The second boat trip by Red Cliff -a prose poem
Chinese original: Su Shi (11th AC, social name 'Zizhan', art name 'Dongpo')
English translation & annotation: Julia Min (June. 2024)
It was the 3rd full moon following our previous boat drink. On my way home to Linggao after my day’s work at Snow Hall, I came across two friends who were also going home via Muddy Slope. The October frost had now taken its toll on trees with the ground covered with fallen leaves. Then, shadow started to show form. Up there, in the serene blue emporium, a fair moon seemed as if smiling at us, sending gentle vibes throughout the land. And soon we found ourselves humming the same hymn to each other on the radiant beauty. The slope today seemed too short a walk. So I sighed, “How often do we see such a breezy night with a beaming moon in a cloudless sky? Let’s not waste such a generous offer of Nature. But how can we celebrate without food and wine?” One friend opened his fish basket: “My day’s fishing has rewarded me with one fish at sunset. It has a big-mouth with tiny scales like the River Song sculpin. Can you find some wine?” Quickly I returned home. My wife might have something, I hoped. To my joy, she said: “You don’t know how lucky you could be! I have long saved about 2 litres to meet your urgent needs.” So here we were, with fish and wine, heading towards the boat by Red Cliff.
Only three months since our last visit, about same time, same place, and same people on same boat, yet we were greeted by a very different world. The river gurgled, splashing and splooshing against the Cliff which looked like a steep wall of hundreds of metres in height. The water level had now greatly receded, revealing many more rocks along the bank. The distant hills and mountains appeared higher, with the moon as if smaller over a skyline clearer and broader. The tides pushed our boat to the Cliff. I ventured ashore for a climb, holding the corners of my robe to find spots for steps upward. Often I had to hang onto vines and branches like monkeys to make my way through the bushes amid savage rocks. As I was getting closer to the raptors’ cliff nests -- the unchartered territory never visited by humans before, I had a bird’s eye view at the Yangtze River, at the so-called Palace of Fengyi, the water god. My friends were scared, staying safe on the boat. The River surface started rolling up white waves in the growing gusty wind which sent a chill down my spine. Again, I was by myself, completely off the beaten track. With a loud whistle I found myself trembling with the surrounding bushes, followed by a long echo rippling through the valley on the side. It was a breathless moment filled with fear and a nameless sadness. I realised the journey had to end halfway. So down to the boat, I joined my mates. Together we rowed to the centre of the River, and let the little boat go freely with the flow.
Just as midnight was approaching, a shriek call of some big bird pierced through the serene world across the river. It was a crane, giant and lonely, with huge white feather wings and a black feather tail, who highly pronounced his presence by flying past us just missing the gunwale. Before long, we all went back home to get some sleep. Then there was a Daoist who visited me in my dream. After a courteous bow, he asked me with a gentle smile: “Was it an enjoyable night by the Red Cliff?” I was curious and wished to know his name, but he lowered his head, and quiet he remained. “Oh my, my goodness! It was You last night, was it? You made a loud call and flew past our boat from east to west.” The Daoist only smiled back at me as he disappeared into the mist. Startled awake, I chased out of Lingao residence. There was nothing there in sight, just a vacant world of a void night…. …
后赤壁赋
原作: 苏轼（字子瞻, 号东坡居士; 11世纪北宋）
英译及赏析: 闵晓红(2024.06)
是岁十月之望，步自雪堂，将归于临皋。二客从予，过黄泥之坂。霜露既降，木叶尽脱。人影在地，仰见明月，顾而乐之，行歌相答。已而叹曰：“有客无酒，有酒无肴，月白风清，如此良夜何？”客曰：“今者薄暮，举网得鱼，巨口细鳞，状似松江之鲈。顾安所得酒乎？”归而谋诸妇。妇曰：“我有斗酒，藏之久矣，以待子不时之须。”于是携酒与鱼，复游于赤壁之下。
江流有声，断岸千尺。山高月小，水落石出。曾日月之几何，而江山不可复识矣。予乃摄衣而上，履巉岩，披蒙茸，踞虎豹，登虬龙，攀栖鹘之危巢，俯冯夷之幽宫，盖二客不能从焉。划然长啸，草木震动；山鸣谷应，风起水涌。予亦悄然而悲，肃然而恐，凛乎其不可留也。反而登舟，放乎中流，听其所止而休焉。
时夜将半，四顾寂寥。适有孤鹤，横江东来，翅如车轮，玄裳缟衣，戛然长鸣，掠予舟而西也。须臾客去，予亦就睡。梦一道士，羽衣蹁跹，过临皋之下，揖予而言曰：“赤壁之游乐乎？”问其姓名，俯而不答。呜呼噫嘻！我知之矣。畴昔之夜，飞鸣而过我者，非子也耶？道士顾笑，予亦惊寤。开户视之，不见其处。
Notes：Please refer to the previous prose poem in this collection -- A moon-night drink on a boat by Red Cliff
Appreciation:
This prose stands as a companion to the previous one, sharing a similar background and showing a continuation in theme transition as in a series. Together they have been celebrated as the pioneer works of a new era as they marked a new category of prose poetry distinctive to any prose work previously written. Well, this is just one little brainchild among the many outstanding creations Su Shi did during his dramatic lifetime.
As the sister piece, this one would be expected to present some big philosophical ideas of the world as in the first one. The readers might feel somewhat disappointed after the first reading, as if it were an unfinished work because it seems no evocative point has been made yet. Hence contemporary critics favour the first one. But in the Song dynasty, this second piece was more embraced for its simplicity and symbolic resonance because the ‘null and void’ evokes a bigger, or an unlimited imagination as compared with the ‘physical’ world we see. Like the many paintings in the dynasty, they preferred minimal use of paint, colours, and subjects to evoke diversified reactions in the readers’ minds. Or you may say, that artistic value is an outcome of cooperation between the artist and the creative mind of the readers. The more void left there, the more space for the imagination, the more adaptable and longer value for the artistic work.
This second moon-night drink with friends can be divided into three parts. The first part serves as a prelude that ushers in the readers with the memory of the first boat drink, with a brief touch on his second wife who had been sharing his hardship in life with a deep understanding of his needs. The second part focuses on their experience aboard, ashore, and aboard – an implication of the ups and downs in his life as a high official in the Royal Court to a common folk struggling for survival in the fields, and his wish to be called back to the Court. It was early winter, a much dryer season when he could have a clearer view beyond – a reflection of his spiritual progress in his world outlook. The obstacles that had looked fearful had now become a minor issue before a stronger mind. The moon was small compared with mighty mountain ranges; The hidden stones in rocky waters were revealed when the water level changed, -- referring to the literary crime which was a sheer setup of his opponents.
Unexpectedly, the theme shifts from the seasonal observation of nature into myth and theology, to the celestial realm. It clearly indicates his persistent spiritual pursuit of a liberated lifestyle, a secluded life away from all worldly attachments. Well, we all know Dongpo loved the world so much he would never, in reality, become a Daoist. It was just a thought like a rippling stream in his mind, comforting and nourishing, but not a replacement. The shift from real to void, from humans to celestials, touches the readers with a more dynamic experience. It can also be seen as a duality that runs in many minds, seemingly conflicting, but in need of each other like the yin and yang, ultimately for balance and harmony in one’s life.
So what messages have you discovered under the lines? Share with me in the comment below. See you there, my friend.
Reference:
1. baike.baidu.com;
2. 《熊逸说苏轼.30讲》;
3. picture from “头条--墨语江湖;
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