Since the Guangxuan era, notes on the poetic circle

Author: Wang Pijiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-03-01
Features: In the table of contents, Wu Gui would not meet Shuyibo Li Shaotang and Yu Shi. They were peers in the county exams and seniors in the Hanlin Academy, yet Wu and Li had never met. In the first year of the Tongzhi reign, Shuyibo was appointed to govern Jiangsu and (resided in Shanghai). There was a governor named Shanghua who was also a peer of Wu from the Jiachen year. The official asked, "Do you know Sun Qinxī and Yu Yinfu, two peers from Zhejiang?" He replied, "Yes." When asked where they were, he could not answer. At the time, Zhang Caining, the editor-in-chief, was traveling to Fujian and passed through Shanghai, also a peer of Wu from the Jiachen year. Shanghua learned that Wu was in Tianjin and informed the official. The official said, "If you write a letter, please convey my message first." Wu was moved by this, though he did not know how the official knew. In the fourth year of the Tongzhi reign, Wu finally met Li in Jinling. When asked why, the official said, "Xiangxiang informed me. After the 1880 imperial examination, I asked Xiangxiang if this year's candidates were outstanding. He mentioned your name, and thus we met. I have never forgotten it. Last year, I served as the supervisor of the Jiangnan provincial exam in Jinling and met Xiangxiang there. I still remember the poem you wrote during your re-examination." Wu sighed, "Even as unworthy as I am, I have not been abandoned by my teachers and friends to this extent. It is both touching and shameful." This is recorded in Wu's Spring in the Hall Notes. Chen Rui's Bi Bizi Collection of Poems and Lyrics says: "I often recall how Wang Pengshan, the governor, was once stationed in the area and later settled there in chaos. He wrote to me, enduring hardships together, and we exchanged poems in response. Zhu Guwwei replied in a couplet: 'The sky is vast with war flames, yet who says Pengpeng cannot settle? Intentions must be beyond suffering, and grief must still be in the early days of chaos. New friendships should be honored with wine, while old praises still linger in the well. The double rivers rush eastward at dusk, do not let worldly affairs damage your correspondence.' This, along with the earlier gift to Li Meichan, are outstanding. (Zhu Zumou's poem To Li Meichan says: 'Bones broken, heart shattered, tears also dry, the world treats it as trivial. Yet I hear your pen moves like thunder, and it is hard to drink wine. Who will remember your thoughts in history? Your retreat is inferior to the monk's. Seeking immortals and herbs is not in vain, hope you create great return in your songs.' The original poem by Pengshan reads: 'Returning the chariot through the nine bends of war, nesting in the wind and rain in a single dwelling. Wife and children are still a burden, and old friends meeting relieve my early worries. Who will share my twilight days? Where is my home in this life? My clan has not returned, the sound of footsteps is silent (referring to Wang Mengxiang). Breaking tears for your letter.' I replied in a couplet: 'To forget like a tortoise in the mud is better than living in the past. Though my form remains, I am no longer myself. The land is beautiful, but not as it once was. New sorrows in the refugee's house, old dreams in the memorial hall. There must be some way to pass the time, reading the Camel Book at the fence root.'" Xia Jingguan's Ninggu Lou Collection of Poems says: "Wang Shangshan, the governor of Zhongjiang, once published a volume of Poems on Jingshan and Tianmu. I had a copy on my shelf, but I don't know who took it, and it has not returned. On his trip to Tianmu, he first met an old student from Jingshan and then went there, staying for ten days, climbing almost all the peaks with a bamboo hat and wooden clogs, before walking to Tianmu. I have visited Tianmu three times and never stepped on Jingshan. At that time, the Jingshan Temple had been destroyed by bandits, and travelers were warned not to go. Su Dongpo's traces were only in Jingshan. I guess climbing Jingshan was easier in the Northern Song Dynasty than climbing Tianmu. Shangshan once told me, 'Jingshan is a smaller version of Tianmu. Yet bamboo and trees are abundant, though small and winding.' He also said, 'To climb mountains, one must have the means to reach the heights, and not be picky about lodging or food.' This is true. Now, many know of Tianmu on the road to Lin'an, but Jingshan is considered small and overlooked, and one may miss it. Shangshan also wrote Poems on Dengwei, which avoids simplicity in depicting scenes and is not crowded, making it superior. His Stone Cliff Hermitage (Part One), Viewing Song Cypress at the Viceroy's Temple (Part Two), Han Qi...