孟郊诗
Poems of Meng Jiao
Index
赠郑夫子鲂
For Teacher Zheng's Bream
|
天地入胸臆 吁嗟生风雷 文章得其微 物象由我裁 |
Heaven and Earth enter one's deepest feelings And one's sobs give birth to a tempest. One's writing should be so profound. Simple representation, I dismiss. |
|
宋玉逞大句 李白飞狂才 苟非圣贤心 孰与造化该 |
Boasting of the precious jewel in big words Was Li Bai's wild and crazy talent. But no room for frivolity in a sage's heart When the work should be a blessing. |
|
勉矣郑夫子 骊珠今始胎 |
This day the effort of Teacher Zheng has Given birth to a black dragon's pearl. |
-- 孟郊
废话
I would guess that this poem is in praise of a painting by Teacher Zheng. And the mention of blessing suggests that he is a Buddhist teacher. At least once before this, Meng Jiao has spoken deprecatingly of Li Bai. That he would do so in this poem could indicate that such an opinion was shared by Zheng. Perhaps it was even common. It could be that only after a long passage of time was Li Bai's work considered to be as fine as it is now assumed to be. It could be that for the Chinese, as for the West, he became the sentimental ideal of Chinese poetry.