The Arcane Celadon of Yue Kiln
- Poetry of Lu Guimeng
The Yue Kiln opens to autumn's wind and dew so deep,
It captures the emerald hue of a thousand peaks' steep.
Fit to hold the midnight dew, pristine and clear,
And rival Ji Kang's famed cup, without a peer.
Living in the late Tang Dynasty—a time of social unrest, political corruption, eunuch dominance, and regional warlordism—Lu Guimeng found himself unable to realize his ambitions. After early career setbacks, he retreated to Songjiang’s Fuli, expressing his ideals through poetry. He often used objects to convey his aspirations, turning either natural beauty or human artifacts into spiritual symbols. "Secret-color porcelain" represented the pinnacle of Yue kiln celadon, with a glaze so moist and green that Song dynasty admirers called it "the blue of a thousand peaks." Upon first seeing it, the poet was struck by its luminous color, using its beauty to embody his own noble character and recalling the aloof integrity of the Wei-Jin scholar Ji Kang, thereby expressing his refusal to compromise with the powerful.
九秋风露越窑开，夺得千峰翠色来。
好向中宵盛沆瀣，共嵇中散斗遗杯。
- Why Chinese poems is so special?
- The most distinctive features of Chinese poetry are: concision- many poems are only four lines, and few are much longer than eight; ambiguity- number, tense and parts of speech are often undetermined, creating particularly rich interpretative possibilities; and structure- most poems follow quite strict formal patterns which have beauty in themselves as well as highlighting meaningful contrasts.
- How to read a Chinese poem?
- Like an English poem, but more so. Everything is there for a reason, so try to find that reason. Think about all the possible connotations, and be aware of the different possibilities of number and tense. Look for contrasts: within lines, between the lines of each couplet and between successive couplets. Above all, don't worry about what the poet meant- find your meaning.