condition, she will always be remembered in glory and each time, upon remembering her, the family will rise to greater honors. Indeed, it was the case. Eventually, a Taoist priest was asked to conjure her spirit. Under the cover of dimly lit candles and alcohol, the Emperor saw a glimpse of her behind the heavy curtains. She disappeared as he approached. The reason being the august aura of the Emperor was too much for her spirit to bear. His later reign was often besotted and beguiled by charlatans in search for immortality.

4. The Eastern Bean Goose. However, in English, the goose has no beauty to speak of.

5. A promise made on the Seventh Night (Chinese Valentine) between the emperor and his beloved to be forever in togetherness. However, he broke his promise when his life was threatened as they fled from the capital when the An Lushan rebellion came. The escorting soldiers refused to move forward when they reached the Mawei Slope until her life was forfeited as she was blamed as the root cause of the ensuing chaos.

6. When the capital was retaken, the Emperor abdicated and became the Emperor Emeritus (太上皇) and moved into the Palace of Supreme Brightness.

8. The Golden Wind is a poetic term for “autumn” and the dew on the leaves is known as “Jade Dew”.