孟郊诗
Poems of Meng Jiao
Index
罗氏花下奉招陈侍御
Lord Luo, beneath the flowers, is summoned to the court of Chen
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眼在枝上春 落地成埃尘 不是风流者 谁为攀折人 |
Eyes upon spring-covered branches. Falling to the ground. Turning to dust. He isn't one to go with the wind. Who is it that breaks men thus? |
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宁辞波浪阔 莫道往来频 拾紫岂宜晚 掇芳须及晨 |
How can he avoid these turbulent events? The way is blocked. He paces, frowning. Plucks a blossom. How can he arrive late? Gathers flowers. Should be there by morning. |
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劳收贾生泪 强起屈平身 花下本无俗 酒中别有神 |
Concentrates on gathering. Tears begin to fall. Strength rises. He pulls himself up. Beneath the flowers, nothing is ordinary now. A parting cup. His spirit, too, now special. |
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游蜂不饮故 戏蝶亦争新 万物尽如此 过时非所珍 |
Shallow men do not drink in the ancient. The undecided struggle with the new. All things come to this same end. Outmoded virtues no longer treasured. |
-- 孟郊
废话
There are classical Chinese poems which are impressionistic in a painterly way. They list what is seen, without drawing connections. And the sum of the visual impressions is like a picture. Meng Jiao is doing something different here. This poem is impressionistic. But it shows not only the objects in the world but also the external and internal motions of its subject, Lord Luo. Apart from the final moralistic verse, this poem is cinematic rather than painterly. More than cinematic, really, as we have Luo's thoughts as well as his actions. Perhaps cinematic with voice-over. I'm not aware of any other Tang or pre-Tang poet who has taken this movie-like approach. But then, what I know about Chinese poetry, measured against what can be known, is miniscule. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if this was unique to Meng Jiao.
The Chen dynasty (557-589) preceded the Sui which preceded the Tang. I can't identify Lord Luo. His story was obviously known to Tang scholars since Meng Jiao doesn't bother to elaborate on Luo or his summons.