reading response

INSCRIBED LANDSCAPES

Travel Writing from Imperial China

Translated with Annotations and an Introduction by

RICHARD E. STRASSBERG

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS BERKELEY LOS ANGELES LONDON

16

Fan Chung-yen (989-1052)

j~ 1~ ~~

Fan Chung-yen was born in Su-chou in what is today Chiang-su. His father died when he was still young, and he was educated in Buddhist temple schools with the support of patrons. Becoming a Presented Scholar in 1015, he enjoyed a distinguished career, although he suffered demotion three times during his early years in office. He was nevertheless admired as an idealistic Confucian and achieved notable success in military and diplomatic affairs. In 1041, when he was auxiliary academician of the Dragon Diagram Hall, he was sent as assistant military commissioner for the Shaan-hsi Circuit, where he fortified a critical area against the Hsi-Hsia Kingdom and arranged a durable peace between the two countries. In 1043, he proposed a reform program-later regarded as the "Minor Reform" of the Northern Sung, since it antedated the more pervasive reforms of Ou- yang Hsiu and Wang An-shih (1021-1086). It failed in 1045 owing to political opposition. Fan was then assigned to local posts at his request, where he continued to serve with distinction as a prefect.

His literary theory embraced the ideals of Ancient Style prose but also included interest in the conventions of parallel prose. The Pavilion ofYueh-yang was commissioned by a friend, T'eng Tzu-ching (991- 1047), who, like Fan, was demoted and exiled to the post of prefect. Fan wrote the piece from a distance, relying both on his memory of the place and on an illustration. It became one of the most widely known works of travel literature, combining a documentary function with a lyrical description of the scenery that reflects the ambivalent moods of the writer. His statement "First feel concern for the concerns of the world. Defer pleasure until the world can take pleasure" became an enduring motto for Confucian officials. · 157

158 FAN CHUNG-YEN

The Pavilion ofYiieh-yang faces Grotto Lake and was first built above the West Gate of the city wall ofYiieh-yang in present-day Hu- nan during the K'ai-yiian era (713-741) of the T'ang dynasty. It was renovated a number of times through the centuries and was completely rebuilt in 1867. Presently, its three stories stand about sixty-five feet high. Although celebrated as early as the T'ang in a poem by Tu Fu (712-770), the pavilion became a literary shrine largely as a result of Fan Chung-yen's account. Later, an engraving of this piece written by the Ch'ing calligrapher Chang Chao (169I-1745) was placed inside the main hall.

The Pavilion ofYiieh-yang *~t!~C. (1046)

In the spring of the fourth year of the Ch'ing-li era [1044], T'eng Tzu- ching was demoted to the post of prefect of Pa-ling. 1 Two years later, his administration was well ordered and the people lived in harmony; numerous affairs that had languished were revived with success. Then he had the Pavilion of Yiieh-yang restored, expanding its original de- sign. Poems and prose by worthies of the T'ang as well as by men of the present dynasty were inscribed upstairs. I was asked to write a piece in commemoration.

I have observed the magnificent scenery of Pa-ling at this lake named "Grotto," which bites the distant mountains and swallows up the Long River, surging restlessly as it extends beyond the horizon. Be- tween the radiant mornings and the shadowy twilight, its atmosphere undergoes myriad transformations. This is the grand view from the Pavilion of Yiieh-yang, which ancient writers have described in detail. Because the water routes lead north to Shaman's Gorge and stretch south all the way to the Hsiao and Hsiang rivers, exiled officials and tragic poets have always gathered here. Did they not have various feel- ings upon viewing this scene?

When it rains constantly in heavy showers and the sun does not shine through for months on end, cold winds howl, and muddy waves strike at the sky. The sun and stars hide their radiance; the hills and mountains conceal their forms. Merchants and travelers cannot set sail, for the masts would break and the oars snap. At twilight, all turns to darkness: tigers roar and gibbons cry. Ascending to the pavilion now,

FAN CHUNG-YEN I59

one feels remote from the capital and longs for home, worried about slander and fearful of ridicule. A bleak vista fills one's eyes; regrets in- tensify and turn to melancholy.

When it turns to balmy spring and the entire scene brightens, the waves are no longer aroused. The sky above and its reflection below form a single, vast expanse of blue-green. Seagulls soar about and gather to rest; colorful fish swim and submerge. Angelica by the banks and orchids on the islets diffuse their fragrances as they flourish. And sometimes, when the blanketing mist vanishes, the luminous moon shines for a thousand li. Floating light beams shimmer like gold; the moon's quiet reflection forms a submerged jade disc. Fishermen's songs respond to one another. How could one ever tire of such joy? Ascend- ing to the pavilion now, one's heart opens and one's spirit is delighted. Favor and disgrace are both forgotten as one faces the breeze with a cup of wine in boundless satisfaction.

Ah! I have often sought to attain the mind of those ancient paragons of humaneness, for some of them did not experience these two kinds of feelings. Why was this? They took no delight in external things, nor felt sorry for themselves. When they occupied a high position at court, they felt concern for the people. When banished to distant rivers and lakes, they felt concern for their sovereign. When serving at court, they felt concern, when forced to withdraw they felt concern. Then when did they enjoy happiness? Would these ancients not have said, "First feel concern for the concerns of the world. Defer pleasure until the world can take pleasure." Alas! If there were not such people, then whom could I follow?

ON THE FIFTEENTH DAY OF THE NINTH LUNAR MONTH

IN THE SIXTH YEAR [OCTOBER I7, I046J2

Fig. 23. Chin Nung (1687-1773), "Tilt Pavilion oftht Old Dnmkard" by 0••-yaug Hsiu. Leaf f of Album of Ltmdscapts Illustrating Poems and Essays By Famous Writers (1736), Museum Rietberg, Zurich, Gift of Charles A. Drenowatz. Ou-yang Hsiu is depicted here sitting with a companion by the pavilion with his travel account fully inscribed as a

colophon.

17

Ou-yang Hsiu (1007-1072)

~k~1~

Ou-yang Hsiu was one of the dominant figures ofNorthern Sung literature and politics, a leader of a circle ofliterary progressives who consolidated the ideals of the Ancient Style. Later canonized as one of the Eight Masters ofT'ang and Sung Prose, he was a prolific writer in a variety of prose and poetic genres. Born in Yung-feng, Chi Prefecture (modern Chi-shui, Chiang-hsi), Ou-yang entered the Imperial University after twice failing the prefectural examinations and, in 1030, distinguished himself by placing fourteenth in the palace examinations. In 1036, he was exiled and demoted for supporting Fan Chung-yen's criticisms; he was recalled in 1040 along with Fan and rose to become a drafting official because ofhis fame as a writer. Fan and his faction again fell from power in 1045. The following year, Ou- yang's reputation was damaged by a scandal in which he was falsely charged with incest and imprisoned; his known fondness for singers and writing romantic poetry may have made him particularly vulnerable to such charges. After his acquittal, he was once again exiled and made prefect of Ch'u Prefecture (modern Ch'u District, An-hui), where he wrote The Pavilion of the Old Drunkard, one of his most enduring works. Ou-yang Hsiu subsequently served as prefect of Yang-chou, where he revived his romantic reputation, as well as prefect ofYing Prefecture (modern Fu-yang, An-hui), a scenic area where he later retired. He returned to the capital in 1054 and became increasingly influential in the central government, rising to the powerful position of assistant chief minister. During the following period of thirteen years he served as co-editor of The New History of the T'ang Dynasty (Hsin T'ang shu, 1060) and single-handedly wrote The New History of the Five Dynasties (Hsin Wu-tai shih, posthumously 161

162 OU-YANG HSIU

published in 1072) as models of the Ancient Style; both works were praised by literary stylists but later criticized by historians. He further consolidated the position of the Ancient Style when, as chief examiner in 1057, he required it in examination essays and failed those who wrote in other styles. It was through this examination that he discovered Su Shih and Su Ch'e, destined to become leading literary figures of the next generation. Ou-yang Hsiu served in various high- level positions during the 106os, and his administration was noted for its stability and several progressive reforms. However, he was again falsely accused of incest, though again cleared. He repeatedly requested assignments away from the capital and finally, in 1071, was allowed to retire with the title of Junior Preceptor of the Heir Apparent.

Ou-yang Hsiu left over five hundred pieces of prose in a variety of forms, all characterized by a tight sense of structure. He was also an early proponent of the miscellany (pi-chi), producing several influential collections as well as an early travel diary, Diary of My Route to Assume Office (Yii-i chih), written while journeying to a new post to which he was demoted in 1036. In The Pavilion of the Old Drunkard, the presence of parallelistic elements and syntactical repetitions create a sense of playfulness and humor reflecting the informality of the piece. Ou-yang was relatively unconcerned with the metaphysics of Nature or speculative philosophy; this piece reveals instead his pragmatic interest in concrete human activity and in the texture of the observable world. Its cumulative effect is to convey Ou-yang Hsiu's undiminished humanity and commitment while an official in exile.

The Pavilion of the Old Drunkard (Tsui-weng-t'ing) is located on Lang-ya Mountain in the southwest of modern Ch'u District, An-hui, about two miles from the city. It was ordered built by Ou-yang Hsiu himself, who had the monk Chih-hsien supervise its construction on a scenic spot next to a spring. The elegant open building has been restored many times, and the area abounds in inscriptions dating back to the T'ang and Sung. Ou-yang's original calligraphy of the text was engraved at the site in 1048 but proved unsuitable for making rubbings. In 1091, Su Shih was asked to rewrite the text in larger characters, and this engraving was widely reproduced.

The Pavilion of the Old Drunkard !W- ~ .f~C. ( 1046)

Mountains ring the seat of Ch'u Prefecture. 1 The many peaks on the southwest are especially beautiful, with their forests and valleys. I

OU-Y ANG HSIU 163

gazed into the distance at one that was luxuriant, deep, and graceful- Lang-ya Mountain. 2 I walked more than two miles up the mountain and gradually heard the gurgling sound of water, "ch'an-ch'an," until I found, splashing out from between two peaks-Fermentation Spring. The peaks circled around me as the road twisted and turned until there was a pavilion with eaves like wings, facing the spring-the Pavilion of the Old Drunkard. Who built this pavilion? A monk on the mountain -Chih-hsien. Who named this pavilion? The Prefect did, after himself. For the Prefect comes here to drink with his guests. After drinking only a bit, he quickly becomes drunk, and because he is the oldest, he calls himself "the Old Drunkard." But wine is not uppermost in the Old Drunkard's mind. What he cares about is to be amid moun- tains and streams. The joy of the landscape has been captured in his heart, and wine drinking merely expresses this.

When the sun appears, the mist disperses through the forest; when clouds return to the mountains, the caves in the cliffs darken. These transformations from brightness to darkness-such is dawn and dusk on the mountain. When wildflowers blossom giving off subtle fra- grances, when fine trees flourish providing extensive shade, when the wind is clean and the frost is pure, when the water is low and the rocks become visible-such are the four seasons in these mountains. If one comes here in the morning and returns in the evening, one will notice the scenes differing throughout the four seasons and experience a joy that is likewise inexhaustible.

Men bearing loads sing along the road, while travelers rest under the trees. Those in front call out; those behind respond. The elderly, hunched over ones leading the young by the hand as they come and go ceaselessly-these are the people of Ch'u on their outings. Along the stream they fish: the stream is deep, the fish, stout; they ferment the spring water into wine: the water is sweet, the wine, clear. Various kinds of mountain game and wild vegetables casually served-such is the Prefect's banquet. The gaiety of the feasting and drinking is unaccompanied by strings or flutes. Someone wins at tossing arrows into a pot; another gains victory at chess. Winecups and wine tallies crisscross back and forth. Shouting out as they jump up or sit down- such is the happiness of all the guests. And the person with the aged face and whitened hair who sits slumped among them-the Prefect, drunk.

Before long, the sun sets behind the mountain; the people along with their shadows disperse. The Prefect returns, followed by his guests. As the forest covers everything in darkness, cries ring out all over-such is the joy of the birds as the visitors depart. The birds can

164 OU - YANC HSIU

only enjoy the mountains and forests: they cannot understand the joy of people. The people can only enjoy this outing along with the Prefect: they cannot understand that the Prefect was enjoying their joy. He who, when drunk, was able to share their joy and, when sober, could describe it with literary flourish is-the Prefect. And who is this Prefect? Ou-yang Hsiu of Lu-ling. 3

Fig. 24.

Rubbing ofSu Shih's Inscription of Tile

Pavilion o_{joyful Abuuda/l(e (detail. original ca. 1091 ) . From Su Shih, Fw,~-le-t'i11,~ chi (rpt. Taipei, 1975).

OU-YANC HSIU 165

The Pavilion of]oyful Abundance t$.f"tC. (1046)

This piece was also written while Ou-yang Hsiu was exiled in Ch'u Prefecture. In contrast to the casual attitude of The Pavilion of the Old Drunkard, this is a more decorous composition meant to be publicly displayed as an explanation of the moral significance of the pavilion's name. It displays a historical sense of place, as well as loyal political sentiments. Ou-yang Hsiu contrasts the past, a long phase of disorder

166 OU-YANG HSIU

and suffering, with the present state of peace and prosperity in which he implicitly participates. The theme of joyful abundance enables him to offer praise to the dynasty that was punishing him for his views and to articulate the Confucian virtues that would merit his recall to the capital. The pavilion at the foot of Mount Abundance (Feng-shan) near Lang-ya Mountain was also ordered built by Ou-yang Hsiu in 1046 in order to celebrate the bountiful era. Standing beside a spring surrounded by a tall peak and bamboo-covered hills, it became a frequent destination for his excursions. The text was also rewritten by Su Shih and engraved at the site.

Only in the summer of the second year after I took office in Ch'u Prefecture was I able to taste the spring water hereabouts and discover its sweetness. When I asked a local person about it, I found that it had come from the south of the prefectural city, no more than a hundred paces away. Above it stood Abundance Mountain, 1 lofty and strikingly erect; below it was a secluded valley, remote and shady, and hidden deep. Between them was a pure spring overflowing and spurting up- ward. I gazed up and peered down to the left and right, and was de- lighted at what I observed. So I cut through the rocks to make a path for the spring, and cleared some land for a pavilion so that I could make excursions here along with the people of Ch'u.

Ch'u was a battlefield during the wars of the Five Dynasties. Formerly, Emperor T'ai-tsu of the Sung2 led the army of the Latter Chou to defeat the 150,000 troops of Li Ching at the foot of Pure Stream Mountain. 3 He took prisoner Generals Huang-fu Hui and Yao Feng outside the East Gate of the city of Ch'u Prefecture, finally pacify- ing Ch'u. 4 I investigated the terrain, consulted maps and records, climbed up high to observe Pure Stream Pass, and sought to find the place where Huang-fu Hui and Y ao Feng were captured. But there were no living survivors, for it has been a long time since peace was established through the empire.

After the T'ang dynasty lost control, the entire land split apart. Strongmen arose and fought each other. Were not those warring king- doms beyond counting? Then, when the Sung received the Mandate of Heaven, a sage arose and unified all within the four seas. 5 The strategic bases of those contenders have been demolished and leveled. A century later, all is peaceful: nothing remains except the tall mountains and pure streams. I wanted to inquire about these events, but the survivors are

OU-Y ANG HSIU I67

all gone now. Nowadays, Ch'u Prefecture is located between the Long and Huai rivers, yet merchants and travelers do not come here. The people are unaware of events outside and are content with farming and providing clothing and food so that they are happy in life and provided for in death. But who among them realizes that it is the achievements and virtue of Our Sovereign which has allowed them to thrive and prosper, flourishing for as long as a century?

When I came here, I was delighted by the isolation of the place and the simplicity of official business. I was especially fond of the relaxed way oflife. So, ever since discovering this spring in a mountain valley, I have come here daily together with the people of Ch'u to look up- ward and gaze at the mountain and to peer down to listen to the spring. I gather hidden flowers and seek shade under the lofty trees. I have visited it in wind, frost, ice, and snow, when its pure beauty is revealed. The scenery during the four seasons is always charming. Moreover, it is fortunate that the people are joyful over the abundant harvests and are happy to travel here together with me. I have used this landscape to praise the excellence of their customs so as to remind the people that they can rest content in the joy of this year's abundant harvest, because they are fortunate enough to live during a time free from trouble.

To proclaim the benevolence and virtue of Our Sovereign and share the joy of the people is the duty of a prefect. Thus, I have written this account and named the pavilion after this.

WRITTEN BY OU-YANG HSIU, EXHORTER ON THE RIGHT, PROCLAMATION

DRAFTER, AND PREFECT OF CH'U AND CHUN PREFECTURES, IN THE SIXTH MONTH

OF THE YEAR PING-HSU DURING THE CH'ING-LI ERA [JULY-AUGUST I046) 6

2I

Su Shih (1037-1101)

Su Shih, widely known by his artistic name, Tung-p'o (Eastern Slope), became one of the dominant figures in Chinese literati culture, influencing not only prose and poetry but aesthetic theory, painting, and calligraphy as well. He was born into a gentry family oflimited means and educated primarily by his father, Su Hsiin (1009-1066), later famous as a political essayist, and also by his mother, nee Ch'eng. He and his younger brother, Su Ch'e, were regarded as newly discovered talents after passing the Presented Scholar examination in 1057 under Ou-yang Hsiu. In 1061, Su Shih passed the special examination held to recruit new officials and began his career as a case reviewer at the Court of Judicial Review. During these early years, he wrote numerous memorials identifying critical national problems in areas of finance and military defense. Although interested in reform, he opposed Wang An- shih's New Policies, objecting to the dislocation caused by their rapid implementation and Wang's use oflegalist methods. In 1079, Su was arrested in a "literary inquisition" for allegedly defaming the court in one of his poems. After several months of investigation, he was released, demoted to the nominal post of assistant military training commissioner, and exiled to Huang Prefecture in what is today Hu-pei. There, he wrote some of his best-known travel pieces while continuing to address current issues. Given a slight promotion to Ju Prefecture in 1084, he passed through Nanking on his way and met Wang An-shih, with whom he continued to maintain cordial literary relations despite political differences.

Su Shih returned to the capital after the reversal ofWang's policies

~~

under the Empress Dowager Hsiian-jen, regent for the young Emperor 183

184 S U SHIH

Fig . .z8. Wu Yiian-chih (active late 12th cent. ), Red C/!ff(detail). National Palace Museum, Taipei.

Che-tsung (r. I08s-noo), and served as a Han-lin Academician when the conservative party of Szu-ma Kuang gained power. He angered them, however, when he protested the indiscriminate dismantling of Wang's New Policies, with none of their beneficial aspects preserved, and was sent to administer Hang-chou in 1089. A series of other local posts followed in which he was able to institute progressive changes despite the reigning conservative atmosphere. In 1094 when the Che- tsung Emperor assumed personal rule, another faction supplanted those favored under the Empress Dowager, and Su Shih was again exiled, this time to remote Hai-nan Island in the south, where living conditions were particularly severe. H ere, coo, he wrote travel pieces, which continued to express his acceptance of the vicissitudes of life and

SU SHIH 185

a vitalistic engagement with his surroundings. Pardoned in 1100 upon the accession of the Emperor Hui-tsung (r. II00-1125), he died the following year while on his way north.

Though an activist Confucian official, Su Shih was eclectic in his intellectual interests. He was deeply influenced by Ch'an Buddhist concepts of enlightenment, the mind, and human nature, and searched for transcendence through engagement with social reality and the natural environment. He was also enthralled by the mysterious pageant of universal transformation. Such themes as the equivalence of objective and subjective viewpoints, the Tao as a ceaseless alternation between change and constancy, the affirmation ofhappiness in this life, equanimity toward fate, and unflagging curiosity about the natural world pervade his prolific writings. Su's shih poems alone number almost 2,8oo, of which those containing perceptions of Nature and his philosophical views have been the most widely read. His tz'u poems, numbering about 3 50, expanded the range of content in this genre and are considered innovative examples of an attitude of "heroic abandon" (hao1ang). One of the Eight Masters ofT'ang and Sung Prose, Su was further canonized by the literary tradition as the personification of the Northern Sung zeitgeist, an expansive, optimistic personality who later was celebrated in drama, painting, and the decorative arts.

As a travel writer Su employed a variety of forms such as letters, ju rhapsodies, travel records, random notes, and prefaces. His two pieces on Red Cliff were written during his exile in Huang Prefecture. The first is perhaps the best-known work of Chinese travel writing. In it, Su Shih achieved an optimistic solution to a lyric vision imperiled by an awareness of tragic history. His mood shifted in the second piece to a sober recognition of Nature's awesome power and the limits ofhuman ambition. Yet even here he concluded with an affirmation of the possibility of transcendence. Together, these pieces became monuments of Chinese literature and art, establishing the place as a literary shrine.

Red Cliff I "ff.r~5! ~ (1082)

In the fall of the year jen-hsii in the seventh month on the day after the moon had reached its height [August 12, 1082], I traveled in a boat with some guests to the foot of Red Cliff. 1 A light wind wafted by, and not a ripple was stirred. I poured wine for my guests as we chanted the poem about the bright moon and sang the song about the graceful

186 SU SHIH

maiden. 2 Before long, the moon appeared over East Mountain and lingered by the constellations Dipper and Ox. 3 White dew extended over the Long River; the water's gleam mingled with the sky. We let this reed of a boat follow its course as it traversed an expanse of myriad ch'ing. I felt boundless, as if gliding through the void not know- ing where I might land; I felt like I was soaring about, having left the world behind to stand alone as I sprouted wings to become a Transcen- dent.

Then we drank more wine and reached the height of joy. I beat out a rhythm against the side of the boat and sang:

Cassia-wood oars, Magnolia-wood rudder, Stroke the moon's pure reflection As we glide upstream on its shimmering light. Ever distant, the object of my longings. I gaze at the beautiful one In a faraway corner ofHeaven.4

One of the guests could play the flute and accompanied my song. 5

Yet his sounds-"wu-wu"-were plaintive, yearning, weeping, accus- ing. The lingering notes meandered through the air, drawn out like silken threads. They would have aroused a submerged chiao-dragon to whirl around in the cavernous depths, and caused a widow to weep in her lonely boat.

I was saddened. Straightening my clothes, I sat up and asked my guest, "Why are you playing this way?" He replied,

" 'The moon is bright, stars are few Crows and magpies are flying south. '6

"Isn't this from the poem by Ts'ao Ts'ao? Westward is Hsia-k'ou; to the east lies Wu-ch'ang.7 The mountains and the river encircle one another; how dense the viridian growth! Yet, is this not the place where Ts'ao was trapped by Chou Yii?8 He had just conquered Ching-chou and sailed down to Chiang-ling9 as he followed the course of the river eastward. His fleet stretched bow to stern for a thousand li; his banners and flags blotted out the sky. As he drank wine by the bank of the river, he lay down his lance and composed this poem. Indeed, he dominated his age, yet where is he now? And what about you and me,

SU SHIH 187

conversing here by the riverbank like a fisherman and a woodcutter, joined by fish and shrimp with the deer as our companions? We ride on a boat no bigger than a leaf as we drink to each other out of simple gourds. We exist no longer than mayflies between Heaven and Earth, and are of no more consequence than a kernel in the vast ocean. I grieve that my life is but a moment and envy the Long River's endless flow. If only I could grasp hold of a flying Transcendent and wander with him through the Heavens to embrace the bright moon and live forever. But I realize this cannot be, so I confide these lingering sounds to the sad autumn wind."

I said, "Do you really understand the water and the moon? Here, it flows by yet never leaves us; over there, it waxes and wanes without growing or shrinking. If you look at things as changing, then Heaven and Earth do not last for even the blink of an eye. If you look at them as unchanging, then I along with everything am eternal. So why be en- vious? Moreover, each thing within Heaven and Earth has its master. If I did not possess it, then I would not take even a hair of it. However, the pure wind over the river becomes sound when our ears capture it, and the bright moon between the mountains takes on form when our eyes encounter it. There is no prohibition against our acquiring them, and we can use them without ever consuming them. They are from the inexhaustible treasury of the Creator-of-Things, which you and I can enjoy together."

My guest became happy and laughed. We washed out the cups and drank again. Soon the food was gone, and the cups and plates were strewn about. We lay down in the boat, leaning against each other for pillows, unaware that it was becoming light in the east.

Red Cliff II 1~*~~ (1082)

In the tenth month of the same year on the day the moon reached its height [November 7], I walked from the Snow Lodge back toward Lin-kao. 1 Two guests accompanied me as we crossed over Yell ow Clay Slope. Frost and dew had already fallen; the leaves had all dropped off from the trees. Our shadows lay on the ground as we gazed up at the bright moon. We looked around us, delighted by the scene, and sang songs for each other as we walked along.

After a while I sighed, "I have guests but no wine, and even if I had wine, there is no food to go along with it. The moon is white, the wind, gentle. But how can we enjoy such a fine evening?" One of the

188 SU SHIH

guests replied, "Today at twilight, I cast a net and caught a fish with a large mouth and fine scales. It resembles a Pine River perch. 2 But where can we obtain some wine?" I went back and discussed this with my wife, who said, "There are two gallons of wine which I have been keeping for some time in case you should ever need it."

So we took along the wine and the fish and traveled once again to the foot of Red Cliff. The river flowed vociferously, the cleaved banks rose a thousand ch'ih. The mountain was high, the moon small. The water level had fallen, rocks protruded. How long had it been since my last visit? The scene was no longer recognizable! I lifted up my robe and alighted. I made my way among sharp crags, parting the overgrowth to crouch on rocks shaped like tigers and leopards and to climb up trees twisted like horned dragons. I pulled myself up to the precarious nests of falcons and peered down at the hidden palace of the river god P'ing 1. 3 My two guests were unable to follow me this far. I suddenly let out a sharp cry. The plants and trees were startled and shook; mountains resounded, valleys echoed. Winds arose, and the water became agi- tated. For my part, I became hushed and melancholy, then awed and fearful. Then I began to tremble so that I could no longer remain there. I returned, got back on board, and had the boat steered into the main- stream. We let it drift until it came to rest there.

By then it was toward midnight. All around us it was deathly si- lent. Suddenly, a solitary crane came toward us across the river from the east. Its wings traced cartwheels in the air. It seemed dressed in a white jacket over a black gown, and let out a long, piercing cry- "chia"-as it swept past our boat and headed west.

A short while later the guests left, and I fell asleep. I dreamed of two Taoists clothed in feathers, fluttering about. 4 As they passed by Lin-kao, they greeted me and asked, "Did you enjoy your journey to Red Cliff?" When I asked their names, they looked down without answering. "Oh! Now I understand! Last night, was it not you who called out as you flew by?" The Taoists looked back at me and laughed. And then I suddenly awakened. I opened the door and looked outside but saw no trace of them. 5

Stone Bells Mountain ;Gjj:J.dC. (1084)

In 1084, Su Shih was given a slight promotion and transferred from Huang Prefecture to Ju Prefecture. He traveled to his new post by boat along the Long River together with his son, Su Mai (1059-?), stopping

25

Fan Ch'eng-ta (1126-1193) ~,. ...\; ...l- ~~ nx.,. ~

Fan Ch'eng-ta, from P'ing-chiang, Wu-chiin (modern Su-chou, Chiang-su), was born into an official family. At the age of seventeen, he was identified as a promising young talent and asked to submit poetry to the Ministry of Rites. In I I 54, he became a Metropolitan Graduate and, two years later, began serving in local posts. Fan was a dedicated Confucian official concerned with the welfare of the people, the military strengthening of the state, and the recovery of the north from the Chin dynasty. By 1166 he had quickly risen to the position of vice-director in the Ministry of Personnel, causing political opponents to claim that he had been promoted above his rank; he was therefore dismissed and sent home. After two years in retirement, he returned to office, gaining the confidence of the Emperor Hsiao-tsung (r. I I62- ll 89) as a member of the irredentist faction. He successfully carried out a diplomatic mission to the Chin in I I70, which resulted in the first of his travel diaries, Grasping the Carriage Reins (Lan-p'ei lu), along with a cycle of seventy-two poems on the events of this journey. He subsequently lost power at court for opposing a favorite of the emperor and again retired in I I7I. Fan returned to public life in I I 73 to serve in Kuang-hsi; he recorded his investigations of the area around Kuei-lin in a local gazetteer and in another travel diary, Riding in the Luan-bird Chariot (Ts'an-luan lu, II73). The following year he served as military commissioner in Szu-ch'uan, where he employed Lu Yu. Returning to the capital in 1177, Fan took over the Ministry ofRites and, in II78, became Examination Administrator and Participant in Determining Government Matters, an important policymaking position. A few months later he was again impeached by a jealous censor. After 213

Fig. 34· Sung Hsii (1 525- ?), Eyebrows Mou11tai11 After a Snowfall (1605}. N anking Museum, Nanking .

FAN CH'ENG-TA 215

returning to government in I I So for one final period of service, he retired in n83 owing to ill health; he lived on at Stone Lake (Shih-hu) in the Su-chou area for another ten years.

Later canonized as one of the Four Masters of Southern Sung poetry, Fan worked largely in the field-and-garden genre. He brought to its tradition of reclusiveness, assertion of moral purity, and transcendental longings a thorough realism, conveyed through objective observations about moral and social life in the countryside. Some poems have a quality of egoless impersonality and sudden shifts in perspective, reflecting his interest in Ch'an Buddhism. His monumental Gazetteer of Wu-chiin (Wu-chiin chih, I I92-I I93) was considered a model work. In his lyric travel records, he was influenced by the descriptive style of Liu Tsung-yiian and the philosophical attitudes of Su Shih, particularly in two accounts of his outings on Stone Lake. Fan was also regarded as an outstanding calligrapher.

Diary of a Boat Trip to Wu (Wu-ch'uan lu) was written following Fan Ch'eng-ta's service in Szu-ch'uan. InJune II77, he set out on his return to Hang-chou at a leisurely pace that enabled him to stop at scenic places along the river route. The following selection describes the IO, I65-foot Eyebrows Mountain (0-mei-shan), located in modern 0-mei District, Szu-ch'uan. One of the four sacred mountains of Buddhism in China, its patron being the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, it has been a site of religious pilgrimage since the T'ang. Even earlier, during the Eastern Chin, the calligrapher Wang Hsi-chih had viewed it from a nearby mountain and praised its beauty. Fan moored his boat at Chia Prefecture (modern Le-shan, Szu-ch'uan) and spent three days making the seventeen mile ascent to the summit, where pilgrims and sightseers could visit an ancient shrine and view "Buddha's Halo." His descriptive style is clear and reportorial, revealing his curiosity about the observable world and his interest in "the classification of things"; some of his explanations of natural phenomena, though, would be considered unscientific today.

From Diary of a Boat Trip to Wu: Eyebrows Mountain ~4ltr~:"'lt.vQ J4 (1177)

On the day i-wei [July 24, 1177], the sky cleared after a snowfall .... We passed New Station, Eighty-four Slopes, and Sala Plateau. 1 The wood and leaves of the sa/a-tree resemble the hai-t'ung, and it is also like the yang-mei. 2 Its flowers are red and white, blossoming in spring and

216 FAN CH'ENG-TA

summer. It grows only on this mountain. I saw them as soon as I climbed halfway up, but when I reached this point, they covered the whole mountain. In general, all the plants, trees, birds, and insects on Greater Eyebrow Peak differ from those found in the world below. Previously, I had only heard descriptions of them; now I have been able to investigate them for myself. I came in the last month of summer. 3

Several days before, there was a heavy snowfall, and there were still fresh traces of it on the tree leaves. Among the rare plants, there is one that resembles the Eight Transcendents hydrangea, except that it is a deep purple. Another is like the morning glory, but several times larger. Yet another resembles smartweed but is a pale green. I have heard that rare flowers are especially plentiful in spring, but at this sea- son it is cold on the mountain and few can be seen. As for rare herbs, there are so many I could not enumerate them all. The mountain is high and windy, so trees cannot grow tall. Their branches all hang downward. Old moss clings to the trees like disheveled hair, hanging down several tens of feet and touching the ground. There is also the pagoda pine, shaped like a fir but with leaves that are round and small. It, too, cannot attain great height but grows erect in stages, like a pa- goda. They are especially plentiful on the summit. Furthermore, there are no birds at all, probably owing to the mountain's elevation, for they cannot fly this high.

From Sala Plateau I passed the Pavilion for Contemplating Buddha, Soft-Grass Plateau, and the Stream for Cleansing Feet before finally arriving at the Temple of the Brilliant Image on the summit. Though it contains several tens of wooden chambers, no one lives there. In the middle is a small chapel dedicated to the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra. 4 I began the climb at the beginning of the hours of mao [5 :oo-7:00 A.M.]; now, it was already past shen [3:oo-s:oo P.M.]. At first I wore summer linen, but it gradually grew colder as I ascended. At Eighty-four Slopes, it suddenly became quite cold. And when I reached the sum- mit, I had to quickly don a double layer of silk-padded clothes as well as a woolen gown and a camel-hair jacket. This exhausted the clothing I had brought along in the trunks. I wrapped a turban around my head in several layers and put on felt boots. Still, it was shiveringly cold, quite unbearable. So I burned charcoal in a brazier, which I clutched as I sat up straight. There is a spring on the summit, but the water cannot boil rice. The kernels remain hard like grains of sand. I knew that water from ancient ice and snow cannot be used to cook with, 5 so I had a jar of water brought along from down below, and this was enough to sus- tain me.

FAN CH'ENG-TA 217

A while passed, then I braved the cold and went up over the Bridge of the Celestial Transcendent to Brilliance Cliff, where I lit some incense. The chapel there is covered with a roofing of bark. The Vice-Grand Councillor Wang Chan-shu6 once had the roof tiled, but the snow and frost seeped in and within a year the tiles had all cracked. Later it was reroofed with bark that at least lasts for two to three years. Someone said to me, "Buddha's Halo always appears at the hours of wu [u:oo A.M.-I:oo P.M.]. Now it is past shen [3:oo-s:oo P.M.]. We had better return to our lodgings and come again tomorrow." While we were hesitating, suddenly clouds arose below the cliff from a valley to the side, just where Thunder Cave Mountain is located. The clouds paraded by vigorously like an honor guard. When they encountered the cliff, they paused for a short while. From the top of the clouds, a grand halo appeared containing several rings of various colors. I stood exactly opposite it and saw an inky shadow in its center, like a Transcendent or a sage astride an elephant. 7 In the time it would take to drink a cup of tea, the halo vanished, while beside it appeared another halo just like the one before. It, too, vanished after a while. From the clouds there then appeared two rays of golden light, which extended along the waist of the cliff. People call it the "Lesser Manifestation." By sunset, the clouds had all dispersed, and the surrounding mountains became quite tranquil. By the second night watch [9:oo-u:oo P.M.], lights appeared all over below the cliff. When viewed from a distance, they seemed to number in the many hundreds, perhaps even a thousand. At night, the cold was intense; I could not stand outside for long.

The next day, ping-shen [July 25], I again ascended Brilliance Cliff for the view. Behind the cliff were the many layers of the Mount Min range. Slightly to the north was Tiled House Mountain, located in Y a Prefecture. 8 A bit to the south was Greater Tiled House Mountain, close to the area of Nan-chao. 9 Its shape looked just like a one-room house with a tiled roof. There was also a halo at Lesser Tiled Roof Mountain, known as the "Manifestation of Self-Enlightenment. " 10 Be- hind these mountains are the Snowy Mountains of the Western Re- gion.11 Lofty, rugged, carved, sliced; scores, perhaps a hundred peaks in all. When the rising sun first illuminates them, the snow glistens like shiny silver, shimmering in the light of the dawn. From antiquity to the present, this snow has never melted. These mountains extend all the way to the land of India and to tributary kingdoms along the border for a distance of I don't know how many thousands of li. It looks like it is spread out on a table before one. This spectacular, unique, unsurpassable view was truly the crowning one of my entire life.

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I returned to the chapel on the cliff to offer up a prayer. Soon, a dense mist arose on all sides, blending everything into a single white- ness. A monk said to me, "This is the 'Silvery World."' After a while, a heavy rain fell and the mist dispersed. The monk said, "This is the 'Rain That Cleanses the Cliff.' 'Buddha's Halo' is about to appear." Flossy clouds once again spread out below the cliff, billowing upward until they reached only several tens of feet below the top. The clouds smoothed themselves out like a floor of jade. There was a sudden rain, and droplets flew about. I looked down at the middle of the cliff- there was a large halo lying on top of the smooth clouds. Encircling it were three rings, each containing blue, yellow, red, and green colors. The center of the halo was empty, bright, dense, and clear. Each ob- server could see his form appear in the empty, bright area without the slightest degree of obscurity, just like a mirror. When one raised one's hands and moved one's legs, the reflection indicated this without show- ing anyone else's form. The monk said, "This is the 'Halo That Captures the Body.'" When this halo vanished, winds arose from the mountains in front and the clouds quickly drifted away.

From the midst of the wind and clouds appeared yet another large halo. It stretched across several mountains and contained many unusual hues, all gathered together in a multicolored light. Peaks, plants, and trees were so fresh, gorgeous, brilliant, and glittering that I couldn't look at them directly. When the clouds and mist dispersed, this halo remained to shine alone. People call it the "Pure Manifestation." When Buddha's Halo is about to appear, clouds must gather first, forming what is known as the "Flossy World." It is from out of these clouds that the halo appears. But when it appears without the help of clouds, it is called a "Pure Manifestation" and is extremely rare. After the time it would take to have a meal, the halo gradually shifted westward past the mountain. I glanced to the left above Thunder Cave Mountain and again saw a halo just like the one before, only slightly smaller. After a moment it, too, flew off beyond the mountain, moving over toward the plateau, where it hovered just opposite the cliff. Its colors had all changed, and it became the "Golden Bridge," similar to the Rainbow Bridge over the Wu River12 except that the two ends of this "bridge" were supported by purple clouds. Between the hours of wu [I I :oo A.M.-I:oo P.M.] and wei [1:oo-3:oo P.M.] the clouds all disappeared, and this is called "The Final Scene at the Cliff." Only Golden Bridge re- mained visible until after yu [s:oo-7:oo P.M.], when it vanished. 13

26

Chu Hsi (11J0-12oo)

Chu Hsi was the major formulator ofNeo-Confucianism, which absorbed concepts of metaphysics and consciousness from Buddhism and Taoism into traditional Confucian ethics. His comprehensive views on the classics were accepted as orthodox thought by the end of the Southern Sung and became the basis of the examination system when it was reinstated in the late Yiian. During the Ming and Ch'ing dynasties, he was canonized as a Sage and sacrificed to in temples along with Confucius and Mencius. His career, however, followed a pattern similar to that of many officials: public service in a variety of offices alternating with periods of political disfavor. While he lived, there was little indication of the extraordinary veneration he was to be accorded throughout the later Chinese empire.

Chu Hsi grew up in Ch'ung-an, Chien-yang, in what is today Fu- chien, in an official family originally from Chiang-hsi. His father was demoted for opposing Ch'in Kuei's appeasement policies and died when Chu Hsi was fourteen; subsequently, Chu Hsi continued to espouse his father's patriotic views and suffered similar punishments during his own career. He earned the Metropolitan Graduate degree in 1 148 and began to serve in local positions. Meanwhile, he attracted disciples and developed his own program of Confucian education. In 1163, under Emperor Hsiao-tsung, he was granted an audience and argued for war against the Chin. Though appointed to a number of positions both in the provinces and in the capital, he often refused to accept appointments because of policy differences, or served only briefly before retiring or being demoted. During a fifty-year career, he spent only nine years in office and about forty days at court. His

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influence was greater through the educational institutions he sponsored. 219

Fig. 35· Portrait ofChu Hsi. (n.d .) National Pa lace Museum , Taipei.

CHU HSI 221

He helped to restore the White Deer Cave Academy in I I79 while serving in Chiang-hsi and the Academy at the Foothills of the Sacred Mount in I I94 while serving as military commissioner in Hu-nan. By the end of his career in I I95 he had become an edict attendant in the Han-lin Academy, but, after angering the powerful official Han T'o- chou, he was finally impeached. His remaining years were spent back in Chien-yang writing and teaching.

Chu Hsi's aesthetics asserted the absolute identity ofliterature and the Tao, in contrast to more conventional formulations, which saw writing as but an expression or vehicle of the Tao. For Chu Hsi, they were one and the same, unified through the moral cultivation of the individual. Similarly, he espoused the view, stated in the "Mao Preface" to The Book of Poetry, that poetry was simply the expression of the moral will. His poems, for which he achieved some note, conveyed an archaistic temperament, employing few allusions or metrical intricacies in favor of direct, uncomplicated emotions and objective observations of the world. His prose, as might be expected, was largely didactic and pragmatic. Among the more influential texts associated with him is the Collected Sayings of Master Chu (Chu-tzu yii-lei), which transmitted his remarks on philosophy and literature. It came to be looked upon as a literary model for its inclusion of colloquial elements that captured a sense of actual speech.

The following travel piece is undated, but it must have been written before 1185, when one ofhis traveling companions, Liu P'ing-fu, died. That it has been often anthologized is probably due to the prestige of the writer, for it is a conventional, though well-wrought, travel account. Like many travel narratives, it was originally written in conjunction with poems. Chu Hsi represented his experience of a journey as a linear progress through a world of concrete appearances and sensations with only brief autobiographical and lyric elements. The piece reveals a restrained imagination focused on "the classification of things," recording immediate observations of the environment.

The Mountain a Hundred Chang High a~ J.i ~C.

After ascending the Mountain a Hundred Chang High 1 for about a mile, I peered down to the right at a deep valley and braced myself on the left against an overhanging cliff. Stones had been stacked to form stairs. I climbed all ten or so of them. The scenic beauty of the moun- tain began from here.

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I followed more stairs eastward and encountered a small stream; a rock bridge spanned it. Everywhere were aged vines and ancient trees. Although it was the height of summer, it was not hot, even at noon- time. The water was completely clear and deep. It splashed down from higher up with splattering sounds-" chien-chien." I crossed the rock bridge, followed alongside two cliffs, winding my way higher until I reached the outer gate of a temple. It was a small building with three rooms, hardly capable of accommodating ten or so people. Still, from the front it surveyed the stream below; in back, it faced a rock pond. Wind comes wafting through two gorges all day long without respite. Inside the gate, one passes over a pond by another rock bridge. Cross- ing it and turning northward, I climbed up many stone steps to arrive at the temple. The temple itself was an old building of several rooms- small, low, cramped, and narrow-not much to look at. Only its west- ern pavilion offered a scenic view. Water flows out from the valley to the west, then through a fissure in the rock, and shoots out from be- neath the pavilion. Southward, it meets the stream from the valley to the east and flows into the pond. When it leaves the pond, it becomes the small stream mentioned earlier. The pavilion occupies a position upstream, just where the onrushing water and steep rocks confront each other, a most enjoyable site. But a wall was built behind it, so there is nothing further to see. I spent the night upstairs in the pavilion alone. Below my bed was the gurgling of water-"chan-chan"- throughout the evening. After a long while, the sounds became in- creasingly melancholy; it was all quite charming.

Exiting through the temple gate eastward ten or so paces, I came upon a rock terrace. Below, it extended to a steep cliff, which was deep, dark, dangerous, and inaccessible. I gazed to the southeast through a dense grove and saw a cascade from a rock cave in front shoot out into the air and then drop down for several tens of feet. The foam was like scattering pearls and exhaled mist: as the sunlight illuminated it, the luster was so striking that I couldn't look at it directly. The terrace occupies an open spot on the southwest of the mountain. In front it greets Reed Peak Mountain, 2 whose single peak soars handsomely while for several hundred li about peaks and pinnacles, high and low, one by one, are displayed before one's eyes.

As the sun drew near to the mountains on the west, its twilight rays glowed across the sky. Purple and emerald green intermingled-an in- describable sight. When I arose at dawn and looked down below, white clouds formed a river rising and falling like waves in the ocean. All the mountains, far and near, protruded through the middle. They seemed

CHU HSI 223

to fly and float, back and forth, now surging, now engulfed. In but a short while, a myriad transformations occurred. East of the terrace, the path ended. Local people have cut stairs into the rock in order to pass. They have placed a shrine to the east of it. In times of drought, they offer up prayers to it. Those who are frightened by the dangerous steepness dare not cross, though beyond this point there is nothing more worth viewing on the mountain anyway.

I traveled here with Liu Ch'ung-fu, Liu P'ing-fu, 3 Lii Shu-ching, and my cousin Hsii Chou-pin. We all wrote poems to mark the scenic spots. I also wrote this description of the sequence of sights. Those most worth viewing are the stone stairs, the small stream, the temple gate, the rock terrace, the West Pavilion, and the cascade. Because these places are so distinctive, I composed a short poem to record each one and offer them to my fellow travelers as well as to those who would like to journey here but cannot.

RECORDED ON THE-- DAY, IN THE __ MONTH OF THE-- YEAR4