Ouyang Xiu - Spring at Jade Tower

11/13/21 • 14 min

We thought we were done with the Song, but we just cannot get enough of it. Now, we are going back to Ouyang Xiu with a poem that features in a translation of a late Qing thinker that Rob is working on. The poem is by Ouyang Xiu, and Rob and Lee disagree about how to read it...no surprises there.

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Elon Musk's Chinese Poem

It has happened again. For the second time this year, a billionaire has used a Chinese poem on social media in a newsworthy way. And you know we had to deal with it! This week, the world's richest man, Elon Musk, tweeted a Chinese poem about fraternal problems. The poem, which he titled "Humankind" (in English). It is not hard to understand the poem, but it is a little mysterious as to why Elon Musk is tweeting it. We tackle both problems on this week's podcast.

Seven Step Poem One boils beans by igniting beanstalks The beans in the kettle sob “We were born out of the same roots to fry together, why be this rash?” Lee’s Translation

Original: 七步诗煮豆燃豆萁豆在釜中泣本是同根生相煎何太急?

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Zhu Ziqing

Zhu Ziqing (朱自清) wrote a short, touching essay on his father. In the essay, Retreating Figure (背影), Zhu grows up a great deal by watching his father grow old.