Another Two View Points

This poem was started in the night with the first two lines. However, I wasn’t able to complete it and in the middle of the night, I decided to turn them as the last two lines and see if I can continue with a different rhyme. It was completed in the next day during my morning jog.

1 窗外音絕夜籣徑 Outside the window is a path where sounds of the night had ceased,
2 回眸枕上鴛鴦影 A shadow of embroidered pillow Mandarin Ducks from one back glance.
3 萬燦難擋孤燈前 Myriad dots of brilliance withstand not the lonely light at the front,
4 船破水中銀河星 A boat crushing the stars of the Silver River.

1 Sets up the scene for the next line - looking outside to see if there are signs of someone coming. However, it is night and all is quiet.

2 回眸 – “returning eyes” – to turn the head back for a look. Mandarin ducks symbolizes marital bliss and hence a favorite embroidered theme on pillowcases. This line explains the reason the wife is looking out of the window – to see if there are signs of the husband returning. However, she is worried about their love because of the word “shadow” on the pillowcases when she glances back into the bedroom.

3 This is the pivot point where the scenery changes to a different perspective. We do not know what the myriad dots and a lonely light in the front mean.

4 By inference, the myriad dots are the stars and the single light is on a ship’s prow. The ship is still moving in the night because reflections on the water is being crushed. It can be safe to assume that the stars mean temptations encountered on a journey but his love for his lonely wife back home is immovable. His resolve indicated by the moving boat crushes all the temptations encountered. The Milky Way is known as the Silver River in Chinese.

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

The Heart's Elsewhere

While jogging in the evening…

1 夜靜風冷星未墜 Quiet is the night when winds are cold and stars yet to set,
2 燈滅影盡船舟去 Lights extinguished, shadows are gone and ships had departed.
3 嫦娥身在廣寒殿 O Goddess of the Moon, bodily in the Palace of Great Frigidity,
4 魄却瑤池蟠宴醉 Drunken is her soul still at the Peach Banquet of the Jasper Pool.

1 No sleep yet and dawn still hasn’t arrived.

2 Hope is gone like the boats.

3 殿 is the administrative part of the palace while 宮 is the residential area. 身is used as a verb. Originally, I had ”嫦娥身在知處難, O Goddess of the Moon, where you are I know not” because of the setting was on a boat but was changed later.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang%27e

4 Originally, I had “疑定宴於瑤池去”, “Most probably to the Jasper Pool part she went” as the answer to the previous question. I could not form a good couplet and so had to change the last three lines. Ancient Chinese believes that there are nine souls in a person, 3 superior souls known as 魂 and 6 baser ones as 魄. When a person dies, the baser souls are the last to leave because they could not bear to leave. The longer they remain, the greater chance to become malevolent by causing the body to be animated and cause havoc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peaches_of_Immortality

Monday, August 7, 2023

To Be Free

This came about while in the car going to have lunch in OC.

1 白鸕戲水晴天潛 Upon the waters, a white cormorant playfully dives into a sunny sky,
2 波濺池影飛銀閃 Glittering drops of silver splattering at ripples and pond reflections.
3 願為逍遙作閑鳥 For carefreeness, an idle bird that I should be,
4 何慮恩怨凡塵染 Why worry about the mortal realm tainted by love and grudges?

1 The sunny sky is the watery reflection on the pond. For one who is carefree, it matters not whether the sky is upwards or on the water. Originally, I used 白鷺, white heron but found out that these birds do not dive for their prey and I did not like to take poetic licence since a cormorant has the same pronunciation. Pure white cormorants do exist in nature as albinos.

2 What is not explicitly stated is that reflections are shattered upon impact but another beauty arises in form of splattering silver drops. Both are temporary situations and emphasizes the non-important nature of the matter to a carefree person.

3 This is the pivot line that forms the basis to the implicit meaning of the previous lines.

4 The reason that in order to be carefree, one has to be freed from all emotional entanglements of life.

Saturday, August 5, 2023

Two View Points

Inspired by this photo while taking a night stroll in Wilson Park…  However, I wasn’t able to complete it until I went for my jog the next day as there was plenty of time to ponder during my jog…  There were many revisions afterwards...

1 月照白雲昨夜風 Moonlight upon white clouds and winds from last night,
2 搖動黑林無伊夢 Swaying the darkened forest with no dreams of thee.
3 七夕銀河鵲橋高 The Milking Way during the Seventh Night and the Magpie Bridge are high,
4 急渡九霄萬山重 Hurrying over the Nine Heavens and through ranges of myriad mountains!

2 伊人literally means “this person” usually the opposite sex.

3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qixi_Festival

4 Exaggerating his hurriedness to meet his beloved.

Monday, July 31, 2023

This one was composed three days later as a reply to the previous poem.  However, with many iterations of refinement, it morphed into another view point instead...  This came about while I was in midst of waking up, the first line came to me but could not continue until I completed the previous one. The male version was straight forward while this has more conflicted emotions.

1 銀河星點昨夜風 The Milky Way dotted with myriad stars and winds of last night,
2 莫求難留曾經夢 Seek not in dreams of once upon a time.
3 酒停一瞬念舊客 Pausing a cup to reminisce a guest of old,
4 再杯花容添滴紅 A few more drops, a few more blushes to grace a beauty’s face.

1 This scene represents the good old happier days. The Milky Way is always associated with the ill-fated romance of the Seventh Night. At the same time, a glimmer of hope for reuniting in the future.

2 Self-consolation that dalliance is not worth the pursuit.

3 Even advice from the previous line, her conflicted emotions would not let go of her past encounter. 客 actually means someone who is at a place temporarily. Here it means the heartless wanderlust of a lover, i.e., a lover at every port of call.

4 Still again, her emotions are contradictory as she keeps up with her appearances just in case he shows up unexpectedly. 花容 means a pretty face.

Thursday, August 3, 2023

Summer Heat

Have to keep my mind busy while I jogged and the evening summer heat is still unbearable…

1 風送荷香碎綠影 Lotus fragrance wafted by the wind, shattering green reflections,
2 浮紅池上接相迎 And yet  floating reds upon the pond greeting in welcome.
3 心動神疲血來潮 No peace for an agitated heart as waves of blood surging through,
4 夏熱無端逼人靜 For what reason wouldst summer heat be oppressing one into calmness?

1 Lotuses are aquatic pond plants. 

2 “floating reds” are the red blooms of the Nelumbo nucifera – the sacred lotus which is a symbol of enlightenment which can be achieved through calmness and meditation. 清香 here means the kind of fragrance that is not dense and heavy-like cosmetic perfumes.

3 心動神疲 comes from a line in the Thousand Character Classic -性情靜逸, 心動神疲.

4 Inspired by the Chinese idiom, 心靜自然涼. Although on the surface, the poem talks of summer heat, the underlying tone is to distract and tempt one away from the path of enlightenment. Summer heat is the true path while Mara is the disguised fragrance to distract and lure one astray through sensuality.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mara_(demon)

Thursday, July 27, 2023

Letting Go

Another one while jogging and the half-moon was almost invisible in the dying sunlight.

1 西山夕陽難捨央 Sunset upon the western hills – unwilling to relinquish its zenith,
2 東海月升仍未亮 Moonrise over the eastern ocean – not yet in brilliance.
3 北斗漸殘夜臨黑 Fading into the north as blackness of night approacheth,
4 南柯寰宙夢一塲 The universe of the Southern Bough is but a place all dreamt up.

1 未央 is a Han dynasty concept of “zenith not yet reached” to mean forever in ascendency since once the summit had been reached, decay and descent will start

2 Even daylight is weak, it is still strong enough to diminish the brilliance of the young rising moon.

3 And as the moon grew in brilliance, it will outshine all other celestial bodies of light. One has to have patience in order to grow and become strong.

4 All grandeur is but a fleeting dream.

https://jeffinous.blogspot.com/2011/02/dream-of-southern-bough-chinese-antz.html

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Togetherness

While jogging…

1 海燕雙飛夕陽紅 A pair of swiftlets flying in the red sunset,
2 晚霞漸暗巢歸夢 Dreaming for their return to roost as rosy clouds darken.
3 莫顧世外月黑夜 Nary a care of the outside world if the moon exists,
4 相偎共寢綺眠同 In togetherness snuggling away in shared dreams.

1 These birds are symbols of fidelity and live near coastal caves. Their nests are made from their saliva and are highly prized in Chinese cuisine. The evening represents their sunset years.

2 Time is short and they dream of returning home together.

3 Caring not the world beyond their nest when they have each other.

4 “Dream” is not in the original text but sounds better as “beautiful Slumber” can also be interpreted to be an eternal one.

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

A Restless Night

Had a difficult time trying to sleep and my mind was racing about the events of today, my porcelain panel being broken, etc. In the end, I tried to come up with two lines…

寒宮無情銀河掃
凌空獨照橫烟霧

Could not think of anything thing else to go forward. Finally, getting up from the bed and went onto the internet to read and watch some videos. The 3rd line came as 莫見蓬山穿雲海. In the end, when went back to bed that I suddenly had an idea with the 3rd line as last three characters of the last line being 莫見蓬山當如無. With this and more refinements in the morning…

1 天涯朗月星河掃 At the world’s end, the bright moon sweeps away the brilliance of the Milky Way,
2 凌空獨照橫烟霧 Upon the rising mists, it shines alone in the vastness of the sky.
3 雲海仙界何人識 In this great ocean of clouds, who wouldst recognize its fairyness?
4 莫見蓬山當初無 The Immortal Isles not seen does not mean there’s no prior existence!

4 蓬山 is the short for 蓬萊山, a mountain in the Blessed Isles in the Eastern Ocean.  當初 is not taken as a unit to mean “at that earlier time”, “originally”. 當 is used as a verb to mean “treat as”, “pretend” etc., and 初無 “don’t have it originally”. Hence in Cantonese, this is pronounced in the 3rd tone and not as the 1st.

Sunday, July 23, 2023

One Quiet Night

This line, 半邊明月凌空照 was written in the early half of the year but I did not have any inspiration to continue until now.  After many changes and refinements...

1 半邊明月凌空笑 Half bright is the moon smiling as it soars into the sky,
2 影斜無聲渡小橋 And slanting shadows cross the little bridge in silence.
3 欲向荷眠輕步前 In gingerly steps towards slumbering lotuses,
4 又恐風生珠葉搖 Yet dreading that fresh breezes may shudder the dew laden leaves.

1 The half-moon phase or that the full moon is partially hidden by the clouds.

2 Whether the shadows are from buildings, trees, or a person, we do not know.

3 Lotus blossoms close up at night and opens in the day, like sleeping. The night is long as shadows moved so slowly towards the sleeping flowers.

4 Here we know of the reason. “Fresh” here means “new”. 

Friday, Jul 21, 2023 

UPDATE

I must have improved for someone by the name of AC Tang, a member on Facebook's Chinese Poetry Group, commented on the poem, 

 I love the scene and atmosphere that this poem has created in my mind.May I have your permission to share a "re-creation" from the scene?

It was an honor to received such a comment.  I am glad that for once that my poem had  become an inspiration for another.  This is what he wrote, 

弯弯明月半空姣 one curved bright moon half sky beauty
清影悠悠过小橋 clear shadow leisurely cross small bridge
欲向睡莲輕举步 about toward sleeping lily gentle raise step
又怜風起露珠摇 yet worry wind rise dew drop swing

Jeff shared a 七绝 which describes a beautiful moon lit night, a poet walking quietly crossing a little bridge, wanting to get closer to look at the water lilies but dreading to disturb the peace. I just love the simplicity and straight forwardness of this scene and sentiment， I wrote a 七绝 as a sing-along to Jef’s work. It is about the same scene but viewed by a different individual. My moon has a delicate beauty contrasting with Jef’s moon more of strength and power; my poet is more like a leisurely aimless shadow while Jef’s poet seems more in a quiet contemplation. Both poets shared the loving and tender sentiment towards the beauty of the moments when mankind is with nature. Here is my sing-along with its English translation.

Suspending beautifully in the sky was the curved half moon
Leisurely traversing was my clear shadow over a little bridge
Just when I was about to step close to the sleeping lily
I held back for I worry that the dewdrops might swing in my breaths

This comparison shows many facets of subtlety about the differences between us.  From his English, one can clearly tell that it is not his first language while his Chinese poem is more colloquial and fluid in how his modern colloquialism flow so seamlessly and effortlessly into a classical format. As for me, how my Chinese way of expressing carries hints of English style and more arcane words and usage embedded.  

I did not notice that my moon has strength and power through using half moon in smiles as it rose mightily - 凌空.  His is gossamer-like though the use of a curvy crescent moon like a lady.  Most probably the use of 凌空 is due to watching the historic drama of Empress Wu, the rise of the only female emperor in Chinese history, 日月凌空, "The Moon Also Rises With The Sun".  These four characters form a pun for the character 曌, a title she created to call herself. Also perhaps it is because of my nature that strong willed women appeals to me. I loathe the meek and weak ones like the Plum Concubine, 梅妃. Instead of fighting back, she accepted her fate when she wrote a poem to reject the emperor's gift of pearls for her...

柳葉雙眉久不描, Her willow shaped brows had not been touched up for a long time now,
殘妝和淚汚紅綃. Tears from her remnant makeup had sullied her thin red silk.
長門自是無梳洗, No need to be made pretty when one lives in the Long Gate,
何必珍珠慰寂寥. So, why the need to have pearls to console my loneliness.

https://www.historyofroyalwomen.com/china/imperial-consort-mei-the-sorrowful-poems-from-the-consort-who-loved-plum-blossoms/

It's good to have such exchanges as it makes one to know oneself better.