How to Read Chinese Poetry A Guided Anthology

174 t He tang Dy na s t y

joining (he) of the beginning and ending couplets are no doubt intended to create

the image of a cyclical, perpetual return that resonates with the everlasting cosmic

order.

v i s i o n s oF t h e u n i v e r s e a nD t h e s e lF

That the lüshi form represents a microcosm of yin-yang cosmology does not mean

that all lüshi poems project a grand cosmic vision. In fact, countless lüshi poems

are devoted to trivial subjects—although even the trivial gains significance when

presented in the lüshi form. Nonetheless, when it reached its apex of development

during the High Tang, the lüshi did become a prized vehicle for conveying grand

cosmic visions. In each of the three poems to be examined, we perceive a distinct

vision of the universe and the self.

C 8. 2

The Jiang and Han Rivers

By the Jiang and Han rivers broods a homeward traveler,

2 Between heaven and earth is one worthless scholar.

A lone cloud, and the sky (and I) join in being faraway,

4 A long night, and the moon (and I) share the loneliness.

The setting sun—yet I remain ambitious at heart,

6 The autumn wind—from illness I will recover.

From antiquity all the old horses that people kept,

8 Not always were chosen for long distances.

[QTS 7:230.2523]

江漢   (jiāng hàn)

Jiang Han brood homeward traveler    江漢思歸客 (jiāng hàn sī guī kè)

Qian Kun one worthless scholar   乾坤一腐儒 (qián kūn yì fŭ rú)

lone cloud sky together faraway  片雲天共遠  (piàn yún tiān gòng yuăn)

long night moon mutually lonely  永夜月同孤   (yŏng yè yuè tóng gū)

setting sun heart still ambitious    落日心猶壯    (luò rì xīn yóu zhuàng)

autumn wind illness is about recover     秋風病欲蘇 (qiū fēng bìng yù sū)

antiquity since keep old horse   古來存老馬  (gŭ lái cún lăo mă)

not necessarily chosen long distance 不必取長途    (bú bì qŭ cháng tú)

[Tonal pattern I, see p. 171]

This poem by Du Fu disproves the simplistic notion that poetry is a temporal art,

while painting is a spatial one. It lends itself to both a spatial and a temporal read-

ing. If we divide the poem into two columns along the vertical line separating the

disyllabic and trisyllabic segments, we may read it vertically, column by column.

Such a reading is spatial in the sense that it breaks up the line-by-line sequence

of normal reading to reveal two highly coherent clusters of images. One consists

of images of the universe, ranging from the “Qian Kun” (an alternative name for