LA LUNE À LA MI-AUTOMNE DANS LA POÉSIE CHINOISE CLASSIQUE

Hello. From the memory of Jinko, I welcome you. A window on traditional Chinese culture, ancient stories, and their profound wisdom to offer inspiration to young and old. An invitation for a journey towards authenticity, goodness and tolerance. The moon at mid-autumn in classical Chinese poetry. September 8, 2014. The Chinese celebrate the Sanqiu Festival, known as the Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Festival. It always takes place on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. It represents a great opportunity for family members to meet to admire the moon and taste the moon cakes. Since ancient times, the light of the moon at mid-autumn has been a source of eternal inspiration for Chinese poets who used it in poetry to express their joys and sorrows. The ups and downs, the evil of the country, and the hopes of their lives. Li Bai, Du Zhu, Bai Juyi, and Xu Shi are among the most eminent poets of Chinese literature. Li Bai's poetry. Li Bai, 701-762, was a poet of the Tang Dynasty. He is considered the immortal poet of the history of Chinese literature. During his youth, he became interested in writing. At the age of 10, he already knew the classics of Confucius. In his 20th year, he left home and began to travel until 742, when he became a scientist and a poet in the service of the emperor Xuanzang of the Tang Dynasty. In 743, after leaving the palace, Li Bai began to travel again and write poems. He was described as a Taoist. One autumn day of the following year, he met another poet, Du Fu. Admiring their respective talent for poetry, he immediately became good friends. In his poems, Li Bai revealed his passion for nature, his love for the country, and the sadness in his mind. Most of his poems describe humanity as lost in disillusionment, loneliness, and nostalgia, expressing the lack of a connection with the sky. Here are two of his famous poems on the theme of the moon. Drinking alone with the moon A pot of wine among the flowers I drank alone without a companion Raising my cup, I asked the bright moon Bring me my shadow and let us be three The moon cannot understand why I drink My shadow follows me silently wherever I go The moon accompanies my shadow for a short moment Seizing the opportunity to live a moment of joy The moon, a little dreamy when I sing The moon, a little dreamy when I dance Delighted to be friends when I am awake The camaraderie ceases when I drink Let us try to maintain an eternal friendship We will meet again in the vast sky Thinking in a quiet night In front of my bed The moon throws a very bright light I doubt for a moment if it is not the white jelly shining on the ground I raise my head I contemplate the bright moon I lower my head and I think of my country The Poetry of Du Fu Contemporary of Li Bai Du Fu 712-770 was a famous Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty He was considered the greatest Chinese poet of all time by many literary critics From a family of letters Du Fu revealed his talent for poetry at a young age Apart from reciting poems of the time he began to write poems at the age of 7 He then followed a traditional Confucian education During his failure in the examinations in 735 Du Fu began to wonder about his career He acquired a reputation as a poet During his travels he met other poets of this period including Li Bai in 744 After a brief meeting with Taoism while travelling with Li Bai Du Fu returned to the capital and to Confucianism of his youth During the year 740 Du Fu although disenchanted and without real official position was a very respected member of a group of high officials but he failed for the second time at the imperial exam Du Fu got married around 752 and had 5 children 3 sons and 2 daughters From 754 he began to have lung problems and a series of other diseases that persisted during the rest of his life Du Fu and his family lived in poverty and some of his friends gave him financial support From 765 to 766 with his family he travelled slowly weakened by his poor health He settled at the entrance of the Three Gorges It was during this period that Du Fu's last great poetic flourishing was written with around 400 poems in his pocket Du Fu was officially employed as a secretary by his friend Po Lam who had become a governor of the region in 766 Two years later however Po died and Du Fu and his family began to travel again Du Fu died at the age of 58 in Tanzhou in southeast China The story of his life presents him as a devoted son an affectionate father a husband a faithful friend and a loyal person to his country The greatest part of what is known of Du Fu's life comes from his poems In the two poems one can read his great desire for peace and his love for his family Full moon night The moon above was warm tonight My wife must look at her alone in our room Unfortunately I think of my children so far away They are too young to understand my absence and remember the moments in Shanghai Her hair is wet in the scented mist and her white jade arms are cooled by the moonlight When are we going to look at the open window while the moonlight dries our tears Thinking of my brother at the moonlight the drums of the army prevent people from traveling A goose can be heard on the border in autumn Roses will freeze in the advancing night The moonlight seems brighter in my homeland All my brothers are separated from each other There is no place where to ask if they are alive or dead The letters sent have not been received The battle continues Bai Zhu Yi's poetry Bai Zhu Yi 772-840 was a renowned poet during the years that followed the fast period of the Tang Dynasty He was from a poor family in Mezantrut Because of the war his family moved to different places Bai passed the imperial exam at the age of 28 He worked as a letterer of the Hanlin Academy and held a post of official in the palace from 807 to 815 Later Bai found himself in great difficulty He had made enemies in the court but also some people occupying other positions His writings displeased some people He wrote long memoirs on the end of the wars and a series of poems criticizing the actions of those responsible and showing the sufferings caused by the war on the population He then lost his job in the palace Although he was recalled by the new reign in 819 he kept his right to denounce corruption through a series of collections Bai was again sent far away from the capital in 822 Nevertheless he was assigned an important post of governor in Hangzhou, Suzhou and Henan during the next ten years Many famous poems were written after his retirement He had placed his faith in Buddha in the last years of his life In 746 at the age of 72 he died in Luoyang leaving instructions to be simply buried in a monastery with a simple ceremony and not wishing to be conferred any posthumous title Bai Zhuyi Bai Zhuyi is known for the simple, direct and easily understandable style of his verses and poems It was easy for people to understand the language used in his poems Poems flow from the source delicately and his poetic style became a new literary form fundamentally simple in the history of Chinese literature Look at the moon Last year on the 15th day of the 8th month I was by the water in the Apricot Garden in Kuching This year on the 15th day of the 8th month I am facing the Penfu Pavilion facing northwest towards my house Sometimes I saw the full moon No one from the southeast No one cared about the wind blowing yesterday The grace of the clear moon remains the same over the years Emotions while looking at the moon Times are hard A year of famine has emptied the fields My brothers live abroad scattered from west to east Now the fields and gardens are barely visible after the fight The members of the Heer family scattered on the road attached to the shadows like oaks separated by ten thousand beds where the roots rise in the autumn air of September We look together at the moon Then tears can fall This night our wish to win back the house is the same for all The Poetry of Su Ji Su Ji 1037-1101 also known as Su Tang Po was an important figure of literature in Chinese history He was a great writer poet, painter calligrapher and official of the Ku of the Song dynasty Su was born in a family of letters His two parents were well educated When Su was 19 his brother Su Se chose him to pass the imperial exam a prerequisite to access the high posts of the administration There were many official posts including that of president of the council of administration of the rites for the imperial ceremonies and the cult Poetry and the art of Su were inspired by Taoism and Buddhism He is generally considered as the greatest poet Sun Fu a kind of satirical poem in free verse was adapted by the following generations His satirical verses and his opposition to official politics made his career tumultuous He wrote a satirical poem about the new policies promoted by the prime minister Huang Ansh around 1079 after which he was imprisoned and exiled 12 times Su was known to have a free and fleeting mind and his poetry was full of energy After escaping from death and being banished in the arid region of the south he began to think about the beauty of nature and the meaning of life In exile he loved the simple pleasures of agriculture and writing taking pleasure in what life offered him This situation however, inspired him more deeply In fact many of his most famous works appeared at this time In 1101 Su was crucified again and recalled to the palace but he surrendered on the way back to the capital Su and his younger brother were very close to each other To have been a representative of the government in a family of officials Su was often separated from his relatives In 1078 his younger brother could join him for the Mid-Autumn Festival Inspired by his brother's visit he wrote the following poem to express the value of the past with the family The Moon of the Mid-Autumn While the evening clouds retreat A fresh air gushes The jade wheel passes silently through the silver river This life, this night has rarely been good Where will we see this moon next year? Melody of Water When the bright moon appeared for the first time I raise a glass of wine and ask the dark sky I wonder in the palace of the sky what year we are tonight I want to ride the wind and go back there However, I am afraid of the crystal towers and the jade of the palace To be at the top you have to endure the cold Starting to dance with the light shadow it does not look like the world of mortals Turning around the red pavilion lowering a door of silk shining above the sleep No resentment But why when the moon comes it is always the time of separation People live the pains, the joys the separation and the reunions The moon can also be dark luminous half full and full Since ancient times it has never been perfect May human beings be blessed for a long time Although separated by thousands of miles everyone can share the beauty of the moon Through the poems on it we can read their thoughts and feel their emotions The day of the mid-autumn has always been the time chosen by the Chinese poets to express their deep feelings and their thoughts Just like the wind flowers or snow the moon constitutes a privileged subject for writing Poets were nomads far from their home They felt the nostalgia of the country and the love of their loved ones They particularly missed the day of the mid-autumn when they contemplated the moon or drank at the moonlight They could forget all the troubles and difficulties caused by their errands But during the moonlight they could not forget the memory of their home and of their loved ones Nota Bene Emperor Xuanzong also called Emperor Mirong of Tang was the 7th emperor of the Tang dynasty His name is Li Longzhi and he lived from 685 to 762 His reign lasted 43 years 712-756 It was the longest reign of the Tang dynasty In the first part of his reign he was a leader involved and informed He established rules that would lead China to the peak of its culture and its power The real name of Guifei Yang and Yuwen Yang 716-756 Guifei is the highest title that an imperial wife Yang became the wife of Emperor Xuanzong during his last years She was known to have been one of the four beauties of ancient China