This theme was inspired from a Cantonese opera movie, 玉郎三戲女將軍, starring 陳寶珠 and 蕭芳芳.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeVlP4JlQIQ
The hero was reciting a poem but since there was no subtitle, this is what I thought he was saying,
可憐一點靈犀未透
鍾情玉素? 無由?
從此有恨鎖心頭
淒涼最是黄昏後
Obviously, even if I had guessed the characters correctly, the form of a classic Tang poem is not correct and so I had to come up with one using the same rhyme and theme. I debated whether the love should be mutual or just one sided. In the end, I opted for a two way longing…
1 一點靈犀已相透 Of what little understanding, our mutual feelings are tacitly understood,
2 可憐鍾情無自由 Alas, with love at first sight, our freedoms are no more.
3 牆隔萬里蓬山近 A thousand miles the wall separates us and yet paradise is so near.
4 淒涼最是黄昏後 The evening has faded, that’s when our heart stricken grief is hardest to bear.
1 It was believed that the rhinoceros horn is sensitive due to its white patterns in the horn. The usual meaning of 靈 being sacred or spiritual. Here it means “sensitive” as in 靈敏 or 靈感. From Li Shang Yin’s famous couplet, 身無彩鳳雙飛翼, 心有靈犀一點通, it now carries the meaning of having tacit feelings or understanding.
3 蓬山, the mountain in 蓬萊, the main islet of the immortals in the Eastern Ocean. This line alludes to the reply from Emperor Sung Ren Tsung to 宋祁’s lyrical poem which was the rage of the time.
An investigation took place as female officials of the inner court do not cavort with those from the outer court. The female official confessed that she knew of the poet during an imperial banquet bestowed by the emperor for the poet. Afterwards, while one day on an official duty, she was in a carriage and perchance saw of the poet on the street and called out his name. The poet turned, saw the caller and e was smitten by her beauty. He wrote the poem to lament the impossibility of such a union. Upon hearing the story, the emperor simply smiled and replied, “the Blessed is not that far away.” So, he bestowed upon him the lady official as his wife.
4 Everything had become dark. No streetlight back then!
畫轂雕鞍狹路逢, Narrow is the road for the painted wheel hubs and carved saddles,
一聲腸斷繡簾中. A sudden a cry of heartbrokenness came from within the curtains.
身無彩鳳雙飛翼, No wings of a colored phoenix to fly to your side,
心有靈犀一點通. But we tacit feelings we have for each other.
金作屋, A house built from gold,
玉為籠, Gilded bird cages from jade.
車如流水馬如龍, Carriage traffic is like rushing water and horses like coiling dragons,
劉郎已恨蓬山遠, Lover Liu regrets that the paradise is so far away,
更隔蓬山一萬重. And yet where you are, a myriad times further.
Liu Lang is a young woodcutter who mistakenly stumbled into a fairyland in the forest. He met a beautiful girl and married her. For a year, they lived in great joy and harmony when the yearning for his family started. His wife pleaded him not to leave and managed him to stayed for another three months before his itching returned. This time, the wife tearfully acquiesced to her husband’s wishes. He found out that too many had gone by since he had left. With no one he knew was alive, he tried to go back to the fairy grotto but could not find his way back.
Monday, June 21, 2021
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