"Now from his breast into his eyes the ache
of longing mounted, and he wept at last,
his dear wife, clear and faithful, in his arms,
longed for as the sunwarmed earth is longed for by a swimmer
spent in rough water where his ship went down
under Poseidon's blows, gale winds and tons of sea.
Few men can keep alive through a big surf
to crawl, clotted with brine, on kindly beaches
in joy, in joy, knowing the abyss behind:
and so she too rejoiced, her gaze upon her husband,
her white arms round him pressed as though forever."
~ from, The Odyssey
Homer
translated by Robert Fitzgerald
My friend Leanne's lovely post on 楊貴妃 Yang Guifei has inspired me to re-read Tang poet Bai Juyi's The Song of Everlasting Sorrow (長恨歌), a poetic narrative of the mournful love story of Tang Emperor Hsuan Tzung 唐玄宗 (Xuanzong) and his beloved imperial consort Yang Yu-Huan 楊玉環 (Yang Guifei), and the emperor's perpetual grief and regret at the eventual loss of his love. Yang Guifei is known as 羞花 (xiu hua - literally meaning "shames flowers"), and considered first of the Four Great Beauties of China. 「西施沉魚, 昭君落雁, 貂嬋閉月, 貴妃羞花。」(Xi Shi sinks fish, Wang Zhaojun drops birds, Diaochan closes the moon, Yang Guifei shames flowers.)
In response to Leanne's beautiful post that I enjoyed reading so much, I wrote a rather long comment (see below, after the poem), which rarely happens even in my own blog! I included it here as I write so little these days - where has the writer in me gone...? (A writer friend used to say to me, "Did you choose to write? Or did writing choose you?") At the moment I suppose I am more of a "micro-blog" and visual/sensory type when it comes to recording my daily inspiration... Nevertheless, thank you, all the peonies of Chang'an...
太真外傳 (唱詞)
故事見唐白居易《長恨歌》。梅蘭芳在1925至1926年間根據《長生殿》傳奇改編為京劇，分為四本。自《入選》至《夢會》凡十餘折，蔚為大觀。此劇音樂由徐蘭沅、王少卿精心設計，創造了不少新的板式與唱腔並編配了許多京崑曲牌。
白居易〈長恨歌〉
{see two versions of the translation in English here & here}
漢皇重色思傾國，御宇多年求不得。
楊家有女初長成，養在深閏人未識。
天生麗質難自棄，一朝選在君王側。
回眸一笑百媚生，六宮粉黛無顏色。
春寒賜浴華清池，溫泉水滑洗凝脂；
待兒扶起嬌無力，始是新承恩澤時。
雲鬢花顏金步搖，芙蓉帳暖度春宵；
春宵苦短日高起，從此君王不早朝。
承歡侍宴無閑暇，春從春遊夜專夜。
後宮佳麗三千人，三千寵愛在一身。
金屋妝成嬌侍夜，玉樓宴罷醉和春。
姊妹弟兄皆列士，可憐光彩生門戶。
遂令天下父母心，不重生男重生女。
驪宮高處入青雲，仙樂風飄處處聞。
緩歌慢舞凝絲竹，盡日君王看不足。
漁陽鼙鼓動地來，驚破霓裳羽衣曲。
九重城闕煙塵生，千乘萬騎西南行。
翠華搖搖行復止，西出都門百餘里；
六軍不發無奈何？宛轉蛾眉馬前死。
花鈿委地無人收，翠翹金雀玉搔頭。
君王掩面救不得，回看血淚相和流。
黃埃散漫風蕭素，雲棧縈紆登劍閣。
峨嵋山下少人行，旌旗無光日色薄。
蜀江水碧蜀山青，聖主朝朝暮暮情。
行宮見月傷心色，夜雨聞鈴腸斷聲。
天旋地轉迥龍馭，到此躊躇不能去。
馬嵬坡下泥土中，不見玉顏空死處。
君臣相顧盡霑衣，東望都門信馬歸。
歸來池苑皆依舊，太液芙蓉未央柳；
芙蓉如面柳如眉，對此如何不淚垂？
春風桃李花開日，秋雨梧桐葉落時。
西宮南內多秋草，落葉滿階紅不掃。
梨園子弟白髮新，椒房阿監青娥老。
夕殿螢飛思悄然，孤燈挑盡未成眠。
遲遲鐘鼓初長夜，耿耿星河欲曙天。
鴛鴦瓦冷霜華重，翡翠衾寒誰與共？
悠悠生死別經年，魂魄不曾來入夢。
臨邛道士鴻都客，能以精誠致魂魄；
為感君王輾轉思，遂教方士殷勤覓。
排空馭氣奔如電，升天入地求之遍；
上窮碧落下黃泉，兩處茫茫皆不見。
忽聞海上有仙山，山在虛無縹緲間。
樓閣玲瓏五雲起，其中綽約多仙子。
中有一人字太真，雪膚花貌參差是。
金闕西廂叩玉扃，轉教小玉報雙成。
聞道漢家天子使，九華帳裡夢魂驚；
攬衣推枕起徘徊，珠箔銀屏迤邐開。
雲鬢半偏新睡覺，花冠不整下堂來。
風吹仙袂飄飄舉，猶似霓裳羽衣舞。
玉容寂寞淚闌干，梨花一枝春帶雨。
含情凝睇謝君王，一別音容兩渺茫。
昭陽殿裡恩愛絕，蓬萊宮中日月長。
回頭下望人寰處，不見長安見塵霧。
唯將舊物表深情，鈿合金釵寄將去。
釵留一股合一扇，釵擘黃金合分鈿。
但教心似金鈿堅，天上人間會相見。
臨別殷勤重寄詞，詞中有誓兩心知，
七月七日長生殿，夜半無人私語時：
在天願作比翼鳥，在地願為連理枝。
天長地久有時盡，此恨綿綿無絕期。
* * *
The story of Xuanzong and Guifei, as well as Bai Juyi's Song of Unending Sorrow, are said to have inspired the Japanese Heian literary gem - The Tale of Genji (源氏物語 Genji Monogatari).
* * *
(Here is my comment in response to Leanne's post on 楊貴妃...)
The preservation of Tang dances in Japanese court also interests me very much. In fact Dr. Liu Feng-Xue (founder and artistic director of Neo-Classic Dance Company 新古典舞團, and the first Chinese dance historian/ scholar/ artist/ choreographer to receive a PhD) devotes a large part of her career reconstructing ancient Chinese court music and dance, including getting special permission to study in the royal court of Japan and learning Labannotation from scratch to record the pieces etc. Neo-Classic is premiering Dr. Liu's new work in October, another reconstruction of ancient dance/music - I must be back in Taipei to attend!
I love Dr. Liu's works and have a special affection for Neo-Classic as that was where I learned ballet since 5! I mentioned these in a blog post 唐詩樂舞 Beauty of Tang: Music, Dance and Poetry. (A reader later introduced me to an amazing artist Elyse Ashe Lord. Perhaps you know her work already? If not I highly recommend checking out her paintings...!)
Another gem I adore, Han Tang Yuefu 漢唐樂府, might also interest you - I have almost all their DVDs and CDs. Such beauty... Sigh. I can listen to the music and watch the dances all day long.
I really enjoyed reading the English translations of the Chinese poetry, and must re-read these poems one of these days... I am a lover of Li Bai - when I was a kid it was a drag having to memorise and recite all these classics, but now I realise they do stay with me in my heart (not just poetry, philosophy as well), even though one can no longer recite them! It's fascinating to know that the story of 玄宗 and 楊貴妃 might have influenced 源氏物語, as people tend to associate Tale of Genji to Dream of the Red Mansion, I suppose. I remember when I went to a special exhibition at Kyoto National Museum, I stood in front of a large screen depicting The Tale of Genji, forever. I think I was trying to absorb as much of that quiet yet glorious beauty as I possibly could. A while ago there was a small (yet well-curated) exhibition of noh masks, costumes, manuscripts etc. in Tokyo - it was magical, with quiet gagaku playing in the background at that wonderful little gallery... I miss it.
And the Oedipus Complex (or the reverse) you hinted at the end of this article... How universal and yet how different it is between the East and the West. The stories you mentioned here, and the poems, give me a sense of 無奈, 悵然若失 (I can never seem to find the right words for these in English). These are similar emotions I felt after watching one of my favourite films "In the Mood for Love." A kind of tranquil/peaceful sadness, but perhaps even more heartrending...
I also posted Tamasaburo's Yokihi in my blog post Adieu ma concubine! We do share such similar interests. :) I will search for his Peony Pavilion on YouTube. Do you know Tamasaburo performed Peony Pavilion at the last Hong Kong Arts Festival? Shame I missed it...!! My love for kunqu is even deeper than Peking opera, and Peony Pavilion and Peach Blossom Fan are my favourite.
On a slightly different note, I went to see 北京當代芭蕾舞團 Beijing Dance Theatre's Golden Lotus (adapted from 金瓶梅) at the Hong Kong Arts Festival this year. The choreographer Wang Yuanyuan (王媛媛) also did the full-length ballet drama Raise the Red Lantern, with Zhang Yimou's direction & stage design. Ballet being one of my "core passions," her Raise the Red Lantern is the single best ballet I have ever seen, perhaps as it is very close to my heart (a combination of ballet and Chinese opera - what a dream for me!). Wang Yuanyuan is seriously talented.
Just would like to say again how much I love this post!
Ting-Jen xx
* * *
I will leave you here with a few lines of beautiful poetry exchanged between Genji and Fujitsubo, also from Leanne's post...
"Through the waving, dancing sleeves could you see a heart
So stormy that it wished but to be still?"
"Of waving Chinese sleeves I cannot speak.
Each step, each motion, touched me to the heart."
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