|
This fan-calligraphy is of a poem
that was originally written
when I left Shaoyang back in 1999. Now I'm back, and standing
by the pavilion, this seems a fitting place to mark my
return.
Calligraphy, as always, by
Zhang Songqing
Podcast:
Listen to the poem in
Chinese
(you may need to
enable active x/allow pop-ups)
or download
here
Poems of leaving
In a country as vast as China,
a mission to the provinces could well mean that your goodbye to
friends and family was final.
Well-wishers would accompany the traveller well into the journey
before taking their leave.
Parting became a common theme for poetry: and no traveller would be
sent on his way without a banquet and a few parting words.
Willow branches would be snapped to symbolise the parting, the name
for willow (liu) sounding the same as stay (liu).
The willows which grew along the royal moat in Changan and Beijing
were said to have many bare branches.
|
Sent to Justin on a Rainy Night
each monsoon
day
hastens your
departure
many cups of
clear wine
sharpen the
sense of loss
remember
Shuangqing Park
when we heard
the Buddha speak
in Peach Cave
the
foot-bells still echo
we drank tea
and poured wine
lost count of
the times we were drunk
facing the
winds together
the sky was
full of stars
when the rain
stops
our missing
wont
we’ll still
see you standing
at the
pavilion by the river
Guo
Qin
See Guo Qin reciting
her poem at
YouTube
Onto the first piece from Shaoyang
|
