A Farewell Toast to Shugu at Youmei Hall 虞美人·有美堂赠述古

A Farewell Toast to Shugu at Youmei Hall

--to the ci tune “Spring River”

Chinese original: Su Shi (11th AC, social name 'Zizhan', art name 'Dongpo')

English translation & annotation: Julia Min (Nov. 2024)

The view of Southeast is best here at the Hall -

A painting of lakes, rivers and hills unrolled.

When will Hangzhou honour your return call?

Parting is such sweet sorrow, so cheers to all.

Look, Riversdale streets bustle up with lights on.

Listen, the rhyme of night vibes with River Tune.

Let’s roam the moonlit river of blue crystal  

When the night seals a slumber in serene world.

Notes:

1.     The Southeast: Youmei Hall faces Hangzhou’s southeast, home to local’s best landscape and most prosperous streets.

2.     Parting is such sweet sorrow: borrowed from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, good use of oxymoron for a stronger artistic effect; Parting in life is a stretching of bonds and the sorrow is tinged with the sweetness of the memories. It anticipates meeting again.

3.     River Tune: a particular music tune for ci lyrics;

4.     the night seals a slumber: borrowed from William Wordsworth’s poem “A slumber did my spirit seal” (1798);

5. blue crystal: dark blue crystal is associated with humanity, discretion, and honor. It’s calm energy for spiritual awakening, serenity and tranquillity;

Analysis: 

This is a ci poem composed at a farewell party for his superior and friend Chen Xiang ( 1017-1080 AC, social name ‘Shugu’ ). Shugu was then the governor while Su Shi, in his late thirties, was the secretary general / magistrate of Hangzhou prefecture. They represented the old party (or the shadow party) against the new party. The New Law was enacted and the Royal Court was crowded with Wang Anshi’s followers, whereas Chen Xiang and Su Shi were assigned to posts away from the capital.

Hangzhou had always been a most desirable place for her landscape beauty with lakes and rivers intertwined with rolling hills.  It's a land of promise, renowned as ‘China’s Warehouse of Grains’, ‘The Land of Fish and Rice’, ‘Earth Paradise’, and, I’d add to the list, ‘a land of romance and poetry’. Chen Xiang was twenty years older and valued Su Shi’s talents. They entertained each other by echoing with new creations using the same rhyming pattern to the same song tune. They shared the same interest in their political ambition, which was to bring the quality of life in the local area to the best level under their governing period. Indeed they solved historical problems with engineering projects on the city’s water supply and West Lake blockage. A thousand years later, a most popular tourist destination still pronounces their achievements -- Lord Su Causeway. In addition, when Su Shi returned as the governor over a decade later, he built the first hospital in the world where even the prisoners were treated without discrimination.

This short ci lyric is a song of praise but in a most implicit way. The first stanza ushers the readers into a beautiful setting before the farewell theme is touched with the implication that Hangzhou people will miss Shugu. The second stanza presents a prosperous city view, implying people in Hangzhou are enjoying a peaceful and gracious life under Shugu’s governance. The last two lines bear dual messages, referring to the projects and that Shugu’s devotion to people’s cause was pure in spirit like a crystal blue river under the bright moon. Indeed, they both contributed a great deal to the success of the projects. Su Shi wished that both of them would keep the same spirit in their future officialdom.

虞美人·有美堂赠述古

原作: 苏轼（字子瞻, 号东坡居士; 11世纪北宋）

湖山信是东南美，

一望弥千里。

使君能得几回来，

便使尊前醉倒、且徘徊。

沙河塘里灯初上，

水调谁家唱。

夜阑风静欲归时，

惟有一江明月、碧琉璃。

Reference:

1. m.gushiwen.cn(古诗文网）