Love Poems by Lu You and Tang Yuan

This is a follow-up to the last post regarding the poignant love story of Song poet Lu You (陸游). I’ve given my attempted English rendition to Lu’s poem 釵頭鳳:紅酥手, which he wrote on a wall inside the Shen Garden during his chance encounter with his ex-wife Tang Yuan (唐婉), as well as to Tang’s reply poem 釵頭鳳:世情惡 .

At the Shen Garden (沈園) accidental encounter, Tang Yuan, with her husband’s permission, had some food and wine sent over to her ex-husband Lu You as a courtesy (presumably they were at different spots inside the big mansion). Her gesture got Lu all sentimental, and the lovelorn poet improvised his poem on a wall, which Tang later set her sight on, and she wrote her own reply there.

【釵頭鳳】紅酥手 南宋 • 陸游
 

紅酥手，黃藤酒，滿城春色宮牆柳。
東風惡，歡情薄，一懷愁緒，幾年離索。
錯！錯！錯！
 

春如舊，人空瘦，淚痕浥紅鮫綃透。
桃花落，閒池閣，山盟雖在，錦書難托。
莫！莫！莫！

My English Rendition (Title: Phoenix Hairpin by Lu You):-

Tasty pork, golden wine, spring came amidst willows draped over walls.

Wicked custom, short-lived joy, leaves a pining heart, and lonely years befall.

Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

Spring comes and goes, as I waste away; my tears have soaked many a handkerchief.

Peach blossoms fall, by the lonely pond, our vows intact, yet we can’t connect.

Lost! Lost! Lost!  

【釵頭鳳】世情惡 南宋 • 唐婉
 

世情薄，人情惡，雨送黃昏花易落。
曉風乾，淚痕殘，欲箋心事，獨倚斜欄。
難！難！難！
 

人成各，今非昨，病魂常似鞦韆索。
角聲寒，夜闌珊，怕人詢問，咽淚裝歡。
瞞！瞞！瞞！

My English Rendition (Title: Phoenix Hairpin by Tang Yuan):-

A pitiless world, hard-hearted people, the evening rain beats petals down.

Morning wind dries, not the tears, I want to write, but can only lean on the fence.

Tough! Tough! Tough!

We parted ways, yesteryears gone, the ghost of sickness haunts like a hanging rope.

The horn is chilling, the night is long, shunning questions, I dry my tears and feign joy.

Hide! Hide! Hide!

A Yuan Qu Aria and a Song Poem

Recently I came across two Chinese poems that I became immediately smitten with. One is a Yuan qu (aria) (元曲) by Ma Zhiyuan (馬志遠), called “Sky and Clear Sand: Autumnal Thoughts” (天淨沙: 秋思), and the other is a Song seven-character quatrain by Southern Song poet Lu You (陸游), called “Revisiting Shen Garden, One of Two” (再遊沈園, 二首之一).

Ma Zhiyuan was born in war-torn Southern Song dynasty and was a Yuan dynasty court official by profession. He was also a well-known Yuan drama (雜劇) and aria (散曲) writer and was honored with being named one of the four great masters of Yuan aria writers (元曲四大家之一).

天淨沙·秋思• 馬致遠 (“Sky and Clear Sand: Autumnal Thoughts”) by Ma Zhiyuan
 

枯藤老樹昏鴉，
小橋流水人家，
古道西風瘦馬。
夕陽西下，
斷腸人在天涯。
 

My English Rendition:

Withered vines, old trees, frail crows;
Dainty bridge, running stream, folks' homes.
Beaten path, west wind, gaunt horse;
Waning sun sets in the west;
Heartbroken man on sky's edge.

Most Chinese poetry lovers would find the name Lu You (陸游) very familiar. Until recently, I only knew him to be one of the greatest poetry and lyrics writers of the Southern Song dynasty. I’ve lately stumbled upon a poignant love story of that dynasty, in which he, and ironically, his ex-wife, were the two doomed lovers. This love story spells the background for the poem that Lu wrote forty-three years after his chancing upon his beloved ex-wife at Shen Garden (poem introduced below).

The Shen Garden chance meeting, which had taken place a few years after their forced separation, had prompted him to write her a riveting poem called “釵頭鳳:紅酥手” to express his undying love for her and his powerlessness in face of rigid customs. Upon receipt of that poem, she had replied her ex-husband with an equally heart-rending poem. Shortly after that chance meeting and exchange of poems, she had died from heartbreak.

The tragic love story started out as a happy union in marriage between a great young poet (Lu You) and a beautiful and intelligent lady of great literary talent called Tang Yuan (唐婉). The twenty-year old Lu was deeply in love with Tang and the two shared a happy life. But marital bliss was short-lived. Lu’s mother was far from appreciative of her new daughter-in-law and began finding faults with her. The wicked woman found a way to forcing her son and his wife to live in separate living quarters. But Lu still tried to make contact with his wife stealthily. Not long thereafter though, Lu’s mother found out about their secretive rendezvous and demanded that her son divorce Tang to marry another. Pressured by traditions and his filial duty, Lu succumbed to his mother’s wishes. Tang also remarried a little later. The year when Lu was thirty-one, he encountered Tang and her husband by chance at Shen Garden.    

再游沈園, 二首 之一, • 陸游 (Revisiting Shen Garden, One of Two, by Lu You)

採得黄花作枕囊，
曲屏深幌泌幽香。
喚回四十三年夢，
燈暗無人說斷腸。
 

My English Rendition:

Having picked some yellow mums to pillow my head,
Behind the screen and curtains, there wafted a luring scent.
Recalling a dream forty-three years back,
In the faint light, no one to share my self-torment.

The fact that Lu still couldn’t let go of Tang in his thoughts at the senile age of seventy-five says something about his love for Tang. Perhaps “one life, one love” would be a truly apt description here.

A Satirical and Sensible French Song

I just can’t stop. I’ve found another French song that I like very much. This one is by Zazie and has witty and poetic lyrics set in satire. This song is a powerful wakeup call to all mankind who are the ultimate Earth Destroyer. I’m inclined to think that it’s human greed that drives an incurable addiction to wasteful consumption, which causes steady destruction of the Earth. In the end, greed will destroy humankind – in a vicious circle.

Link to the song:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05fRI9CkL7k&feature=my_favorites&list=FLlMBDFYTe8MGL_Z6TJc6LOg 

Je Suis Un Homme (French Lyrics):

Je suis un homme de Cro-Magnon
Je suis un singe ou un poisson
Sur la terre en toute saison
Moi je tourne en rond, je tourne en rond

Je suis un seul puis des millions
Je suis un homme au coeur de lion
A la guerre en toute saison
Moi je tourne en rond, je tourne en rond

Je suis un homme plein d’ambition
Belle voiture et belle maison
Dans la chambre ou dans la salon
Moi je tourne en rond, je tourne en rond

Je fais l’amour et la revolution
Je fais le tour de la question
J’avance, avance a reculons
Et je tourne en rond, je tourne en rond

Tu vois, j’suis pas un homme
Je suis le roi de l’illusion
Au fond, qu’on me pardonne
Je suis le roi, le roi des cons

Je fais le monde a ma facon
Coule dans l’or et le beton
Corps en cage, coeur en prison
Moi je tourne en rond, je tourne en rond

Assis devant ma television
Je suis de l’homme, la negation
Pur produit de consommation
Oui, mon compte est bon, mon compte est bon

Tu vois, j’suis pas un homme
Je suis le roi de l’illusion
Au fond, qu’on me pardonne
Je suis le roi, le roi des cons

C’est moi, le maitre du feu
Le maitre du jeu
Le maitre du monde
Et vois ce que j’en ai fait
Une terre glacee, une terre brulee
La terre des hommes que
Les hommes abandonnent

Je suis un homme au pied du mur
Comme une erreur de la nature
Sur la terre sans d’autres raisons
Moi je tourne en rond, je tourne en rond

Je suis un homme mais je mesure
Toute l’horreur de ma nature
Pour ma peine, ma punition
Moi je tourne en rond, je tourne en rond

Je suis un homme mais je mesure
Toute l’horreur de ma nature
Pour ma peine, ma punition
Moi je tourne en rond, je tourne en rond

Moi je tourne en rond, je tourne en rond

My English Rendition of the Lyrics of “Je Suis Un Homme” (“I am a Man”):

I am a man, of prehistoric times
I am a monkey, or a fish
On the earth in all times
Me, I go round in circles, go round in circles

I am one, but then of a million
I am a man, with the heart of a lion
Going to war all the time
Me, I go round in circles, go round in circles

I am a man, full of ambition
Beautiful car, and beautiful house
In the bedroom or in the parlor
Me, I go round in circles, go round in circles

I make love, and revolution
I ponder over and over on a question
I go forward, forward to be backward
And I go round in circles, go round in circles

You see, I’m not a man
I am the King of Illusion
Basically, if you’ll pardon me
I am the king, the King of Idiots

I fashion the world in my own way
Cast in gold and in concrete
Body in a cage, heart in a prison
Me, I go round in circles, go round in circles

Seated in front of my television
I am a man, of passivity
Pure product of consumption
Yes, I’m good at counting, good at counting

You see, I’m not a man
I am the King of Illusion
Basically, if you’ll pardon me
I am the king, the King of Idiots

It is me, the Master of Fire
The Master of Games
The Master of the World
And look what I’ve done to it
An earth frozen up, an earth burnt down
The earth of men that
Men have abandoned

I am a man at the end of my rope
Like an error that nature has made
On the earth without any other reasons
Me, I go round in circles, go round in circles

I am a man but I take count
Of all the horror of my nature
For my penalty, my punishment
Me, I go round in circles, go round in circles

I am a man but I take count
Of all the horror of my nature
For my penalty, my punishment
Me, I go round in circles, go round in circles

Me, I go round in circles, go round in circles

Who Has the Right?

I came across this French song “Qui a Le Droit” quite some time ago, and, apart from being moved by the angelic Soprano voice of the young Jean-Baptiste Maunier, I thought the lyrics were hauntingly inspirational. As a way to brush up my French, I’ve given the lyrics my English rendition.

Here’s the link to the multi-artist performance on Youtube (the other singers being Bruel, Zazie, Boulay, Corneille and Garou):-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23_1DQGaMo0&feature=my_favorites&list=FLlMBDFYTe8MGL_Z6TJc6LOg

Qui a Le Droit (French Lyrics)

On m'avait dit :
‘Ne pose pas trop de question,
Tu sais, petit, c'est la vie qui t'répond.
A quoi ca sert de vouloir tout savoir?
Regardes en l'air et vois ce que tu veux voir’

On m'avait dit:
‘Faut écouter son père’
Le mien a rien dit quand il s'est fait la paire
Maman m'a dit: ‘Tu es trop petit pour comprendre’
Et j'ai grandi avec une place à prendre

Qui a le droit
Qui a le droit
Qui a le droit de faire ca
A un enfant qui croit vraiment
C'que disent les grands
On passe sa vie à dire merci
Merci à qui? à quoi?
A faire la pluie et le beau temps
Pour des enfants à qui l'on ment

On m'avait dit:
‘Les hommes sont tous pareils’
Y'a plusieurs dieus mais y'a qu'un seul soleil"
Oui mais le soleil il brille ou bien il brule
Tu meurs de soif ou bien tu bois des bulles

A toi aussi j'suis sur qu'on t'en a dit
De belles histoires. Tu parle, que des conneries
Alors maintenant on se trouve sur la route
Avec nos peurs nos angoisses et nos doutes

Qui a le droit
Qui a le droit
Qui a le droit d'faire ca
A des enfants qui croient vraiment ce que disent les grands
On passe sa vie a dire merci
Merci à qui? à quoi?
A faire la pluie et le beau temps
Pour des enfants à qui l'on ment

My English Rendition of the Lyrics of “Who Has the Right?” :

Someone had told me

“Do not ask too many questions,

You know, little one, it’s life that answers you.

What’s the point in wanting to know everything?

Look into the air and see what you want to see.”

Someone had told me

“One should listen to one’s father.”

Mine said nothing to me when he philandered.

My mother said, “You are too young to understand,”

And I’ve grown up, with an empty place at my side.

Who has the right

Who has the right

Who has the right to do that

To a child who really believes

Anything that the grown-ups say.

He goes through life saying thankyou

Thankyou to whom, for what?

For creating the rain and fine weather for the children?

To whom one tells lies?

Someone had told me

“Men are all the same,

There may be several gods, but there’s only one sun.”

Yes, but the sun, it either glares or else it burns,

Either you die of thirst, or you drink the bubbles.

To you too, I’m sure, one has told

Beautiful stories. You say: what a farce!

Well now we are on the road again,

With all our fears, our anguish and our doubts.

Who has the right

Who has the right

Who has the right to do that

To a child who really believes

Anything that the grown-ups say.

He goes through life saying thankyou

Thankyou to whom, for what?

For creating the rain and fine weather for the children?

To whom one tells lies?

A Lovely French Song

Thanks to Mister Bijou, I've been alerted to a lovely French song sung by Zaz, a popular French singer. This song not only has a pleasing melody, but also has beautifully poetic lyrics. I've tried to give an English rendition of the lyrics. Hopefully the poetic element is not all lost in translation!

La Pluie  (By Zaz) French Lyrics :-

 

Le ciel est gris la pluie s'invite comme par surprise
Elle est chez nous et comme un rite qui nous enlise
Les parapluies s'ouvrent en cadence
Comme une danse,
Les gouttes tombent en abondance
Sur douce France.

Tombe tombe tombe la pluie
En ce jour de dimanche de décembre
à l'ombre des parapluies
Les passants se pressent se pressent sans attendre

On l'aime parfois elle hausse la voix elle nous bouscule
Elle ne donne plus de ses nouvelles en canicule
Puis elle revient comme un besoin par affection
Et elle nous chante sa grande chanson
L'inondation

Tombe tombe tombe la pluie
En ce jour de dimanche de décembre,
à l'ombre des parapluies
Les passants se pressent se pressent sans attendre

Tombe tombe tombe la pluie
En ce jour de dimanche de décembre
à l'ombre des parapluies
Les passants se pressent se pressent sans attendre

Et tombe et tombe et tombe, tombe
Et tombe et tombe et tombe...

 

My English Rendition of the Lyrics :-

 

The sky is grey, the rain invites herself as if by chance
She’s in our home, and consumes us like in a rite
Umbrellas open up in rhythm as in a dance
Raindrops fall in abundance
Over gentle France

Fall, fall, fall the rain
On this day a Sunday in December
In the shade of umbrellas
Passers-by hurry, hurry, without delay

One loves her when she shouts, pushing us around
She gives nothing more than news of a heat wave
Then she comes back as if in need of affection
And she sings us her great song
Of inundation

Fall, fall, fall the rain
On this day a Sunday in December
In the shade of umbrellas
Passers-by hurry, hurry, without delay

Fall, fall, fall the rain
On this day a Sunday in December
In the shade of umbrellas
Passers-by hurry, hurry, without delay

And fall, and fall, and fall, fall…
And fall, and fall, and fall

Caixin Media Interview 財新媒體專訪

Here's the link to the interview text titled "潘慧娴：香港被地产商操控背离市场经济":-

http://special.caixin.com/2012-04-28/100383246.html

Voltaire's Fight Against Dogma

Voltaire was a French national hero who was among those whose thoughts blazed a trail for the world-impacting French Revolution and for developing philosophical ideas for the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, especially that relating to freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." This famous quote has often been wrongly attributed to the much revered French Enlightenment philosopher and writer Voltaire. The quotation is actually found in Evelyn Beatrice Hall's (pen name: S. G. Tallentyre) 1906 biographical work "The Friends of Voltaire". It is believed that she paraphrased one of Voltaire's maxims: "Think for yourself, and let others enjoy the privilege of doing so too."

From Voltaire's first major philosophical work "A Treatise on Tolerance" (1763) to his saying when he was 83 (in what he believed were his final hours) "I die adoring God, loving my friends, not hating my enemies, and detesting superstition", one cannot but be awed at this intellectual's capacity for liberal thinking despite the dogmatist society that he lived in, his magnanimity and his empathic virtue. His free spirit and love of mankind never ceased to touch the French people as well as other peoples in the world.

In writing "A Treatise on Tolerance", Voltaire revealed a terrible story of gross injustice and subsequently, through his tireless campaigning, managed to exonerate the victim, albeit posthumously.

In Voltaire's times, France was a strictly Catholic nation and Protestantism was viewed as sacrilegious. On occasions, religious fanatics were able to lash unjust and totally groundless accusations against people whose only fault was that they didn't share Catholic beliefs. The Jean Calas case was one such occasion.

On October 13, 1761, Jean Calas' eldest son Marc Antoine was found hanged in Jean's textile shop in Toulouse. Hysteria erupted among the Roman Catholic populace and Jean was arrested and charged with having murdered his son to prevent him from or punish him for converting to Catholicism. He was found guilty by the local magistrates and sentenced to death "on the wheel" on March 9, 1762. The next day the sentence was carried out and Jean Calas died a torturous death by being first broken on the wheel and then strangled and burned to ashes. The body of Marc Antoine was buried as a martyr to the Catholic faith.

Voltaire learned about the case and started to use his influence to campaign for overturning the verdict which he and others found to be prejudiced by religion fanaticism. As a result, a 50-judge panel was appointed to review the case and on March 9, 1765, the verdict was reversed. The government also paid the family an indemnity. The Calas affair greatly strengthened the movement for criminal law reform and religious tolerance in France, although the reforms were not instituted until the 1780s.

We may all be, to some degree, dogmatist. It's easy to clutch at those thoughts and beliefs that we feel cosy about and familiar with, including those superstitions and customs that our ancestors pass down to us. The older we get, the more we tend to believe in our own infallibility and to reject outright others' rational opinions. Perhaps we can apply checks to our presumptuousness by keeping an open mind, engaging proactively in social discussions, reading uninhibitedly and exercising our power of critical thinking at all times. More importantly, as civilized human beings, while thinking for ourselves, we must "let others enjoy the privilege of doing so too".

Having said that, in the face of any repressive government machine trying to trample on press freedom and freedom of speech, which in fact is an exhibition of a kind of dogma, I am all for speaking up against and fighting relentlessly such an uncivilized attempt.

The French learned their lessons about dogma three centuries ago and they were lucky to have people like Voltaire and other great philosophers and writers as pioneers of civil society. The contemporary French education system has continually nurtured intellectuals and writers to become great politicians. Throughout the twentieth century, there was an easy blend between politics, education and culture, which reinforced the prestige of the cultural figures. Under the Third and Fourth Republics, culture was managed at state level through the Ministere de l'Education Nationale et des Beaux-Arts, which produced a republican leadership that included literary and artistic figures.

Two recent shining examples were George Pompidou and Andre Malraux. The former studied literature at the Ecole Normale Superieure and taught in the secondary school system before becoming, first de Gaulle's Prime Minister in the 1960s, and then his successor as Head of State in 1969. The latter, one of France's foremost novelists of the interwar years, became a leading Gaullist politician and then in 1959, Minister of Culture.

Hong Kongers have much to learn from the French.