There was a book in our house, a present Mother had given Father around the time I was born, entitled Translations from the Chinese by Arthur Waley. At some indefinite point, by a process of osmossis that occurs in some families, it was absorbed by my library.
As a child, I was impressed not by the contents but by the color and texture of the cover. The book usually remained tightly hidden in its glossy black laquer-like box. But it was always a delight to expose the bright Chinese red and run my fingers over the rough, cloth-like texture of the covers. On the front, in black ink, an ancient man could be seen flying above the clouds on the back of a stork. This image mirrored my own desire to travel beyond the mountains that defined our valley.
Of the contents, I recall childhood interest in only one poem, The Lazy Man's Song.
We had the book when we moved to Montana when I was three. It came along when we moved from the teacher's dormitory in town to a ranch outside of town when I was five. Finally, it stayed with us when we moved from the hand-hewed log cabin built by the previous owner, to the "big house" built by my father in the early fifties. It is here with me now, as I turn sixty-three. Who would have guessed how prophetic my fascination with this book would be. From age fifteen on, I would spend much of my free time learning and trying to understand classical Chinese.
In Kanjicom you will find some of that personal history in these essays as well as smuggled into the book reports and the lessons on how to read classical Chinese.
The two main sections of the site are Books and Lessons. I have also reserved a third section, in case those with kanji-related products wish to advertise.
The Lazy Man's Song
For fun, here's the poem of Bai Juyi's (CE 772-846) along with my draft translation.
詠慵 ODE TO THE SLACKER [Draft 0.01]
有官慵不選 Re available sinecures: the slacker doesn't choose.
有田慵不農 In his own fields, the slacker doesn't farm.
屋穿慵不葺 Re house cracks: the slacker doesn't patch.
衣裂慵不缝 As for clothing rips, the slacker doesn't sew.
有酒慵不酌 Re available booze: the slacker doesn't pour;
無異樽長空 No difference, a cask long empty.
有琴慵不彈 On a lute, the slacker doesn't strum;
亦與無弦同 Here, too, re strings, same as none.
家人告飯盡 As for the wife, she reports the cooked rice gone.
欲炊慵不舂 He wants it cooked but the slacker doesn't grind.
親朋寄書至 As for kith & kin, they stay, then letters arrive.
欲讀慵開封 He wants to read but it's tiring to look inside.
常聞嵇叔夜 We're always hearing of Ji Shuye.
一生在慵中 One whole life embedded in the lazy middle.
彈琴復鍛鐵 But he played a lute, and even smelted metal.
比我未為慵 He's a slacker to be, compared to me.
I followed Arthur Waley for line 12, although it's hard to see why. Well, this is draft version 0.01, hopefully, I'll have time to improve it.
9/12/05 Permanent link