Sunday, 16 October 2022

lnhammer: the Chinese character for poetry, red on white background (Default)
When Yu Di commanded Xiangyang, an official appointee heading to the capital, Liu Mo, met a provincial scholar (there) who was about 20 years old and going the same way. He thought they suited each other extremely well, and seated on a grass mat they tipped up several cups together. At sunset, the provincial scholar pointed at a fork in the road and said, “A certain worn-out one halted several li from here, can you see on the left?” The provincial scholar then bestowed this poem. The next year, Liu returned to Xiangyang and inquired about the provincial scholar, but all that remained of him was a tomb.

The running water trickles, trickles—cresses strain to sprout.
The weaving crows fly westward as the traveler goes home.
In the deserted village, nobody prepares cold food.
The tomb is facing futilely the pear and crab-apple flowers.


作者:襄阳举人
〈于頔镇襄阳时,选人刘某入京,逢一举人,年二十许,同行,意甚相得,因藉草倾数杯。日暮,举人指岐径曰:“某弊止从此数里,能左顾乎?”举人因赋此诗。明年,刘归襄阳,寻访举人,惟有殡宫存焉。〉
流水涓涓芹努芽,
织乌西飞客还家。
荒村无人作寒食,
殡宫空对棠梨花。

Yu Di appears in records between 783 and his death in 818—while the potted bios I’ve found don’t mention ever his being the military governor of Xiangyang, Hubei, he did reach the appropriate rank for holding a commandery of that size. As a rough date, based on his career outline, it could have been around 810 give or take several years. A provincial scholar has passed the provincial-level exams (lower than imperial, higher than county). Given these are all poems by ghosts, I assume the scholar is the “worn-out one” and the “halting” is his own death, but it’d be nice if the story actually said the tomb had been there since before Liu’s first trip through. Clarity, people, clarity. The cold food evokes Cold Food Day, a festival honoring the dead (during which cooking fires are extinguished).

Detail I don’t know the cultural significance of: as you may have noticed, most people in these stories are, after their introduction, referred to by their personal name (if given), but Liu is referred to by surname.

—L.

About

Warning: contents contain line-breaks.

As language practice, I like to translate poetry. My current project is Chinese, with practice focused on Tang Dynasty poetry. Previously this was classical Japanese, most recently working through the Kokinshu anthology (archived here). Suggestions, corrections, and questions always welcome.

There's also original pomes in the journal archives.

April 2025

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