I am willing to live in the Song Dynasty - Thirty-seven ways to read Song Ci

Author: Tang Xin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: Like Dreaming · Li Qingzhao, I often remember the evening by the brook, tipsy and unaware of the way back. When the fun was over, I returned by boat, accidentally entering the deep among the flowers. Striving to cross, striving to cross, startling a flock of egrets. Just like this Li Qingzhao's "Like Dreaming," it evokes memories. The scene of the poem is spreading, without the barrier of time. A thousand years later, we read the charm of an era again. Rowing in the deep among the flowers is beautiful, even more so with the intoxicating evening breeze. The oar sounds echo on the water, clear and distant. This is a great joy deep in the world. It is a poem of happiness hidden in tranquility. Li Qingzhao restores the illusion of an era, and above time, humanity ascends, and lotuses bloom. There are plenty of clichés in Song poetry. You will feel that many Song poems are mutually copied and imitated, or longing in the inner quarters, or melancholy by the long pavilion, with little novelty in both emotion and scenery. But Li Qingzhao's poems belong to her alone. There is nothing in this poem that says "words must shock the world or I will not stop," everything is natural and effortless. The poem is simple. Li Qingzhao, a pure and extraordinary person who seems unlikely to have any reputation issues. The female poet is extraordinarily talented yet aloof from the world, standing alone amidst the west wind and yellow flowers every day, neither seeking nor attracting trouble—what kind of reputation issues could she possibly encounter? It is this kind of question that touches upon the perilous and mysterious nature of reputation in life. — Yu Minhui on Li Qingzhao's "Shēng Shēng Màn" Hangzhou is a prosperous Song dynasty city that indulges in fleeting pleasures and treats aesthetic appreciation as the highest of life. Although it was destined to be destroyed, at its peak of prosperity, there was a poet who sang its praises—this was Liu Yong! — Bai Hu on Liu Yong's "Wàng Hǎi Cháo" The art of poetry lies in cadence, which is an extreme technique and should not be overused. If used too much, it becomes cheap, and artists are already cheap enough. Artists are the same kind of outcasts across different eras. — Che Qianzi on Ouyang Xiu's "Shēng Chá Zǐ" Li Qingzhao wrote this poem in her later years, perhaps having experienced a thousand springs. Every line she wrote is the scene before her eyes, every line is the chilling cold that seeps into the skin. What truly haunts is the rhetorical question at the end: "How can a single 'sorrow' word suffice?" The modern readers who read her poem are also infected by this helplessness that has existed since ancient times. — Zhai Yongming on Li Qingzhao's "Shēng Shēng Màn" If I had a choice, I would rather live in China's Song dynasty. — (British) Arnold Toynbee I long for the Song dynasty. — Yu Minhui This book collects over 100 appreciative essays on Song poetry by renowned authors such as Yu Minhui, Deng Lijun, Zhao Lin, Bai Hu, and Che Qianzi, featuring 37 authors and presenting 37 different ways to read Song poetry. Reading these insightful and original essays, we discover that Song poetry is no longer so exclusive, and appreciating it is not the privilege of scholars alone. In fact, Song poetry is life itself! Following the melodious verses of the Song dynasty poets, we return to that prosperous yet turbulent era. "Where shall I wake from the wine tonight? By the willow bank, with the morning wind and the fading moon," "Ten years of life and death, two realms of oblivion, unthought of, yet never forgotten," "I often remember the evening by the brook, tipsy and unaware of the way back." These lyrics make the splendor of the era appear before our eyes. Let us savor the feast of Chinese poetry history and explore that passionate and rational dynasty together! This book collects over 100 appreciative essays on Song poetry by renowned authors such as Yu Minhui, Deng Lijun, Zhao Lin, Bai Hu, and Che Qianzi, featuring 37 authors and presenting 37 different ways to read Song poetry. Reading these insightful and original essays, we discover that Song poetry is no longer so exclusive, and appreciating it is not the privilege of scholars alone. In fact, Song poetry is life itself! Following the melodious verses of the Song dynasty poets, we return to that prosperous yet turbulent era. "Where shall I wake from the wine tonight? By the willow bank, with the morning wind and the fading moon," "Ten years of life and death, two realms of oblivion, unthought of, yet never forgotten," "I often remember the evening by the brook, tipsy and unaware of the way back." These lyrics make the splendor of the era appear before our eyes. Let us savor the feast of Chinese poetry history and explore that passionate and rational dynasty together!