Chinese poetry

During February, Chinese Poems on the Underground is a counterpart to British poems on the Shanghai Metro. Four poems appear - by Anonymous, 1st century AD; Li Bai (AD 701-761); Po-Chu-i (AD 772-846); and Lu Xun (1881-1936). Posters were available at the British Library's evening of Chinese poetry. I'll put them up in the hall, eventually.


Qu Lei Lei, an artist who's been living in London for the past 20 years and did the calligraphy on the posters, whizzed through 4000 years of Chinese writing in about 15 minutes, but could obviously have gone on much longer. This is an early example of official script - very clear quality of line.This example is later, expressive of the character of the writer. Possibly this was the one who changed sides to preserve his life, and rose to a high position under the new emperor. The music included cello solo from the film Hidden Dragon, Crouching Tiger, and Benjamin Britten's Songs from the Chinese (tenor accompanied by guitar), as well as an arrangement for guitar of "Yi Dance", originally for pipa, played by Xuefei Yang: The pleated fabric of her trousers brought to mind the folds in the dresses of Tang ladies -- and when she lifted her foot to keep time in some parts of the piece, it looked like she might be wearing their shoes with the turned-up toes:
Taking Leave of a Friend - by Li Bai
(translated by Ezra Pound - of whom Piers Plowright, one of the readers, said: he didn't know much Chinese, but he had an instinct for getting the meaning)

Blue mountains to the north of the walls,
White river winding about them;
Here we must make separation
And go out through a thousand miles of dead grass.

Mind like a floating wide cloud,
Sunset like the parting of old acquaintances
Who bow over their clasped hands at a distance.
Our horses neigh to each other as we are departing.