20 january 2024

John Bjarne Grover

Wang Anshi 'Plum Blossoms'

Wang Anshi lived and wrote in the Song dynasty - same time as Ouyang Xiu (here my translation of his 'white stone' poems, as I call them. Wang Anshi's poem 'Plum blossoms' is apparently well known in China. I here notice an interesting comparison with the helicopter vision of mine at the Danube River in 2013 ('source'):

      墙角数枝梅，
      凌寒独自开。
      遥知不是雪，
      为有暗香来。

which I translate as follows in order to approximate the helicopter story:

      A great number of corners frequently branch like a plum blossom (= helicopter rotors)
      approaching, trembling alone to start/boil.
      From far away (I become) aware of snow-white (helicopter)
      (comes) in order to look for eclipse (= forgotten umbrella) - then (it) turns around.

It is the suggestive similarity of the helicopter rotors and the umbrella which could be the poetic effect of this poem. A study of the glyph origins of the chinese signs supports this 'new translation' - here from the 'wiktionary' - what is available there - interpreted sign by sign in accordance with the helicopter story and the suggestive graphic ideas in the original sign forms:

墙             I walk alone the Danube river
角             the perspective bends in an angle turning up there
数             a lunar mansion (?) = helicopters?
枝             by the stream to the left
梅             I am turning left to look

凌             The helicopters fly low over the water
寒             3 small and 2 big military helicopters (as in one military unit/formation)
独             My look at them is not sufficiently positive and supportive
自             as if I could be straddling the water myself
开/開/亓   and hence a bridge up the river is ignored (= is no problem for the helicopters)

遥             From far away
知/智        a small helicopter is returning
不             whimsically spotting around (as if looking for a forgotten umbrella)
是             I look up and wonder what it is
雪             then it turns around and follows after the others

为             I go for the U-Bahn
有             and hurry back home
暗             I look into a parked car
香             and recognize the white colour and form of the female driver's hair
来             but conclude that it is not the same person (as I believed it was)


The poem starts with a wall which could be a reference to medieval water canals around city walls - normally with a bridge across it.

I have speculated that the helicopter vision could be of the same archetypal kind as Ezekiel's vision in the old testament. The opening verses display some interesting similarities.

Sources:

The 'Yabla' dictionary - here by first line 墙角数枝梅
The 'Wiktionary' dictionary - here by first sign 墙

© John Bjarne Grover
On the web 20 january 2024