“Waiting for the Unicorn”
Wu Wen (T’ien-chang; LIEN-YANG, YÜ-CHIEN-TZU) was a native of P’u-chou, Shansi province, even though his ancestral home had been in Liao-yang, Feng-t’ien. His father, Wu Yün-sheng (?–1656), was a chin-shih and a director of studies in P’u-chou until his death. It was his father who aroused his interest in books. He read widely and his hunger for knowledge was never satiated. He became a pupil of the celebrated Shantung poet, Wang Shih-chen (q.v.), who praised his genius and, after his death, edited a collection of his poems with commentary.
Unlike his father, Wu Wen did not want to confine himself to one place, and he traveled extensively. In 1679, he was summoned to take the special po-hsüeh hung-tz’u examination, but he failed to pass. Afterwards, he had no interest in becoming an official. He settled down in the Yung-lo district, Shensi province, where the famous Yü-hsi or Jade Stream was located, where the T’ang poet Li Shang-yin had lived. He may have thought of himself as a latter-day Li Shang-yin; however, neither his style of poetry nor his point of view was like those of Li. Instead, he was a true exponent of the Wang Wei manner. Wang Wei’s “naturar” style and “Buddhist” viewpoint inspired him so deeply that he wrote poetry in the same vein, and there is a strong visual quality to his verse. Even though he was not known as a painter, he was, nevertheless, an excellent calligrapher. His contemporaries admired him greatly, and Chao Chih-hsin (q.v.), a nephew of Wang Shih-chen and a fine poet himself, considered Wu Wen’s poetry to be superior even to that of Wang Shih-chen.
In recent years, because of the impress of Buddhist philosophy and allusions on his poetry, Wu Wen has been criticized for his “incomprehensibility.” Thus, his poetry has been little anthologized and he is seldom read.
Three editions of his collected works appeared during his lifetime. The most complete one, entitled Lien-yang chi or Lien-yang shih-ch’ao, in 20 chüan, was printed in 1774.
(Chang Yin-nan)
____________________
1. Chao-ying Fang, ECCP, 2:883.
At this old monastery, long corridors are lost in the shade;
Above green mossy steps, birds sing noisily.
In the empty woods echo a pair of wooden clogs,
Frightening the cranes into the pines.
At the opening of a cave, flowers grow dense and dark; | 5 |
Before a precipice, clouds stretch on and on.
Beneath dangerous rocks, a mountain stream—
What ancient hand could have sculpted this!
To quench these burning desires in my heart,
I will pour a libation from this brass ewer. | 10 |
(LYC, 1:1b)
(Tr. Chang Yin-nan)
Poems on Yi Garden: Written for Mr. Juan-t’ing1
I
Crane Lodge
A pure cry sounds the alarum at midnight,
Bamboo dew dampens the flower-strewn well.
This mountain man opens his gate at dawn:
How majestic is this bird, how cold its feathers!
Suddenly, upward it flies to the tiered empyrean,
Leaving in the courtyard tangled shadows of pine trees.
II
The Bridge of Drifted Fragrance
A forest wind blows from a flower-hidden spring,
A dense mist passes over the brook.
A traveler sits by the stone bridge,
His heart suffused with a strange fragrance
From somewhere betwixt wind and water,
But none can tell where it comes from!
(Nos. 2 and 3 from a series of 12, LYC, 2:1b-2a)
(Tr. Chang Yin-nan)
From endless rains comes autumn’s dusk;
A flying cataract emerges halfway down the peak.
Returning wild geese cross the mountain ridge in haste;
Falling leaves keep me company in my idle hours.
Small isles o’ergrown with bamboo, high and low;
A monk’s quarters provide me with lodging, coming and going.
What’s there to anchor my feelings of loneliness?
All day long the sound of rushing waters.
(No. 1 from a series of 2, LYC, 3:10b)
(Tr. Irving Lo)
Starting Out on a Journey in a Windstorm
I
All day I fret over wind and sand,
While the water of the river ripples green.
Willows are the most heartless of trees,
Blowing across ferry passengers at dawn.
II
A heart that yearns for fame never dies,
This drifting life, what is it all about?
It’s like ladling out water for sale in the wind—
Blown thither and yon into ripplets and waves.
(Nos. 1 and 2 from a series of 3, LYC, 16:4a)
(Tr. Irving Lo)
NOTE
1. The courtesy name of the poet Wang Shih-chen (q.v.).
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