Category Archives: China

BOOKS: “The Banished Immortal” by Ha Jin

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The Banished Immortal: A Life of Li Bai (Li Po)The Banished Immortal: A Life of Li Bai by Ha Jin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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Li Bai is considered to be one of China’s best poets of all time, writing during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD,) a time swole with poetic greats. However, it’s not just a prolific collection of extant masterpieces that make Li Bai worthy of a biography intended for a general audience. Li Bai was also a compelling character. He was, at once, a drunk and a genius; a swordsman of some skill and a card-carrying Daoist. It’s not just that he could edit drafts into brilliant poems, but he was said to be gifted at spontaneously spouting clever verse. He was constantly struggling to gain a post in government, but failed time and again. Even when his poetic renown became so great that he was given a post in the Imperial court, he was disappointed to find that it was largely ceremonial and that he would have no great impact on anything. He had a stunning fall from grace when he aligned with the wrong side during a civil war and was lucky to have been exiled rather than executed.

Ha Jin, a prominent present-day Chinese author best known for the novel Waiting, does an excellent job of exploring Li Bai’s life. What I particularly enjoyed is that Ha Jin (a poet himself) discusses how events in Li’s life spurred some of his great poems (which are often included in whole or in part.) Ha Jin is also careful to make clear when biographical accounts diverge, and there are many unknown or disputed details of Li’s life. In fact, there is a bit of a mythology around Li Bai, as one might guess from the title – which refers to a nickname bestowed upon the poet based on the belief that he was a Daoist immortal.

I’d highly recommend this book for readers of biography, those interested in Chinese history, or those who are intrigued by rebellious poetic souls.

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DAILY PHOTO: Sun Yat-Sen Memorial, Taipei

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“Grass of the Ancient Plains” by Bai Juyi [w/ Audio]

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Lush grass covers the plains.
  One year it withers; the next, it thrives.
 Wildfires burn, but not to eradication.
   With Spring winds, it's rejuvenated. 
 Its aroma floats in to subdue derelict paths.
  Vivid green overtakes the ghost town.
 I say farewell to departing friends
  as intense feeling swells within. 
In Chinese [Simplified]:

离离原上草  一岁一枯荣
野火烧不尽  春风吹又生
远芳侵古道  晴翠接荒城
又送王孙去  萋萋满别情

River Snow by Liu Zongyuan [w/ Audio]

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From one thousand mountains, birds have vanished.
 Over ten-thousand paths, not one footprint.
 A lone boat, an old man in coarse cloak and hat:
 Just he, fishing in the cold, river snow.

Original Chinese:

千山鳥飛絕
萬徑人蹤滅
孤舟蓑笠翁
獨釣寒江雪

DAILY PHOTO: Beijing West Rail Station on a Rainy Day

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Drinking Alone by Moonlight by Li Bai [w/ Audio]

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A pot of wine, under blossoms.
   I drink alone, no friends in sight.
 I raise a cup to lustrous Moon:
   Me, Moon, and Shadow will make three.
 But Moon is a teetotaler.
   And Shadow just skulks at my feet.
 Still, Moon & Shadow are my chums.
   We need a bash before Spring's end.
 But my singing makes Moon recoil.
   And Shadow flops hard when I dance.
 At first, we have a grand old time,
   But we part ways when I drift off.
 We should keep this epic friendship rolling,
   and meet again in the River of Stars.

NOTE: I produced this “translation” / arrangement, using translations by Arthur Waley, Ezra Pound, and that of “The Anchor Book of Chinese Poetry” [ed. by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping] to get varied takes on the source poem.

Li Bai [Lyric Poem]

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Li Bai fills his cup;
 Li Bai loves his wine;
  Li Bai sits in moonlight,
 staring at the sky.

DAILY PHOTO: Religious Buildings in Beijing

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St. Joseph’s Church on Wanfujing Street (a.k.a. Wanfujing Church / Dongtang); Roman Catholic

Lama Temple (a.k.a. Yonghe Temple); Tibetan Buddhist (i.e. Vajrayana Buddhist)

Beijing Temple of Confucius; Confucian

BOOK REVIEW: Dao De Jing: A Minimalist Translation by Lao Zi [Trans. Bruce R. Linnell]

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Dao De Jing: A Minimalist TranslationDao De Jing: A Minimalist Translation by Lao Zi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Available Free on Project Gutenberg

The Dao De Jing presents the core philosophy of Taoism, a philosophy that values simplification, non-action, naturalness, spontaneity, and recognition of opposites in [and their influence on] each other. There are numerous editions (this is the Wang Bi / “standard” ed.) and English translations of this Daoist tract, and the translation matters because the Dao De Jing is at once simply stated and arcane. I liked what Linnell did with this translation, which – as the subtitle suggests – he aimed to make simple and straightforward.

One nice feature of this translation is that each of the 81 chapters has four segments: the original Chinese text, a readable English translation, a word-for-word literal translation, and notes. Having the Chinese, a literal translation, and notes can be helpful when one has trouble deciphering the more cryptic passages. Another nice feature is an appendix in which the author discusses another scholar’s hypothesis that the chapters of the Dao De Jing were composed in layers, and Linnell re-orders the chapters as suggested by this hypothesis. Finally, the book ends with a Jefferson Bible-esque excerpt collection that takes all the places where Lao Zi wrote “Thus the sage:” and builds a single composition describing a wise person.

If you’re interested in Taoist philosophy, you may want to read this translation, whether you’re new to the Dao De Jing or you’ve read other translations or editions in the past.


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BOOK REVIEW: I Escaped a Chinese Internment Camp by Zumrat Dawut & Anthony Del Col

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I Escaped a Chinese Internment CampI Escaped a Chinese Internment Camp by Zumrat Dawut
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazon.in Page

Release Date: April 11, 2023

This short but evocative graphic novella tells the story of a Uyghur woman who is sent away to a reeducation camp and who is also sterilized against her will. It shows the brutality of China’s totalitarianism at its most oppressive. It’s easy to see China as a fairly benign – if autocratic – regime until one learns about the Orwellian nightmare that exists for some minorities deep within the country.

FYI – This book won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for “Illustrated Reporting and Commentary.”

I’d highly recommend reading this work as it shines a light deep down the rabbit hole of Chinese governance.


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