The Poetics of Sovereignty
Page 41
含吹織空羅。
The poem is a courtly treatment of rain that, as Hellmut Wilhelm and
David Knechtges have pointed out, contains several striking turns of
phrase, including the “mountain bellies” ( lingfu 嶺腹) and “treading
sideways” ( xiezu 斜足) in the second couplet.53 However, in violation of
the usual yongwu convention of not revealing the poem’s topic in the
body of the poem, Taizong uses the character “rain” in the second line.
The poem opens with an image of thick clouds rising up from faraway
mountains. The word zhao 罩 commonly means “to cover” or “envelop,”
but it also can refer to a “fish-basket,” anticipating the use of luo 羅, or
“bird-net,” in the last line. The comparison of natural phenomena to hu-
man artifacts is a common conceit in yongwu poetry, as it troubles the dis-
tinction between the natural and the artificial, and perhaps more impor-
tantly, calls attention to the imposition of human consciousness in a
realm usually indifferent to human concerns. From the clouds covering
the distant mountains, the poet suddenly shifts to the rain already falling
on the long river, the line of vision moving from above to below as if fol-
lowing the path of the falling rain. The antithesis of the distant moun-
tains and the long river is likely borrowed from the “Rhapsody on Part-
ing” 別賦 by the Liang poet Jiang Yan, which has the following couplet:
“Resentment upon resentment at the bend of the distant mountains, /
Departing on and on from the banks of the long river” 怨復怨兮遠山
曲，去復去兮長河湄.54 In Jiang Yan’s rhapsody, those left behind voice
their bitterness at the distant mountains that mark the horizon’s limit,
while their eyes measure the distance the traveler must cover by following
the seemingly endless river. In Taizong’s poem, the antithesis suggests the
shortness of the interval between the forming rain clouds above the
mountains and the sputtering rain that seems to skim the river surface.
—————
53. Wilhelm and Knechtges, “T’ang T’ai-tsung’s Poetry,” p. 4.
54. Wen xuan, 16.753. Knechtges translates the couplet as follows: “They complain and complain again of the twisting turns of the distant hills, / Where he must travel on and on along the banks of an endless stream.” In Wen xuan, or Selections of Refined Literature, vol. 3, p. 207.
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The Significance of Court Poetry
231
The first couplet’s movement from high to low is reversed in the second
couplet. The poet now sees the low misting of the rain that darkens the
rounded hills of the lower mountain slopes (the “mountain bellies”), and
then his eyes follow the topographic contours upwards, seeing the rain as
it “treads” up the slope. If the poet’s eye is fixated on the distant effects of
the rain in the second couplet, he now notices the soaked thickets and
surging currents much closer to his person. The exquisite details of the
pearl-like beads of water and the mirror-like surface of the ripples con-
tinue the conceit of the poet’s craftsman-like observations, seeing signs of
human artifice emerge within the domain of nature. This line of thought
reaches its culmination in the last couplet, where the woven net of misty
rain, willow-fronds, and captured wind appear suspended in the empty air.
What is Taizong doing, besides proving his mastery of court poetry? As
with “On the Bow,” there is no particular underlying message in this first
poem on rain, no allegorical meaning by which the surface charm of the
yongwu poem can be redeemed. By contrast, in his second poem, Taizong
attaches a moral sentiment that alters the entire meaning of the poem:
On Rain 詠雨55
Temperate airs blow through the green wilds,
和氣吹綠野，
“Apricot rain” showers the fragrant fields.
梅雨灑芳田。56
New rivulets add to the earlier moisture,
新流添舊潤，
Last night’s fog becomes this dawn’s mists.
宿霧足朝煙。
Geese are drenched, flying out of formation,
雁溼行無次，
Flowers are soaked, coloration even more vivid.
花霑色更鮮。
Facing this, I rejoice at a year of plenty,
對此欣登歲，
I open my lapels and play the five-stringed zither.
披襟弄五弦。
Once again, Taizong violates the taboo on naming the topic of the yong-
wu poem, in precisely the same place in the poem. The diction is also simi-
lar, with certain words ( chui 吹, sha 灑, tian 添, zu 足) repeated. The tone of the poem, however, is utterly changed. Whereas, the poet in the
first poem tracked the approach of the rainstorm, his shifting line of sight
—————
55. In Chuxue ji, 2.26; Wenyuan yinghua, 153.713b; and Tang Taizong quanji jiaozhu, pp. 78–
79.
56. “Apricot rain” refers to the lengthy rainy season of the early summer in the Jiangnan region, during which time the apricots ripen.
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The Significance of Court Poetry
matching the dynamism of the scene, the poet presents a calmer, stiller
scene in the second poem.
The poem opens with the early summer period of “apricot rain,” when
warm breezes blow on verdant lands and steady rainfall brings flora to
ripeness. The calm of the scene is reinforced by the sense of continuity in
the “new rivulets” adding to the already present moisture and the fog of
the night before merging with the mists of the present morning. Taizong
looks up to notice how the rain causes the geese to fly out of formation
and then down to see how the wet flowers seem even more vibrant. How-
ever, Taizong’s treatment of the summer rain does not stay with this aes-
thetic moment. In the last couplet, he alters the poem’s perspective, replac-
ing the impersonal consciousness of the yongwu poet with that of the
imperial poet. When Taizong steps back from the scene, he transforms
what had been a poem on the lush Jiangnan landscape into a celebration of
the auspicious harvest that surely will follow. Even the closing image of lei-
sure in the last line, with the open labels and the zither, speaks less of aristo-
cratic indulgence than of the sovereign’s well-deserved respite, having first
made sure that his people will have had enough to eat in the year to come.
A similar preoccupation with imperial themes is heard in the following
poem on wind:
On Wind 詠風57
Desolately it arises among the border passes,
蕭條起關塞，
Wafting and winnowing over Peng and Ying.
搖颺下蓬瀛。58
Brushing the groves: colors of flowers in disarray,
拂林花亂彩，
Echoing in the valley: sounds of birds are distinct.
響谷鳥分聲。
Spreading out the clouds: gauzy shadows disperse,
披雲羅影散，
Skimming over the waters: loom patterns are born.
汎水織文生。
I feel impelled to sing “The Great Wind” song,
勞歌大風曲，
As my might covers the Four Seas with peace.
威加四海清。59
—————
57. See Chuxue ji, 1.19; Wenyuan yinghua, 156.733; Quan Tang shi, 1.11; and Tang Taizong quanji jiaozhu, pp. 61–62.
58. “Peng” is the mythical island mountain Penglai 蓬萊; “Ying” refers to Yingzhou
瀛洲. Both were said to be located in Bo Sea, east of the Chinese mainland.
59. For texts, see Wenyuan yinghua, 173.840a–40b; Quan Tang shi, 1.10; Tang Taizong quanji jiaozhu, pp. 55–56.
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The Significance of Court Poetry
233
Poems on wind can escape neither the semantic echoes of the term as used
in the Classic of Poetry (the “Airs” section) nor the intertextual memory of the “Rhapsody on Wind,” attributed to Song Yu. Here, however, the allusion is clearly to the song “The Great Wind” by Han Gaozu, a composi-
tion that speaks both of the sovereign’s might and his ambivalence to-
wards the sovereign role. This is not the first time Taizong makes
reference to the Han founder’s composition. In the poem, “On Visiting
Qingshan Palace at Wugong,” Taizong reperformed the role of Han Gao-
zu in returning to the place of his birth. Both in that poem and here, Tai-
zong’s identification with the Han founder serves the purpose of erasing
from historical memory his own father, the actual founder of the Tang,
and claiming for himself alone the mantle of dynastic founder.
Taizong on Snow
Let us now return to the poetic genealogy of snow, with a poem by Taizong
that technically belongs to the related subgenre of “delighting in” ( xi 喜).
The poem reads:
Delighting in the Snow 喜雪60
The blue sky darkens as dawn is enfolded by fog,
碧昏朝合霧，
The red sun retires as darkness sheathes rosy vapors.
丹卷暝韜霞。
Forming on leaves, making profuse the color of clouds,
結葉繁雲色，
Congealing into jade, all over the snowflakes fall.
凝瓊遍雪華。
Gleaming on towers: lustrous white, just like powder,
光樓皎若粉，
Half-hiding the screen, accumulating as if sand.
映幕集疑沙。
Like drifting willow floss the flying blossoms float,
泛柳飛飛絮，61
—————
60. For texts, see Wenyuan yinghua, 173.840a–40b; Quan Tang shi, 1.10; Tang Taizong quanji jiaozhu, pp. 55–56. See also the discussion of this poem, along with Xu Jingzong’s matching poem, in Schafer, “An Early T’ang ‘Court Poem’ on Snow.”
61. The comparison of snow to “drifting willow floss” alludes to a well-known anecdote in the Shishuo xinyu 世說新語 ( Recent Anecdotes and the Talk of the Age). Xie An 謝安
(320–85) was outside discussing the principles of literature with his nephew Xie Lang 謝
朗 and his niece Xie Daoyun 謝道蘊 when it suddenly started snowing. Xie An then
quickly began a game of sequential verse composition with the line, “The white snow flies in thick profusion, what is it like?” 白雪紛紛何所似. His nephew said, “Scattering salt in
the air—it almost resembles this” 撒鹽空中差可擬. Xie Daoyun then said, “But more
like willow floss, rising with the wind” 未若柳絮因風起. At this, Xie An laughed loudly
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The Significance of Court Poetry
Or like “plum makeup” the flower petals flutter.
妝梅片片花。62
[rhyme:
麻 ma]
The shining jade bi is a full moon above the terrace,
照璧臺圓月，
Whirling pearls are piercing dew through drapes.
飄珠箔穿露。
The jasper is immaculate, on the short and long steps,
瑤潔短長階，
And the jade clustered, from the tops to bottoms of trees. 玉叢高下樹。
It shines on the wutong, whose “batons” are heaped
映桐圭累白，63
with
white,
And swirls around the peaks, like lotuses wrapped in
縈峯蓮抱素。
purity.
Starting and stopping, the weather about to grow heavy, 斷續氣將沉，
As if hesitating or lingering, the year nears its end.
徘徊歲云暮。
[rhyme: 暮 muoH]
Embracing treasure: I am ashamed by hidden virtue,
懷珍愧隱德，
Manifesting fortune: I expect a year of abundance.
表瑞佇豐年。64
From among the flowers, it flies to the Imperial Park,
蕊間飛禁苑，
From the cranes’ roost, it dances towards Yi Stream.
鶴處舞伊川。
—————
and was pleased. See Liu Yiqing 劉義慶 (403–44), comp., Shishuo xinyu jiaojian, 2.71.113–
14.
62. “Plum makeup” is an allusion to the Princess of Shouyang 壽陽, a daughter of Song
Wudi 宋武帝 (r. 420–22; Liu Yu 劉裕, 363–422), who fell asleep beneath a plum tree and
woke with a stain or print from a plum blossom on her forehead. This became a fashion trend, much imitated by later people. The story is related twice in Taiping yulan (30.140a, 970.4299a), with attributions to different sources. Also see Frankel, “The Plum Tree in Chinese Poetry,” p. 97.
63. This is an allusion to Zhou King Cheng 周成王 (r. 1042/35–1006 bc), who enfeoffed
Shuyu 叔虞 with a wutong leaf cut into the shape of a jade baton as a joke, but was forced to honor his jest when Scribe Yi 史佚 said, “The Son of Heaven should not make jokes.
When he speaks, the scribe writes it down, the rites complete it, and music is used to sing it” 天子無戲言。言則史書之，禮成之，樂歌之. See Shi ji, 39.1635.
64. Taizong’s expectation of a good harvest alludes to the lesser ode “The Southern Mountains Extend Far” 信南山 (Poem 210). The Mao commentary reads: “The winter prior to
a year of abundance will always have an accumulation of snow” 豐年之冬必有積雪. See
Mao Shi zhengyi, 13.2.202c, in Shisanjing zhushu, p. 470. This is echoed in Xie Huilian’s
“Rhapsody on Snow”: “If [the snow lies] a full foot deep, then it augurs a blessing regarding a year of abundance” 盈尺則呈瑞於豐年. In Wen xuan, 13.592.
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The Significance of Court Poetry
235
If I were to chant the “Hidden Thoroughwort” song,
倘詠幽蘭曲，65
Together we will enjoy the “Yellow Bamboo” piece.
同歡黃竹篇。66
[rhyme:
先 san]
The poem, in twenty-two lines, may be read as two yongwu poems of eight
lines each, appended by a coda of six lines that provides a comment on the
description of the snow scene; this stanzaic division is further underlined
by the rhyme scheme, which introduces new rhymes after the eighth and
sixteenth lines. In the opening st
anza, the poem moves from the clouding-
over of the day to the arrival of the snow that blankets the palace-scape.
Taizong describes the way in which the snow on the leaves seemingly re-
flects the white clouds above and how the snow congeals as though made
of white jade. The palace towers above gleam with the white powder,
while the screens that shield the emperor from wind are speckled as if by
sand. Taizong then makes the conventional comparison between the
drifting snow and flowers tossed by the wind. In the second section, Tai-
zong describes how the snow has filled in the bi 璧 ornament above the
terrace, making it appear as a full moon. Again, he returns to the image of
the snow covering the palace, comparing it to jasper and jade. The baton
in Bao Zhao’s poem reappears here, as an allusion to the wutong leaf that
King Cheng of the Zhou dynasty once gave in jest to Shuyu. Then, in the
—————
65. Wenyuan yinghua omits the characters yong you lan 詠幽蘭. The “Hidden Thoroughwort” 幽蘭 is a song title paired with “White Snow” in both the “Satiric Rhapsody” 諷賦, attributed to Song Yu, and the “Rhapsody on the Beauteous Woman” 美人賦 by Sima
Xiangru. For Song Yu’s rhapsody, see Sun Zhu 孫洙 (1032–80), comp., Guwen yuan 古文
苑, in Yingyin Wenyuange Siku quanshu, vol. 1332, pp. 588–89; and Quan Shangu Sandai wen 全上古三代文, 10.2b–3a, in Quan Shanggu Sandai Qin Han Sanguo Liuchao wen, pp. 72b–
73a. For Sima Xiangru, see Guwen yuan, in Wenyuange Siku quanshu, vol. 1332, pp. 596–97; and Quan Han wen 全漢文, 22.1a–1b, in Quan Shanggu Sandai Qin Han Sanguo Liuchao wen, p. 245a. Bao Zhao also composed a set of five poems with the same title. See Xian Qin Han Wei Jin Nanbeichao shi, p. 1271.
66. “Yellow Bamboo” 黃竹 refers to a poem sung by King Mu of Zhou 周穆王 (956-918 bc)
during a snowstorm to express his sorrow over his subjects. This poem is located in the fifth chapter of Mu Tianzi zhuan, which is now regarded as a Jin interpolation. See Mathieu, Le Mu tianzi zhuan, p. 115–116. Gu Shi omits the fifth and sixth chapters in his edition, but it can be found in the Sibu beiyao 四部備要 edition of the text; see Guo Pu, annot., Mu Tianzi zhuan, 5.4b–5a. Also see Taiping yulan, 592.2667a; and Xian Qin Han Wei Jin Nanbeichao shi, p. 64.