Season 1 – Ep 27

–[Karen]Woooo we’re finally here! Ep 27 that is heart pumping and history heavy. Let’s quickly recap where we are right now. The Emperor is hosting a banquet for the diplomats from the Northern Qi kingdom as well as Dong Yi City. Fan Xian is in attendance for his work on creating the peace deal. The person from the Northern Qi kingdom is the aged scholar Zhuang Mo Han who is world renowned. However, he isn’t here to play nice. After some back and forth with the Princess Royal, Zhuang Mo Han points out that Fan Xian is nothing but a fraud. The epic poem Fan Xian made not too long ago? Copied from Zhuang Mo Han’s teacher. 

1. 将进酒 – Song of the Immortal by Wine

【唐】李白
君不见，黄河之水天上来，奔流到海不复回。君不见，高堂明镜悲白发，朝如青丝暮成雪。人生得意须尽欢，莫使金樽空对月。天生我材必有用，千金散尽还复来。
You can see that the water from the Yellow River flows from the heavenThey flow furiously towards the ocean, never to returnYou can see the white hair of your parents reflected in the mirrorIn the morning, their hair was still black but in the evening it has turned whiteWhen life is going well, one should fully enjoy all that life can offerDon’t let the golden goblet be empty as it faces the white moonThe heavens have created me so I must be of useEven if you spend all your gold, you cannot find another talent like me

1. 虞美人 – This is a poem by Emperor/King Li Yu from the 5 kingdoms era, right before the song dynasty.  The full poem is this:

{karen]【五代】李煜春花秋月何时了？往事知多少。小楼昨夜又东风，故国不堪回首月明中。

1. 水调歌头

【宋】苏轼明月几时有？把酒问青天。 不知天上宫阙，今夕是何年。我欲乘风归去，又恐琼楼玉宇，高处不胜寒。起舞弄清影，何似在人间。
When did the beautiful moon appear? I raise my glass to ask the heavens. At the palaces in the sky, what month and year is tonight? I want to ride a wind to the heavens, but am afraid that in the beautiful jade tower, I cannot handle the frost of sky. At this moment under the moonlight, I can enjoy my dancing shadow. How can the heavens be better than the earth?

1. 破阵子·为陈同甫赋壮词以寄之

【宋】辛弃疾 – 破阵子·为陈同甫赋壮词以寄之 – Po Zhen Zi: A Heroic Ode Written for Chen Tongfu and Sent to Him醉里挑灯看剑，梦回吹角连营。八百里分麾下炙，五十弦翻塞外声，沙场秋点兵。
While drunk I pulled out my sword to admire in the candlelightIn my dreams I hear the trumpets of the military campI share the roasted meet with my fellow soldiers over eight hundred milesThe strings from the military band resound beyond the frontierIn the autumn desert, the troops are inspected for war
This poem was written by 辛弃疾, a Song Dynasty poet who lived from 1140年5月28日－1207年10月3日. He wrote this in his later years to reminisce about his early military campaigns against the Jurchens to recapture lost land and lament how he is now older and cannot fulfill his youthful ambitions.

1. 长恨歌 – The Song of Everlasting Regret.

【唐】白居易在天愿作比翼鸟，在地愿为连理枝。天长地久有时尽，此恨绵绵无绝期。In the sky, we want to be connected like manman. On earth, I wish to be a branch of intertwined trees. The world will come to an end, but this sorrow will never cease. 
The manman or 比翼鸟 are mythical birds with one eye and one wing each, that must attach to each other and fly in pairs. 
This was written  by 白居易（772年—846年) around 806. This was already 4 decades after the end of the An Lu Shan Rebellion which had high consequential and negative impacts to the tang dynasty. Bai Ju Yi wrote this long narrative poem to recount the love story of Emperor Tang Xuan Zong and Yang Gui Fei, but it is also a scathing repudiation of the Emperor for neglecting his duties as Emperor, instead focusing on love and lust with Noble Consort Yang, hence allowing An Lu Shan to successfully mount his rebellions. 

1. 别董大二首·其一

【唐】高适
千里黄云白日曛，北风吹雁雪纷纷。莫愁前路无知己，天下谁人不识君。
Yellow clouds for thousand miles make the sky dimThe northern winds blow the returning geese and falling snowDo not worry that you will not find a dear friend on the long road ahead. Afterall, Who in the world does not know you?
This was written by the Tang Dynasty poet 高适（704年—765) who lived in near the border of the Tang empire to the west. In 747, he wrote two poems as a parting gift to his friend 董大. 
The last two lines are the ones recited in the drama and very popular. It gets referenced often to inform that someone is well respected even if not he is not famous

1. 梅花 – Plum Blossoms

【宋】王安石墙角数枝梅，凌寒独自开。遥知不是雪，为有暗香来。
The branches of plum blossoms near the wall, bloom during the freezing coldHow does one know that the white plum blossoms are not snow?Why it’s due to the hidden fragrance emanating from the flowers
This was written by the Song Dynasty politician and poet 王安石 who lived from 1021 to 1086. He was once a chancellor who enacted reforms but was met with fierce resistance. In 1074, due to natural disasters resulting in vast human migrations, he was demoted from his post. After a second demotion in 1076, he retired to the Zhong Mountain. His loneliness and deteriorating circumstances resonate with the plum blossom’s ability to withstand snow and frost.
This is a rather simple poem that is easy to remember. 为有暗香来 is actually the name of the 2023 Zhou Ye and Wang Xing Yue Scent of Time.

1. 春望 – Overlooking Spring

【唐】杜甫
国破山河在，城春草木深。感时花溅泪，恨别鸟惊心。烽火连三月，家书抵万金。白头搔更短，浑欲不胜簪。
The capital has fallen but the mountains and rivers are still thereSpring in the city is overgrown with wild grassWith a heavy heart tears flow at the sight of flowersMy heart trembles at the sound of the birds and parted family
This was another poem written by 杜甫（712年2月12日 [1]—770年）- 诗圣. In 3rd month of 757, during the An Lu Rebellion, the rebels raided Chang An. They pillaged and plundered the city, setting fire to the capital. After fleeing the city with his wife, Du Fu was captured enroute to Ling Wu. He was taken back to Chang An in August and wrote this poem after being overwhelmed with sadness at seeing this now war torn city. 

1. 无题

【唐】李商隐身无彩凤双飞翼，心有灵犀一点通。
李商隐（约813年—约858年），字义山，号玉谿生，又号樊南生，与杜牧合称“小李杜”
The poem was written by the Tang Dynasty poet 李商隐. The title of the poem is actually unnamed. These two lines translate to the followingEven though we don’t have wings to fly to each other, our hearts and minds are as one, just like the magical horns.
So this is really cool. In Chinese legend, the rhinoceros has a mythical horn called 灵犀. This horn has a white pattern on it and the power to be in tuned with the heart and mind. The last line, 心有灵犀一点通, is often used between lovers to demonstrated their connection with each other. 
We first talked about this poem early during Empresses in the Palace because that was the name of Zhen Huan’s second daughter Ling Xi.

1. 上邪【两汉】佚名

上邪！我欲与君相知，长命无绝衰。山无陵，江水为竭。冬雷震震，夏雨雪。天地合，乃敢与君绝。
上天呀！我渴望与你相知相惜，长存此心永不褪减。除非巍巍群山消逝不见，除非滔滔江水干涸枯竭。除非凛凛寒冬雷声翻滚，除非炎炎酷暑白雪纷飞，除非天地相交聚合连接，我才敢将对你的情意抛弃决绝！
This poem or actually a song was created during the Han dynasty and is a long song. It talks of a woman who has devoted love and this love will never fade. Unless the mountains no longer have peaks, the river waters completely dry out. Unless there is rolling thunder in the winter and snow in the summer. Only until the sun and sky touch, can I dare part from you. 
This is a powerful song that depicts that powerful and passionate love for another. This poem was a key staple in Pearl Princess, my favorite drama growing up where Zi Wei and Er Kang share their devotion for each other.

1. 过零丁洋 – across the Ling Ding Sea

【宋】文天祥辛苦遭逢起一经，干戈寥落四周星。山河破碎风飘絮，身世浮沉雨打萍。惶恐滩头说惶恐，零丁洋里叹零丁。人生自古谁无死？留取丹心照汗青。The defeat at 惶恐 has still kept me reeling, I now but a sighing captive alone at seaBut in history, who hasn’t met his end? If I can serve my empire, I will have a place in history even after my death. 
This was written by the poet 文天祥 who was captured in the Canton seas. After a failed suicide attempt, he was sent Mongol army across the sea to a cliff. The mongol army kept forcing 文天祥 to write letters to the remaining Song generals to surrender but he refused. He wrote this poem to the remaining Song generals to reinforce his loyalty.

1. 登幽州台歌

【唐】陈子昂前不见古人，后不见来者。念天地之悠悠，独怆然而涕下！
Another poem I remember from Pearl Princess. Rather easy to understand in plain Chinese but still powerful nonetheless.Looking ahead, I don’t see revered leaders of old, looking behind, i don’ t see a current clear leaderThinking about the vast never ending ness of the sky and earth, i’m alone as tears fall of sadness.
This was written by Chen Zi Ang during the first year of Wu Ze Tian’s reign. He was a learned and insightful scholar. He was unafraid to tell the truth and call out the corruption he saw at court. However, because he called out the Wu family, Empress Wu Ze Tian did not favor him. He was quite upset that his grand ambitions in policy were squashed and was even imprisoned. After several failed attempts at providing good policy or ideas were shot down, he created this poem to voice his frustration.

[Cathy]

1. 山中与幽人对酌

【唐】李白两人对酌山花开，一杯一杯复一杯。我醉欲眠卿且去，明朝有意抱琴来。
The two of us are drinking amidst the mountain flowersOne cup after and otherI am drunk and want to sleep, you are free to leaveIf you would still like to spend time together, please bring your instrument with you tomorrow.
This is another one of Li Bai’s many drinking poems. 

–[Karen]
We’ll leave the history there. As you can see, quite an array of different poems and prose. I love how slack jawed the Emperor is looking at Fan XIan while he recites all of this. Something important to remember is that Fan Xian has a photographic memory but, his real life counterpart is a scholar. Or at least someone who studied these types of classics. So at least to me, it becomes believable that he is able to recite them. If anything, like even if i couldn’t recite all 38 poems he did, i think i could do a handful. Which, should be pretty good since again,we didn’t grow up in China. –
[Cathy]Book differences
During his drunken exposition, the author gave the first few lines of poems that focused on drinking including 将进酒 by Li Bai. The author then focuses a lot on drinking poems by Li Bai. Some, we’ve mentioned before. Then the author writes poems by other authors including Li Bai and Su Shi. Interestingly, the author did include a poem by a female poet Li Qing Zhao that I didn’t hear in the drama.
“君不见，黄河之水天上来。”谁能比李白更洒脱？“浪淘尽，千古风流人物。”谁能比苏轼更豪迈？“昨夜雨疏风骤，浓睡不消残酒。”谁能比李清照更婉约？
In the book and the drama Fan Xian ends with this poem and then “passes out” on the floor. This is one of Li Bai’s signature poses, or at least recorded that he’s passed out in such a manner before.
–