Tang Poetry
I know that I will never become a great Tang poet...but Tang poetry has always fascinated me. It is based on a very strict formal pattern and also limited in the amount of characters for each verse. Some say that this is poison to creativity, but to me it is those very limitations that force me to find just the one Chinese character that best expresses what I want to say at each position in the poem. Below are a few experiments of mine; the English next to the poems unfortunately can only convey the general idea, but not the sound and rhythm of the Chinese text.
The very first Tang poem I wrote is "Wheel of Life", and illustrates how in each Chana (Buddhism: a very short instant in time) brightly-shining forms arise, only to merge again with the void.
命轮 Wheel of Life
仙鹤投入塘 As the crane dives into the pond
水珠飞向天 a little water drop is thrown into the sky
一瞬璨璨闪 It sparkles like a diamond for one chana
重返抱无限 to then again embrace the realm of no boundaries.
I wrote "Moonlight" in admiration of the beautiful full moon one evening in Xi'an.
月光 Moonlight
夕阳到点，天际燃烧 The setting sun paints a sky full of flames
月轮升起，和畅灭炎 They are gently extinguished by the moon.
银光扩散，紧抱人间 It lovingly covers the human world with a blanket of silvery light
亮纱宽慰，心地静恬 consoling and putting the mind at rest.
I once day-dreamed of a monk sitting next to a stream. He sits there peacefully, watching a dragonfly. In this moment he realizes that all beings are interconnected and thus he discovers that there is a mirror-image of the dragonfly within himself.
觉醒 Awakening
蜻蜓飞降溪流旁 A dragonfly lightly touches down near the stream
晶莹翅膀闪发光 and as I observe how its wings sparkle like diamonds
赞美刹那忽认得 in this beautiful chana I suddenly come to realize
吾魂内有它映像 that inside of me is a mirror reflecting its image.
When I sat in the temple observing the little stones on the ground, I thought: Aren't they just like us?
人生 Life
被千万脚踢 Kicked around by countless feet
被风吹雨塑 Forged by wind and weather
成尘回大地 finally again turning to dust.
石头的命途 Thus is the fate of the stone.
A three-day walk in the Gobi desert brought about this poem:
过沙漠 Across the Desert
荆棘一再扎光脚 Thorns are piercing the bare feet
大漠炎热无树阴 The desert is hot and without shade
沙丘漫长无出路 All endless dunes with no way out
造物辉煌却狠心 Nature boasting her merciless glory.
身心疲惫待夜晚 Exhausted awaiting nightfall
沙漠凛冽未声音 The sands freezing in noiseless silence
行者顶拜迎患难 the wanderer bows to humbly accept his fate
绝境锻造他决心 his determination unbroken.
The very first Tang poem I wrote is "Wheel of Life", and illustrates how in each Chana (Buddhism: a very short instant in time) brightly-shining forms arise, only to merge again with the void.
命轮 Wheel of Life
仙鹤投入塘 As the crane dives into the pond
水珠飞向天 a little water drop is thrown into the sky
一瞬璨璨闪 It sparkles like a diamond for one chana
重返抱无限 to then again embrace the realm of no boundaries.
I wrote "Moonlight" in admiration of the beautiful full moon one evening in Xi'an.
月光 Moonlight
夕阳到点，天际燃烧 The setting sun paints a sky full of flames
月轮升起，和畅灭炎 They are gently extinguished by the moon.
银光扩散，紧抱人间 It lovingly covers the human world with a blanket of silvery light
亮纱宽慰，心地静恬 consoling and putting the mind at rest.
I once day-dreamed of a monk sitting next to a stream. He sits there peacefully, watching a dragonfly. In this moment he realizes that all beings are interconnected and thus he discovers that there is a mirror-image of the dragonfly within himself.
觉醒 Awakening
蜻蜓飞降溪流旁 A dragonfly lightly touches down near the stream
晶莹翅膀闪发光 and as I observe how its wings sparkle like diamonds
赞美刹那忽认得 in this beautiful chana I suddenly come to realize
吾魂内有它映像 that inside of me is a mirror reflecting its image.
When I sat in the temple observing the little stones on the ground, I thought: Aren't they just like us?
人生 Life
被千万脚踢 Kicked around by countless feet
被风吹雨塑 Forged by wind and weather
成尘回大地 finally again turning to dust.
石头的命途 Thus is the fate of the stone.
A three-day walk in the Gobi desert brought about this poem:
过沙漠 Across the Desert
荆棘一再扎光脚 Thorns are piercing the bare feet
大漠炎热无树阴 The desert is hot and without shade
沙丘漫长无出路 All endless dunes with no way out
造物辉煌却狠心 Nature boasting her merciless glory.
身心疲惫待夜晚 Exhausted awaiting nightfall
沙漠凛冽未声音 The sands freezing in noiseless silence
行者顶拜迎患难 the wanderer bows to humbly accept his fate
绝境锻造他决心 his determination unbroken.
