孟郊诗
Poems of Meng Jiao
Index
听琴
Listening to the qin
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飒飒微雨收 翻翻橡叶鸣 月沉乱峰西 寥落三四星 |
Rush of heavy rain comes to an end and The sigh of oak leaves floats in the air. Moon sinks into a jumble of western peaks. Overhead, three or four scattered stars. |
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前溪忽调琴 隔林寒琤琤 闻弹正弄声 不敢枕上听 |
Down by the creek, suddenly a qin. Through the woods comes its cool jangling sound. I can tell he's just noodling around. Guess I'd better get up and listen. |
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回烛整头簪 漱泉立中庭 定步屐齿深 貌禅目冥冥 |
Light a candle. Pin up my hair. Douse my face. Stand in the clearing. Steeping firmly, my clogs sink in the mud. I must look like a monk in the dark like this. |
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微风吹衣襟 亦认宫徵声 学道三十年 未免忧死生 |
A gentle wind ruffles my clothes And I realize he's playing in fourths. I've studied qin myself for thirty years But his is truly the sound of pathos. |
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闻弹一夜中 会尽天地情 |
I listen to him play through the night. When it's over, the universe is full of love. |
-- 孟郊
废话
The setting seems to be out of doors. If Meng Jiao is living on the edge of town or out in the country, then 中庭 could be a courtyard and not a clearing. But you don't see the moon set and a few scattered stars in bed. I think he's out in the mountains where he lover to be.
The "playing in fourths" comes from 宫徵, the first and fourth notes of the Chinese scale.
At the middle of the second quatrain the poems turns unexpected. It's not about the qin as much as it's about Meng Jiao himself. This is the most personal poem in this way I have seen to date. The "I must look like a monk.." is more literally "Look really Zen..." keeping in mind that Zen is still Chan at this point and hasn't made it to Japan.
As a fellow lover of the wilderness (and one who takes along his stringed instrument), I note that if this is an out of doors poem, Meng Jiao must be in a little tent or under a little tarp, if he's lighting a candle. I still wish he'd catalog his mountain gear. But that's probably to much to hope for. All we get are hints.