Facts of Life

秋風不比春意和 Autumn breeze never warmer than thoughts of spring.

菊香難勝牡丹紅 Fragrant chrysanthemums could hardly edge out the red red peonies.

蜉蝣夏日一嘆去Too soon a summer’s day end, mayflies gone like a sigh.

濃冬大雪賞寒梅 In the harshest winter, lusting after plum blossoms cold.

In the autumnal stage of one’s life, nothing beats the warmth of youth.  All achievements one had achieved are paled in comparison to the vigor of youth.  Time flies too fast when having summer's fun.  And as old age sets in, still yearning for the beauties - cold and ruthless they are; their only interest are your cold hard cash. They bloom best in the coldest conditions.

The four season flowers - peony, lotus, chrysanthemums, plum blossoms for spring, summer, autumn and winter.

Beauty From The North

Here’s a superb animation with the poem set to music. Of course the original music is lost.


http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/T6vzqbuL4gs/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBHZAuhRhPE


北方有佳人,             From the north came a ravishing maiden,
絕世而獨立.             Whose beauty stood alone.
一顧傾人城,             At a glance, cities fall,
再顧傾人国.             Once more, empires collapse.
寧不知倾城與倾国, Care not whether cities fall or empires collapse,
佳人難再得.             Such beauty never comes around twice.

This is the story of Emperor Han Wu Ti and Madam Li (漢武帝李夫人). The Emperor had 3 passions - power, women and music. Court Composer, Li Yannian (李延年) wanted to gain imperial favours and so he composed the above lyrics. On hearing the words, the startled emperor inquired if there is indeed such a beauty. The already bribed older sister of the Emperor, Princess Ping Yang (平陽公主) then casually remarked that there is indeed such a beauty in the form of the court musician's sister.

The Emperor fell madly in love when he gazed upon her beauty. However this romance did not last long. First of all she was a fragile beauty and her health gave up upon her soon after giving birth. Knowing that she was not going to live long, she refused to see the emperor.  Each time he came to see her she hid herself under the quilts crying. No matter how much he pleaded or entreated, he could not get to see her face. The frustrated Emperor once remarked that he would give her a million taels of gold and elevate her brothers to the ranks of dukes. She merely replied that it was his imperial prerogative to do so and does not need the excuse to get a glimpse of her. The Emperor left angrily. Her siblings came berating that she could cause the demise of their family.

She rebuked at their stupidity, "It is for the sake of the welfare of our family that I will not see him. He cares only for my beauty and nothing else. By denying him even a glimpse, he will not be able to see me in a state of diminished beauty. My beauty will forever be enshrined in his mind. After I'm gone, you all will know unbounded wealth and glories!"

When she died she was buried with the honours due to an Empress. Just as she predicted, each time the emperor thought of her, her family gained unbridled wealth and power. A crafty Taoist priest told the love sick Emperor that he could conjure her spirit to meet him. The wily priest then asked for her clothing and on such and such a night, in a heavily curtained and poorly candle lit chamber filled with incense smoke, the Emperor in his tipsy mood, glimpsed an image of her appearing on the curtains for a brief moment before her clothes fell to the ground when a gust of the wind caused the curtains to flutter.

Han Wu Ti ascended to the throne at the age of 16. When he was the crown prince, he fell in love with his cousin (his father's sister's daughter who was older than him) but could not get his hands on her and remarked that once he became emperor, he will build a house made of gold for her (in another words a golden cage!) . The phrase 金屋藏嬌, "a golden house to contain a beauty" comes from this story. Actually, the word 'beauty' is the name of the cousin, 陳阿嬌.

In his old age, the Emperor dabbled in mysticism to attain immortality but only enriched the pockets of Taoist priests and ending with deadly consequences including the execution of the crown prince on false charges of rebellion. When the truth finally came out, it was too late. Part of the cause of the demise of the Han Dynasty was due to his foolishness in his old age which the Emperor did not learn from his past mistakes.

There was a time when some pills of immortality were finally ready for the Emperor's consumption. Just as he was about to take them, this minister suddenly grabbed them and ate it himself. The Emperor was so enraged that he ordered immediate execution. The wily minister remarked calmly to him that such an order cannot be carried out. The astonished Emperor asked for the reason.

"If the pills were indeed that effective, then nothing can do me harm now that I am an immortal. If I get be killed, then the pills are false. Your Majesty's sacred name would forever be sullied in history as a befuddled ruler!"

Incense Burner

This is the incense burner I had in mind when I started on this poem, imagining smoke engulfing the lid.  How people used it to seek divine help and answers; yet it could not foretell its own coming demise when incense stopped burning.

爐烟繞纒紫檀香, Smoke enshrouding the incense burner in sandalwood fragrance,
木魚長敲驚乾坤. Incessant beats from the wooden fish1 alarming the Universe.
聖杯落地解天意, Sacred cups2 a cast to determine Heaven's will.
難測人性比海深. Deeper than the deepest ocean is to plumb the nature of man.

Notes:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wooden_fish

2. Divination blocks also known as jiao bei (筊杯)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiaobei

For an interesting story see http://javewu.multiply.com/reviews/item/74

Update

It had been more than five years now.  Only one minor character had been changed to read better without altering the intent of the poem or its English translation.

爐烟繞纒紫檀香,
木魚長敲驚乾坤.
聖杯落地解天意,
難測人面比海深.

Tuesday, 21 Jul 2015

Firefly

螢火不曉鬥星光,

琴音無意接花香.

只識撲奪金鏤衣1,

難明春色不待人.

The fireflies' light does not know how to vie with the stars
Flowers' fragrance - zither's unexpected boon.
To those madly pursuing the glories of the world,
Would hardly understand that spring waits for no one.

Notes: 1.  Literally a golden knitted suit.  Also used as a burial shroud for the nobility.

Updates

It has been more than five years since I had written this poem which I am now updating to reflect on the improvement of my Chinese.  I did not pay attention nor was I interested in the rhyming of the lines.  This is due to my poor standard at that time.  I just wanted to express the thoughts that were surging within me.

I am changing the second line so that it now rhymes with the fourth line.  The "red dust" is a Buddhist term for the polluted mundane world of the laity.  

螢火不曉鬥星光, The fireflies' light does not know how to vie with the stars,

微光短短艶紅塵,  What a short time for it to glow in this world,

只識撲奪金鏤衣,  To those madly pursuing the glories of the empire,

難明春色不待人.  Would hardly understand that spring waits for no one.

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

螢火不識鬥星辰 Light of fireflies knows not how to vie with starlight

輕舞微點挑花魂 Dotting in dance, gingerly here and there, arousing the soul of flowers

郎君醉傾鏤衣金 My beloved, drunken in the gold on his official robes

難解春色莫待人. 'tis difficult for him to understand colors of spring wait for no one.

Friday, September 21, 2018

Tuesday, March 2, 2021

December Rain - 12 月の雨

Walking down the avenue,

Sunshine caressing with my cheeks.

People here and there are a few,

I care not who I should know,

Just wondering who I shall meet.

With a skip and jump in my stride,
Wish I could kiss every pretty boy in sight.

Now that December rain is all behind...

With a tune,

In my heart,

I shall sing...

Come out and join in a song or dance,
Enjoy the warmth and hear the birds.

See the newly sprouted green green grass.

Loosen up and smell the flowers around.

Life's not too bad if you dispel the clouds,

Just get out of that room!

Join in the fun
With the crowd...

And be yourself...

Now that December rain is gone,

Come out, come out where ever you are.

Life's too short to be cooped up,

Watch the world go by,

Say hello to someone,

And see them smile....

Now that December rain is past,

Come out come out where ever you are.

Put a smile on your face,

Sing a song or join in dance.

Why? You ask...

Just because December rain is past.

An inspiration after listening to this catchy Japanese tune of the same title and life in general with the Bobo. I know I should be working on my program instead of trying to set these words to the tune and putting it on FB. Outside is bursting with life.

The Drunken Imperial Concubine

Tuesday, 23 February 2010

A modern sexier interpretation but incorrect since she was very rubenesque.

紫羅紅裙配胭脂, Her purple gauze silk and scarlet skirt match her rouge.

金釵翠玉鎖黛雲, Golden hairpins and jade clasps lock in her ravenous hair.

醉意氛氛蹺天陛, In tipsiness she teeters here and there while ascending the imperial steps,
漫舞輕騰霓裳曲. As if she was dancing lithely in the air to the tune of the "Rainbow Skirt".

I had the gem of an idea to this poem while jogging up the street. This is the result of going through several versions.


Notes:

The tune of the "Rainbow Skirt and Feathered Dress" has 36 movements and was reputed to be the composition of the Tang Emperor Yuan Tsung. The music and the dance were lost in the An Lu Shan rebellion. As it was considered as an ill omen piece of music and sign of decadence that it was never revived in the succeeding reigns of the dynasty until two hundred years later, when it was revived and improved on by the Overlord and Lady (李後主大周后) of the Later Tang (a totally different dynasty but shared the same last name). When Nanjing fell to the Sung forces, the Overlord Liyu ordered it destroyed. In 1186 during the Sung Dynasty, The 18 movements were rediscovered by 姜白石(姜夔) in Changsha. Whether it is the melody or the lyrics survived to this day, I do not know.

More or less historically correct of the kind of dress worn in the T'ang period. Note the similarity to the kimono of which it was modelled upon. Most of the Japanese culture was adopted from the T'ang Era. Another excellent example is the Gagaku Imperial Court Music.







Yang Gui Fei - Imperial Concubine Yang was considered to be one of the four greatest beauties in Chinese history. All had tragic lives and hence the saying, "Since time immemorial, a great beauty, a tragic life." 自古紅颜多簿命). Her story is well known to Chinese children (not those solely brought up in western education) as Hansel and Greta is to western children. When she died, she caused an empire to collapse around her skirt.

Peking opera interpretation of the imperial regalia of the Ming Dynasty as perceived by the common people.















"The Drunken Concubine", also known as the "Hundred Flower Pavilion" (百花亭) is a Peking opera. It was first played during the reign of Emperor Chien Lung in the Ching Dynasty. The role of the imperial concubine to date was best performed by a man - Mi Lan Fang (梅蘭芳). In the old days, like Kabuki, women are not allowed on stage.

A close up of the headdress and costume.

Update

It had been more than five years since I first composed this poem.  Only one character was changed to make the second and fourth line rhyme without changing the original intent of the poem.

紫羅紅裙配胭脂, Her purple gauze silk and scarlet skirt match her rouge,
金釵翠玉鎖黛雲, Golden hairpins and jade clasps lock in her ravenous hair.
醉意氛氛蹺天陛, In tipsiness, teetering here and there, she ascends the imperial steps,
漫舞輕騰霓裳韻  As if dancing lithely in the air to the tune of the "Rainbow Skirt".

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Another Update,

Six years after a second update, eleven years since the original...  The first line was changed to rhyme with the even lines as I had gained more knowledge...

紫羅胭脂配紅裙 Her purple gauze silk and rouge match her scarlet skirt,

金釵翠玉鎖黛雲, Golden hairpins and jade clasps lock in her ravenous hair.
醉意氛氛蹺天陛, In tipsiness, teetering here and there, she ascends the imperial steps,
漫舞輕騰霓裳韻  As if dancing lithely in the air to the tune of the "Rainbow Skirt".

Tuesday, March 2, 2021

The Kingdom & The Beauty

Shaw Brothers' Production starring Lin Dai 林黛.  Her life like in the movie, died of a tragic suicide over love.

一瞥驚鴻影, A stolen glance startled the swan1,
相逢似夢中. Our chance meeting was like a dream.
廣寒身未到, The moon2 yet to be reached,
分手太匆匆... Too hurriedly we had parted...

This is the main song in the movie, "Kingdom and the Beauty"

Notes:

1. Actually an eastern bean goose or the great wild goose. There is no graceful connotation for goose in English - "A silly goose" is the first thing comes to an English reader's mind.

2. The moon is also known as the Palace of the Great Cold. This where the goddess 嫦娥, Chang O lived or banished to (depending on the source). In the movie version, the Ming Emperor Chen Te 正德 played hookey and on a whim stole out of the dreary palace and escaped to the prosperous south for an extended outing. There he met the heroine, fell in love with her and had an affair with her. However the very next day, the imperial retainers sent by his mother discovered his location and was forced to head back to the Capital. A movie ploy to make the Emperor look good. For added embellishment to the story, the chief eunuch came out with a plan to fill the mind of the Emperor with pretty dancing girls. The easily excitable emperor soon had her completely out of his mind.

In the meantime, the heroine bore the emperor a son and became sick yearning for him. A family friend took pity and journeyed all the way from the South to the capital in the north (some 800 miles). On the way he recounted the liaison of the heartless Emperor for all to hear (in a rap like song - remember this was in the 60s!). Finally he reached the capital and through a series of situations, the emperor finally remembered as if woken from a dream; went to see the Empress Dowager and vowed to make the now remembered lover the Empress. The mother refused on the grounds that the girl was a nobody (an extremely flimsy pretext since the founder of the Ming Dynasty was once a upon a time, a lout who had to become a monk to escape starvation).  The Emperor said that he would rather throw away the throne for the girl. To break the stalemate, the prime minister offered to adopt the girl as his god daughter... Finally the imperial edict came to fetch her. When at last the imperial entourage arrived at the Palace, she expired from her sickness and long journey.

The producers took many liberties to make the movie look good. According to popular stories of that time, Emperor Chen Te was a licentious ruler. In unofficial histories, he did travel to the South for pleasure and indeed had an affair with a girl there. She was made into an Imperial concubine. Unlike the movie, she was soon out of imperial favour there were several new favourites came after her. Another story version: The Empress once asked the Emperor what was so beautiful about this concubine and when the Emperor replied that it was her eyes, the jealous woman had them plucked and served on a dish to the Emperor exclaiming, "Here are her beautiful eyes. You can now always be near them!" Chen Te became Emperor at the age of 14 and died at 30. For more info see

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhengde_Emperor

The last two lines of the poem alluded to another famous story of the Tang Emperor Ming Huang and his imperial concubine Lady Yang. After she was forced to commit suicide during their flight from the capital arising from a rebellion, the emperor abdicated and thought of her ceaselessly. He would die happy if he could just get another glimpse of her.  So with the help of a Taoist priest a tryst was arranged. As if in a dream, he saw her descending from the moon to see him. Time was too brief when she finally departed leaving the Emperor even sadder. Yang Gui Fei was also granted the title of "Great Fidelity". This is a name given for a nun, a Tang Court ploy to avoid embarrassing situations created when foreign kings came asking for an imperial marriage with an imperial princess. The ploy is to make her a nun. After the situation had passed, she was then reverted to laity.

Historically Lady Yang was the emperor's daughter-in-law from a minor son. When his favourite concubine died, the Emperor was raging about like a bear. To keep peace and for the sake of their safety, the chief eunuch arranged for the emperor to espy Lady Yang bathing in the Pool of Flower Purity. (Historically, he was in his 60's and she was in her late teens when the peeping Tom episode took place!) The Emperor was smitten, soon had his son divorced her before appropriating her for himself after a period of decorum has passed after serving as a nun.

Another case of incestuous relation in the eyes of Chinese tradition. Well that's another story to be told.