再談酒仙李白 （Poet Li Po, the god of wine revisited)

Will Durant 寫李白跟杜甫時，很多跟俊雄兄所說的 overlap (this is a compliment to Will Durant, not to Charles, Durant 不懂中文沒辨法了解中國古典詩之美，but he knows enough to know what he should talk about). 記得 Mei-Yu and Charles 曾討論過李白的「將進酒」which may be the next post.

Durant wrote Li Po “consoled himself with wine, and became one of the Six Idlers of the Bamboo Grove,” who took life without haste, and let their songs and poems earn their uncertain bread. Hearing the wine of Niauchung highly commended, Li set out at once for that city, three hundred miles away.”

(我的中文翻譯）

李白借酒消愁），變成了竹林六賢之一 [不過有人說是竹林七賢，那一個對?] 消遙過日），靠賣詩詞為生，有時三餐不繼。有一次他聽到南昌 (?)的酒很有名，他馬上趕去300 浬外的南昌。

In his wondering he [Li Po] met Tu Fu, who was to be his rival for China’s poetic crown; they exchanged lyrics, went hand in hand like brothers, and slept under the same coverlet until fame divided them.  Everybody loved them, for they were as harmless as saints, and spoke with the same pride and friendliness to paupers and kings.  Finally they entered Chang-An; and the jolly minister Ho loved Li’s poetry so well that he sold gold ornaments to buy him drinks.  Tu Fu describes him:

(我的中文翻譯）

李白雲遊四方時碰到了杜甫；他們兩人是爭中國桂冠詩人的對手。他們交換詩句，手牽手，睡同一棉被稱兄道弟。後來功成名就，同行相忌而分手。眾人都很喜歡這兩位詩仙，対皇帝或乞丐都同等待遇，一樣的友善或自豪。他們終於來到了長安。何大臣非常喜歡李白的詩，賣了金飾請李白喝酒。下面是杜甫描述李白：

As for Li Po, give him a jugful,

He will write one hundred poems.

He dozes in a wine-shop

On a city-street of Chang-An;

And though his Sovereign calls,

He will not board the Imperial barge.

“Please, your majesty,” says he,

“I am a god of wine.”

李白斗酒詩百篇，

長安市上酒家眠，

天子呼來不上船，

自稱臣是酒中仙。

（剛剛收到 Charles 送來的 email, 正好可以解釋上面杜甫的詩)

Charles just sent the following email, in which he expresses his sincere sympathy to those who cannot indulge wines. He also lamented that Lin Yutang's failure to be a Nobel laureate in literature is due to the fact that Lin never got benefits of wine, which might further enhance his creativity and put him in a more sublime mood. 道美與我都已經收到了 Charles 的 「sympathy card」。有個朋友說他有次喝太多酒，他太太打他㡬個嘴巴也不醒，還要上急診室，下次應學李白的様，叫人給你潑一桶冷水。

Lin was nominated to Nobel prize twice, but Nobel laureates tend to be novelists or poets and that is not his strength, even though his Moment in Peking did ear high claim.

(Charles 送來的 email)

昨天晚上重讀了林語堂的一篇文章「飲酒」。他説他是不飲酒的，原因是他喝一點酒就會昏昏沉沉、東倒西歪。可是他說他不能跳過這一個題目，因為他知道酒對中國的文化貢獻很大，有助於人類的創造力。他了解一個人喝酒後那一種半醉半醒的境界，掦掦得意的表情，使他非常羡慕，可見他對自己的不能喝酒，感觉到遗憾萬千。

我讀了那篇文章後，我很同情林語堂，同時也同情我不能喝酒或不能多喝酒的朋友，更對那些不喝酒的朋友惋惜，因為他們沒享受過喝了酒後，那種飃飃欲仙，像處於人間天堂的感覺。杜甫寫李白的一首詩：「李白斗酒詩百篇，長安市上酒家眠，天子呼來不上船，自稱臣是酒中仙」。李白在長安市酒舫喝了一斗酒，就寫出了一百首詩，醉了就在那𥚃睡了一埸長覺，皇帝派人来要李白進宮做官，但李白拒不上船，他認為我是酒中仙人，我怎能夠受到委屈，替皇帝做事？這正是林語堂說的，喝醉了酒後，會揚掦得意，天不怕地也不怕，你皇帝是老幾？

Beauty of Chinese poems: 唐玄宗, 楊貴妃, 李白, 酒仙

I have read Will Durant’s The Story of Civilization for nearly forty years; in fact, I have collected ten of its eleven volumes.  Its first volume is “Our Oriental Heritage” from which I learnt some of Chinese history, literature and culture.

(Unfortunately one needs to have some command of Chinese to appreciate this post).

華清宮, 荔枝, Empress Leeche  (email sent by Charles on 7/4/2016)

唐玄宗深深寵愛楊貴妃，是大家都知道的歷史故事，公元747年，玄宗在長安之東驪山之下，把舊時的「溫泉宮」大幅修建改名為「華清宮」，裡面有好幾座貴妃常常賜浴「待𠒇扶起嬌無力」（白居易長恨歌）的「華清池」，豪華奢侈、富麗堂皇，驪山下溫泉洶湧，冬天溫暖，是唐玄宗與楊貴妃長期避寒之地。史上詩人騷客，描述唐玄宗、楊貴妃、在華清宮醉生夢死、恣情享樂的詩詞文章，不勝枚舉，譬如、李白的「清平調」：「雲雨巫山枉斷腸」，白居易的「長恨歌」：「在天願作比翼鳥，在地願為連理枝，天長地久有時盡，此恨綿綿無限期」，我想每一個人都是熟悉的。

晚唐詩人杜牧（803-852） 有一次從東部往西行，過潼關要去長安，経過華清宮時，遠望驪山上華麗行宮、庭台樓閣，深有所感，寫下了這首有名的詩，「過華清宮」：

「長安回望繡成推，山頂千門次第開，一騎紅塵妃子笑，無人知是荔枝來。」

語譯：詩人杜牧騎馬或坐馬車去長安的途上，経過華清宮時，他回頭看到華清宮周圍，一片片的花蕞就像一推推刺繡般的美麗，他想像到以前每年夏天，幾位騎士，從長安直奔華清宮，紅塵滿道，驪山頂上堂皇行宮的門，一片片的開了，楊貴妃看到騎士們來了非常高興，大大的笑了，沒有人知道他們是專送荔枝來的。

楊貴妃袓藉巴蜀（四川），産荔枝，貴妃特喜荔枝，進宮後，每年夏天荔枝成熟時，有專差從巴蜀置騎數千里，送新鮮的荔枝到華清宮，譲差官累死，許多驛馬倒斃在路上，真是勞民傷財.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

(The above is the email sent by Charles on the July 4^th of 2016, re-reading it inspires me to write this post.)

上面是 Charles 于2016 年的 July 4th 傳來的。 當時 Charles 從 Florida 千里專送荔枝來時， 我們也像貴妃一樣,「一騎紅塵妃子笑」的。

Will Durant 提到李白的另一首詩不知你們這些詩人有沒有提到 （我的FileMaker 裡找不到, except Charles 有稍為提到 「雲雨巫山枉斷腸」）。有次唐玄宗在 the Pavilion of Aloes (阿房宮？）辦個牡丹國宴 （royal Feast of the Peonies； 叫人去請李白來作詩讚美楊貴妃。李白到時醉茫茫的不能作詩 （too drunk for poetry); 宮廷侍侯人員往他臉上潑了一桶冷水，他才開始呤詩 （Durant wrote “and soon the poet burst into song”, 根據美玉教授以前的敎材, 這清平調是詞，是用來唱的。I think Will Durant got it right here.）

The glory of trailing clouds is in her garments,

And the radiance of a flower on her face.

O heavenly apparition, found only far above

On the top of the Mountain of Many Jewels,

Or in the fairy Palace of Crystal when the moon is up!

Yes I see her here in the earth’s garden —

The spring wind softly sweeps the balustrade,

And the dew-drops glisten thickly . . .

Vanquished are endless longings of love

Borne into the heart on the winds of spring.

我猜 Will Durant 是在說李白的清平調詞三首，不是非常忠實的翻譯， 但意思是在說貴妃比花嬌，但是有人讀出來李白暗藏諷刺，貴妃就不高興，譲玄宗也起懷疑、給李白一些錢把他打發掉了。（And yet the Lady Yang was persuaded that the poet had subtly satirized her; and from that moment she bred suspicion of him in the heart of the King.  He presented Li Po with a purse, and let him go.

《清平調詞三首》

雲想衣裳花相容，春風拂檻露華濃。

若非群玉山頭見，會向瑤台月下逢。

一枝穠豔露凝香，雲雨巫山枉斷腸。

借問漢宮誰得似，可憐飛燕倚新妝。

名花傾國兩相歡，長得君王帶笑看。

解釋春風無限恨，沉香亭北倚闌乾。

李白從此又再跑江湖了，只能再借酒澆愁 （Once again the poet took to the open road, and consoled himself with wine.) 他加入了 「飲中八仙」，這些八仙喝酒的故事傳遍長安 （He joined those “Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup” whose drinking were the talk of Chang-An.)

The roles the body organs play in Chinese and Western literature

Mei-Yu and Charles showed me some examples of the beautiful exaggeration in Chinese literature and that stirred my interest in writing this post.

Bone

没有骨氣 is the same as “spineless”, referring to someone who has no moral character.

Bones are often used to refer to soldiers perished in battle in Chinese and Western literature alike.  It is fitting to read the line of “And those that leave their valiant bones in France” (in Act 4 Scene 3 of Shakespeare’s Henry V) on D-Day.

隴西行 陳陶

誓掃匈奴不顧身，五千貂錦喪胡塵。

可憐無定河邊骨，猶是春閨夢裡人。

 (So sad/pitiful is that the bones scattered along the River Wu-Ding are still the Prince Charming in the dream of a fair lady in her romantic bed chamber.)

一將功成萬骨枯 (for one general to achieve fame, ten thousand skeletons must lie exposed.)

天將降大任於斯人也，必先苦其心志，勞其筋骨 (If Heaven wants to assign great hard work to one, it will put utmost stress and burden to one’s body and mind.)

Heart

Dr. William Harvey was the one first described correctly the heart and circulation not even 400 years ago; that is why most of the uses of 心 are not correct physiologically, such as  用心, 小心, 細心,  粗心大意 , 勞心, 傷心 all of these are function of the brain. 

感時花濺淚，恨別鳥驚心 (by 杜甫), which is about 1,000 years before Harvey discovered the heart being the center of circulation.

We even throw in a liver (肝) to the heart (心), when call someone lacking conscience,  沒心肝.   Combination of heart and liver is at times of importance, you are my 心肝寶貝 (you’re my heart’s  

desire), not 心寶貝.

I never know it is 心花怒放 or 心發怒放, but I know it is exalted, burst with joy, rapture or even ecstasy.

I don’t know when or how heart and love are associated; the heart shape must have come from the shape of the “heart”.

When one has a heavy heart, one does feel heavy in the area one’s heart is located.

Teeth

咬牙切齒 is “gnashing one’s teeth”, displaying extreme anger.

Upon taking the duty of the prime minister, Churchill said, “I received in so full a measure from my colleagues the authority necessary to give a unified direction. . . This was accomplished in teeth of the air attacks.”  In teeth of the air attack is in defiance of the London Blitz, taking it as it came. London can take it.

Bile

“Having bile” (有膽量) in Chinese means “courageous”.  We got it wrong as far as the bile function is concerned.  When we eat fat, bile is released and that is the first step of fat digestion, which is mechanical, not yet chemical; no enzymes involved yet.

So scared that one “ruptures the gall bladder” (驚得破膽) is really scared to death.

Combined use of two organs makes a good emphasis

Combined use of two organs makes a good emphasis, examples abound, the likes of  心驚膽顫 (frightening, fearful, nerve-racking, scared), 心惊肉跳 (palpitation due to anxiety and fear; trepidation in face of danger), 赤膽忠心 (wholehearted loyalty).

肝膽相照 is showing the deepest sincerity and candor to each other. It is a good idiom considering the interrelationship between the liver (肝) and the gall bladder (膽) anatomically and functionally.

Shakespeare also didn’t get it right when he wrote in The Comedy of Errors,

“Lest it make you choleric”.  Chole is bile in Latin; choleric means hot-tempered, irascible or easily irritable.

Spleen

East and West got the spleen (脾) wrong in the same way.

We say “發脾氣” (exasperated, got upset), and that is exactly the way Charles Dickens and Shakespeare interpreted the function of the spleen (脾).

In a letter to Maria Beadell (his first love), Charles Dickens wrote,

“I shall be the mark at which all the anger and spleen will be directed--and I shall take it very quietly, for whatever she may say I shall positively decline to enter into any further controversy with her.”

Shakespeare, in Julius Caesar uses the spleen to describe Cassius' irritable nature.

Must I observe you? must I stand and crouch

 Under your testy humour? By the gods

 You shall digest the venom of your spleen,

Brain

“ 絞盡腦汁 用腦筋 洗腦” are, I am sure, relatively modern as they got the physiology right.

Kidney

The traditional Chinese medicine says 腎虧 is impotency; kidney (腎) is of course, innocent to get this blame.

Stomach, intestine or bowel

Charles said “historically, food is a paramount necessity since ancient China 民以食為天” thus we see, not surprisingly, many literary use of the digestive organs.  Napoleon also said, “An army marches on its stomach”, though.

When England stood alone in facing the mighty Nazi Germany, Churchill wrote like a Chinese, obsessed with their digestive tract (stomach and bowel), “But this mortal danger to our life-lines gnawed my bowels.”

Chinese do have many terms and idioms related to the digestive tract: 胃口大開, 開胃, and 笑破肚皮 are just a few examples.  Then again Chinese may not be the only one obsessed with their digestive tract.

We read in a D.H. Lawrence’s letter, “. . . but my stomach, my stomach, it has a bad habit of turning a complete somersault when it finds itself in the wrong element, like a dolphin in the air.”

The Saint Crispin’s Day speech by Henry V before the Battle of Agincourt is the best “pep talk” to rally the troop; we heard,

That he which hath no stomach to this fight,

Let him depart. His passport shall be made,

While the Armada was still off the coasts of England Queen Elizabeth I reviewed the army at Tilbury and addressed them; the followings are among the stirring words we heard,

“I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, . . .”

It was said the literary use of our organ systems reflects our understanding of physiology at the time when the use began.  I myself am not too convinced that was the case; otherwise we got more physiology wrong than the western literary world.  Cheng [our friend] said Chinese are more imaginative and romantic whereas the western literature is more realistic.

Su Tungpo had a penchant of using “斷腸” (“ruptured intestines”) describes extreme sadness or sorrow

臨江仙（送王緘）

忘卻成都來十載，因君未免思量。憑將清淚洒江陽。故山知好在，孤客自悲涼。

坐上別愁君未見，歸來欲斷無腸。殷勤且更盡離觴。此身如傳舍，何處是吾鄉。

臨江仙

冬夜夜寒冰合井，畫堂明月侵幃。青缸明滅照悲啼。青缸挑欲盡，粉淚還垂。

未盡一尊先掩淚，歌聲半帶清悲。情聲兩盡莫相違。欲知腸斷處，樑上暗塵飛

鷓鴣天

笑捻紅梅翠翹。揚州十裡最嬌饒。夜來綺席親曾見，撮得精神滴滴嬌。

嬌後眼，舞時腰。劉郎幾度欲魂消。明朝酒醒知何處，腸斷雲間紫玉簫。

浣溪沙

縹緲紅妝照淺溪。薄雲疏雨不成泥。送君何處古台西。

廢沼夜來秋水滿，茂林深處晚鶯啼。行人腸斷草淒迷。

天仙子

走馬探花花發末。人與化工俱不易。千回來繞百回看，蜂作婢。鶯為使。谷雨清明空屈指。

白發盧郎情未已。一夜翦刀收玉蕊。尊前還對斷腸紅，人有淚。花無意。明日酒醒應滿地。

We also read 「雲雨巫山枉斷腸」in 李白的「清平調」

The movie “D-Day the Sixth of June” is “六月六日斷腸時”.

柔腸寸斷 depicts the deepest sorrow that is almost unbearable.  Charles said “ 斷腸比傷心更傷心”, I couldn’t agree more.

Even Lin Yutang (who is 滿肚子學問) wrote,

“A thinker's writing consists of borrowings from idea in his own intestines, and the greater thinker a man is, the more he depends on his own intestinal juice.”

vein

I never figure out why “vein”, instead of “artery”, is used in western literary language.

When John Adams went to London as the American Ambassador.  Knowing his ancestors were from England, the British asked about his British ancestors, Adams responded saying his father was an American, his grandfather was an American and “I have not one drop of blood in my veins but what is American.”

Churchill once wrote his encounter with the wife of Ribbentrop before the war broke out.

“At one time I came in contact with Frau von Ribbentrop, and in valedictory vein I said, ‘I hope England and Germany will preserve their friendship.’ ‘Be careful you don't spoil it,’ was her graceful rejoinder.”

Shakespeare’s knowledge of physiology

In Shakespeare’s time, it was believed that human nature was governed by four fluids called ‘humours’: blood (sanguine), black bile (melancholy), yellow bile (choleric), and phlegm (phlegmatic).  Out of balance among these humours are responsible for the change of temperament (complexion).

sanguine 
Sanguineus in Latin is blood, thus sanguine complexion is having a healthy, red color; it is naturally cheerful or hopeful. The 30-year War of Roses were actually the Civil War of England fought between the two branches of the same family (House of York and House of Lancaster) between 1455 and 1485. In the Temple Garden scene of Shakespeare’s Henry VI, the contending factions pluck red (Lancaster) and white (York) rose to choose side. Shakespeare might be the one to blame to link the exquisitely beautiful rose to the war.

Basset to King, of the red rose of Lancaster:
Crossing the sea from England into France,
This fellow here, with envious carping tongue,
Saying the sanguine color of the leaves.
                Part 1 Henry VI Act 4 Scene 1

melancholy 
Melanos in Latin is black, thus melancholic is ‘black bile’, which is due to higher bilirubin concentration, leading to gloomy mood, ill-temper or sullenness for sure. King John to Hubert: if that surly spirit, melancholy, / Had baked thy blood.

phlegmatic 
Phlegm in Latin means sputum, cold and moist, phlegm is supposed to cause sluggishness; thus phlegmatic means sluggish bordered on indifference. We read “I beseech you be not so phlegmatic. Hear the truth of it” in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

In The Riverside Shakespeare, it was explained that Shakespeare’s use of ‘phlegmatic’ here is a blunder, he meant to use ‘choleric’ (angry).  Shakespeare might have mixed up with the physiology of his days!

choleric (this was mentioned above)

buttock (屁股)

There is no better organ than buttock (屁股)—at the end of our body—to end this post.  This idiom is unique to the vernacular Taiwanese.

If one cannot answer so easy a question, the questioner would say, “you can get the answer just thinking with your buttock” (“用屁股想”,of course, Taiwanese said “用Ka-Tseng 想”).  That is to say the question is so easy; one doesn’t have to use brain (用腦) or even heart (用心) to think.

Buttocks may be “in good shape”; but they’re always treated disparagingly and unfairly, “用屁股想” for the simple, easy question is to belittle 屁股, 放屁 (to say something untrue, irrelevant or stupid) is to treat the 屁股 (buttock) with contempt.  I am hoping you do not think this writing is a “屁股文章”.