Qingming series (清明系列) 4
Ok, after a week of hiatus, Qingming (清明) poems are back in action. Today I’m posting a poem from early Tang (唐) dynasty, by Song Zhiwen (宋之问) (656-712). Song was an interesting character. Before saying anything about him, a little history dug from memory. During 2000 years of Chinese feudal history, getting a job with the government was considered a highly admirable career path. There are two common ways of doing it. one is by studying literary and philosophy teachings and became a “literary person”. Such a person could take part in regional or national exams, based on your writing skills, to be selected into the government. The other route is through military but it was less traveled. So most of those poets started off being a “literary person” or trying to be one. Some climbed high on the political ladder, some, like Song, ended up tragically. Song first had a decent career, serving as a scholar in the government, writing poems to fit the emperor/queen’s moods (part of his life he served under the only female emperor in Chinese history), so he was kind of like a literary joker. But he picked the wrong political circle to side with, as a result, he was exiled multiple times during various power struggles. Eventually he was “given the right to commit suicide” by the 3rd or 4th emperor he had served under.
Song’s contribution to Tang poetry was that he was among a handful of early Tang poets that more or less formulated the “five character” (五言)poems and set the tone for many poets to come.


途中寒食

马上逢寒食，途中属暮春。
可伶江浦望，不见洛桥人。
北极怀明主，南溟作逐臣。
故园肠断处，日夜柳条新。

Hanshi on the road

On the horseback I realize it’s the Hanshi festival,
It is already late spring on this journey to the south.
Morosely I look up the river,
And realized I can’t see pedestrians on the luoyang bridge1
I miss a wise king to the north,
While I am heading south to be exiled.
I think at home where I used to spend all the lugubrious days,
The new willow branches2 are budding day and night.

1. Luoyang was the capital at that time
2. willow tree has strong symbolic meanings during Qingming, please refer to the first posting.

Footnote:
Song’s poems written during his exile days were considered superior to his other works. Probably because when one speaks his own mind is always better than being ordered to write.

Anyway, hope you enjoy this and more is on the way.