How to say good-bye to a congenial friend in 巨流河

Reading the stories of the scientists over the years, I have noticed most of the successful scientists in the same field seemed to work together one time or another.  I always said the secret of getting a Nobel Prize in science is to work with or under a Nobel laureate.

Less obvious though it may be, this phenomenon was also observed among men or women of letters in the literary world.

In 巨流河 we read a story of Professor Pang-yuan Chi’s (齊邦媛) visiting her college classmate, 魯巧珍, who was then terminally ill.  魯巧珍 recited a poem by Tu-Fu (杜甫).  It was so relevant, poignant and perfect.  I cannot help but think Tu-Fu (杜甫) wrote this poem specifically for this sad occasion. (The following is the excerpt from 洄瀾.)

齊邦媛來到了魯巧珍的病床前，淚不能止。魯巧珍從枕頭底下摸出一張紙，上面寫一個著杜甫的千古名篇 贈衛八處士 隆重朗誦 “人生不相見，動如參與商。共此燈燭光。少壯能幾時，鬢髮各已蒼。訪舊半為鬼，驚呼熱中腸。。。。明日隔山岳，世事兩茫茫。” 這種唐詩迎友，訣別的儀式，亦幻，亦真。

Never had I ever read a scene of saying good-bye to a dying friend so poignant, so penetrating; I cannot recall any such a scene in Shakespeare’s plays that can rival it.

Recall this recitation was from 魯巧珍, not from 齊邦媛; it tells me that the people with whom 齊邦媛 is associated is so congenial to her, in terms of education, cultural and intellectual sophistication.

Poetic justice (詩的真理) in 巨流河 and by Winston Churchill

I was at loss to understand what 齊邦媛 meant when she wrote “詩的真理” in 巨流河; she made an effort trying to explain what she meant in 洄瀾 and also mentioned it is “poetic justice”, a phrase that caught my attention a while ago; I even wrote two posts about it.

Poetic justice is a literary device, I think, more in fiction than in poem, in which ultimately good character/virtue is rewarded and bad guy/vice punished, as is often seen in many good novels that this happens by an ironic twist of fate, often related to the character’s own action.

What Churchill wrote about the bombing of German cities is an excellent example of “poetic justice”.

“Churchill on the bombing of German cities: poetic justice”

http://doctorjytsai.blogspot.com/2015/02/churchill-on-bombing-of-german-cities.html

Churchill also used “poetic justice” in describing an event of German bombing in Stalingrad on 8/23/1942; during which a German pilot was hit and parachuted into a blaze that was caused by his bombing.

“One German pilot, after his aircraft was hit, . . managed to bale out, but when the parachute opened, he drifted straight down into a blaze.  Those citizens of Stalingrad who saw his end were so shocked by the onslaught that even the satisfaction of poetic justice was beyond them.”

During an interview by an Mainland China newspaper:  She was asked she used “詩的真理"（the poetic justice) 寫他們，下筆時如此悲傷，卻也如此愉悅。詩的真理，這應該怎麼理解？”

齊邦媛 responded,

“詩的真理，我倒是做了一點研究。亞里斯多德說，一個人的倒楣，不幸，通常只能令人感覺到難過，可是你不會引起大的憐憫和恐懼。因為大的憐憫和恐懼, 後面還要有更深刻的意義才行。比如莎士比亞戲劇裡面的哈姆雷特，奧賽羅，只是一個可怕的死亡，可是它成這樣的結局是有原因的，是一步一步走來的，這些走來的路都是合理的，都是必然的。有性格的，命運的，家庭的，不能違背的規律，好像命運一樣。所以就像你讀詩一樣，在詩的最後，你知道它還是有一個意見，可是那個意見是有很多醖釀的因素。它必然的結局就是我們所說的終極真理，這個真理也可稱為詩的真理。我無法用簡單的敍述説明我那個複雜的時代，所以我一定盼望有詩的真理.”

But, this is still not exactly how I understand “poetic justice”. My guess is that the people in her book lived their lives in time of turmoil, like a leaf in the turbulent current of a mighty river, inexorable and irresistible; she was hoping that they will eventually be rewarded or punished at the end of the day according to what they did, thus poetic justice (詩的真理).

芍藥花 in “巨流河”: The exuberant, beautiful and sad peony

We do have to read books about a good book; it enhances our understanding of the original book.  Without knowing what is “芍藥花”, it touched me less when I read “那瓣瓣晶瑩的芍藥花卻永遠是我故鄉之花” in “巨流河” by 齊邦媛.

In “洄瀾” I was surprised to learn that 芍藥花” is peony, the noble, tender and exuberant flower that has graced my blog many times.  This also proves the point I was never tired of preaching: One can only love that which one understands.  Once I know what is “芍藥花”, I was blown away by what 齊邦媛 wrote about it.

“巨流河” is basically her memoir that was written with a literary flavor.  I was sold completely after reading it as she was well versed in western (English/American) literature.  I also picked up some Chinese literature of which I have missed so many and so much.

In an article in “洄瀾” by 張德明 who mentioned a book (poems by Percy Shelley) given to him by 齊邦媛, in which she wrote an inscription, “with fond memories of the peony flowers that came with my book.”  The book was apparently permeated by peony perfume.

The following is a poem by 劉禹錫 (Liu Yuxi, Tang Dynasty 772-842). 

賞牡丹 (Peony Admiration)

庭前芍藥妖無格﹐池上芙蕖淨少情。

唯有牡丹真國色﹐花開時節動京城。

庭院中的芍藥花雖豔麗，但格調不高，池面上的荷花雖明淨，但缺少熱情. 

只有牡丹花才是真正的國色（最美的花)，當它開花的時候,盛況轟動了整個京城！

Peony inside our garden

In an article (晚開的芍藥花) in “洄瀾” by 鐘麗慧, who quoted a story of how 芍藥花 always gave 齊邦媛 a beautiful and sad memory, it is the same token that we (at least I) always enjoy the beautiful and sad music”.  張德明 wrote “芍藥花有一個頗為悲傷的別名：將離”.  It is time to stop, lest I would cry.

“在我母親哀切幽咽的哭聲中, 我就去摘一大把花帶回家，祖母説是芍藥花. 我長大後每次見到芍藥花，總似聽到母親那哀傷壓抑的哭聲。它大片的，有些透明，看似脆弱的花瓣，有一種高貴的嬌美，與旁邊的各種野花都不一樣；它在我日後一生中，代表人生許多蔓延的，永不凋謝的，美與悲傷的意象。歌聲中的故鄉 鐡石芍藥的故鄉 許多年來，我到處留意芍藥花，卻很少看到。那瓣瓣晶瑩的芍藥花卻永遠是我故鄉之花.”

Peony in our front yard

Good titles of the good books: 巨流河 and 洄瀾

It is very kind of Mei-Yu and Cheng to introduce and lend me the book of  “巨流河” by 齊邦媛, and the book of “洄瀾”, edited by 齊邦媛. “巨流河” is a very good title for her memoir reflecting the eventful and at times turbulent time, in which she lived her life.  “洄瀾” is the critique, comments, interviews and letters to the author in response to “巨流河”; the name of  洄瀾, goes along with 巨流河 well and  has an artistic flourish.

Many famous western novels or movies tend to use the names of a person or a location as the title of the novels/movies; this was almost unheard in Chinese literature.

The movie of Rebecca is 蝴蝶夢.  Casablanca is 北非䜓影, which, I think, is not appropriate, which doesn’t truly reflect what the movie is.

There are numerous examples such as Lolita, Shane, Ben-Hur, Jane Eyre, John Christopher, Ulysses, Anna Karenina, Emma, Moby-Dick, Patton, and Doctor Zhivago.

Many places are used as the title, even the imaginative, such as Middlemarch.  We see Winesburg, Ohio, Nashville, and The Philadelphia Story.

巨流河 by 齊邦媛: a literary work

Knowing what I like to read, Mei-Yu and Cheng are very kind to let me borrow their book of 巨流河 written by Pang-yuan Chi (齊邦媛), the first Chinese book I ever read since I came to the States in 1971.

I am very impressed; if there were many Chinese books like this published in the last 50 years, then I don’t know how much or how many I have missed.

Throughout the book, I can see 齊邦媛 is well versed in both Chinese and English/American literature.  At the end of the chapter of the end of WWII, she uses Walt Whitman’s “O Captain! My Captain” poem beautifully; I cannot think of any better poem for this occasion: the mourning of the war (WWII), the leader (FDR’s death) and the death of her then “boyfriend”, 張大飛, a pilot in the “Flying Tiger (飛虎隊)” of General Chennault (陳納德).

The following is the excerpt from her book,

四個月之內， 羅斯福逝世， 陳納德解職， 張大飛戰死。 這一埸戰爭帶著無數人的憾恨落幕，惠特曼（啊，船長！ 我的船長） 那強而有力的詩句, 隔著太平洋呼應所有人對戦爭劰悲悼：

O Captain! My Captain! Our fearful trip is done;

啊 船長！ 我的船長！ 可怕的航程已抵達終點;

The ship has weather’d every rack,

我們的船渡過每一場風暴,

The prize we sought is won;

追求的勝利已經贏得;

The port is near. The bells I hear, the people all exulting,

港口近了， 聽啊那鐘聲， 人們歡欣鼓舞，

While follow eyes the steady keel / the vessel grim and daring;

所有的眼睛跟著我們的船平穏前進 / 它如此莊嚴和勇敢;

But O heart! heart! heart!

可是， 啊， 痛心！痛心！痛心！

O the bleeding drop of red,

啊， 鮮紅的血滴落,

Where on the deck my Captain lies,

我的船長在甲板上躺下,

Fallen cold and dead

𣲙冷並且死亡。

This is no less poignant and touching than the lines of Longfellow used by FDR and Churchill.

At the end of his “Give us the tools” speech (Feb. 9, 1941, about 10 months before the Pearl Harbor attack), Churchill said (the speech ends with “Give us the tools, and we will finish the job.”)

“The other day, President Roosevelt gave his opponent in the late Presidential Election a letter of introduction to me, and in it he wrote out a verse, in his own handwriting, from Longfellow, which he said, applies to your people as it does to us.  Here is the verse:

. . . Sail on, O Ship of State!

Sail on, O Union, strong and great!

Humanity with all its fears,

With all the hopes of future years,

Is hanging breathless on thy fate!

Churchill again mentioned it on his eulogy in the House of Commons when his comrade-in-arms, FDR, died.

If you understand how Lincoln perceived himself as the instrument of God to save the Union, it wouldn’t surprise you to learn that these same lines moved Lincoln to tears.