27. A Banquet with Men of Letters at the Provincial Building in the Rain
A poem by Wei Yingwu, translated by Hyun Woo Kim
Guarded by soldiers, a forest of halberds;
At the place of the banquet, abides a fair fragrance.
Arrive the wind and rain from above the sea;
Strolling, the pavilion at the pond is cool.
The sickness of agony is gone soon, scattered;
Honored guests fill the hall again.
Shame on me, staying at an aloft spot,
That I have not seen such people in comfort.
Grasping the logos, what is right and wrong goes away;
My nature flowing through, forms and traces get forgotten.
It is the time when fresh, greasy meat is forbidden;
Fortunately, vegetables and fruits can be tasted.
Head down, have a glass of drink;
Head up, listen to the words of gold and jade.
My spirit rejoices and my body becomes light by itself;
My will shall ride on a wind to sore.
In Wu, literature and history are abundant;
The group of scholars are now a wide ocean.
I understand at last—in the land of a great region,
How could one say it is wealth and tax that is strong?
「 郡齋雨中與諸文士燕集」
兵衛森畫戟
宴寢凝淸香
海上風雨至
逍遙池閣涼
煩疴近消散
嘉賓復滿堂
自慚居處崇
未覩斯民康
理會是非遣
性達形跡忘
鮮肥屬時禁
蔬果幸見嘗
俯飮一杯酒
仰聆金玉章
神歡體自輕
意欲凌風翔
吳中盛文史
群彦今汪洋
方知大蕃地
豈曰財賦强
From Hyun Woo:
Wei Yingwu was the governor of Suzhou when he wrote today’s poem, a region traditionally called Wu. Though Suzhou is now the name of a city in Jiangsu province, Suzhou referred to a much larger province in Tang era. A record says that Wei Yingwu never took a seat before burning incense. I imagine that a banquet held by such a delicate man must have been prepared with the greatest care.
The first two lines of the poem above have been much praised in China, but I must confess that I do not understand what is so great about them. I guess it could be the musicality of their words or the contrast of two clashing images, “halberds” and “a fair fragrance”, but I am not so sure. Anyhow, Bai Juyi, one of the greatest Tang poets, loved those opening lines so much that he even ordered them to be carved on a rock.
Wei Yingwu’s depiction of the banquet with “men of letters” or “scholars” on a summer evening in the land rich with “literature and history”, where one could “listen to the words of gold and jade”, may sound a bit dull for us. However, I think merely a dull depiction of an enjoyable banquet might have been very touching for the contemporaries of Wei Yingwu. The banquet took place not long after the An Lushan Rebellion, a civil war that almost tore apart the empire. I am mentioning the An Lushan Rebellion almost every other week or so, but many Tang poets lived through it and were affected irreversibly by it. The banquet must have been profound in meaning for Wei Yingwu and his guests.
By the way, have you noticed the two lines in the middle of the poem that feel somewhat off, “Shame on me, staying at an aloft spot,/That I have not seen such people in comfort”? Within the framework of poetics, I believe erasing them will make the poem a better work, but Wei Yingwu must have wanted to include them. It is said that Wei Yingwu became a different man after the An Lushan Rebellion. A swordsman in his youth, it seems he lived the medieval Chinese version of a thug life. After the rebellion, however, he began to read. Later, he would become one of the most beloved governors of Suzhou, caring much for the people.
P.S. Classical Chinese poetry postcards for the paid subscribers are getting ready!
If you enjoyed my work, you can buy me a cup of tea. I am not a coffee person, by the way.
This seems to me such an apt illustration of the challenges inherent in translating an ideogram-based text into English--and translating poetry, no less.
Thank you Hyun Woo. Fascinating. Two questions.
Is "logos" the Greek?
Does "not seeing in comfort" mean the host is derelict in not seating his guests?
And I second the compliments on your explanation.