Podcasts about Li Bai

This episode we continue to follow the monk Xuanzang on his path along the silk road.  From Gaochang, he traveled through the Tarim Basin, up over the Tianshan Mountains, to the heart of the Western Gokturk Qaghanate.  From there, he traveled south, through the region of Transoxania to Bactria and the land of Tukhara.  He pushed on into the Hindu Kush, witnessing the stone Buddha statues of Bamiyan, and eventually made his way to the land of Kapisa, near modern Kabul, Afghanistan.  From there he would prepare to enter the Indian subcontinent: the home of the historical Buddha. For more discussion and some photos of the areas along this journey, check out our podcast blog at https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-121   Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua, and this is Episode 121: Journey to the West, Part 2   The cold winds blew through the travelers' doubled up clothing and thick furs.  Cold, wet ground meant that even two sets of boots were not necessarily enough after several days.  The frozen mist would often obscure everything except for the path immediately in front, hiding the peaks and making the sky a uniform white. In many places, the path would be blocked by rock, ice, or snow—the remnants of an avalanche, which could easily take an unsuspecting traveler.  And there was the elevation.  Hiking through the mountains, it was easy enough to reach heights of a mile or higher, and for those not accustomed to that elevation the thin air could take a surprising toll, especially if you were pushing yourself.  And the road was no less kind to the animals that would be hauling said travelers and their gear. And yet, this was the path that Xuanzang had agreed to.  He would continue to push through, despite the various deprivations that he would be subjected to.  No doubt he often wondered if it was worth it.  Then again, returning was just as dangerous a trip, so why not push on?   Last episode we introduced the monk Xuanzang, who traveled the Silk Road to India in the 7th century and returned to China.  He brought back numerous sutras to translate, and ended up founding a new school, known as the Faxian school—or the Hossou school in Japan.   As we mentioned last time, Xuanzang during his lifetime met with students from the archipelago when they visited the continent.  The records of his travels—including his biography and travelogue—are some of the best information we have on what life was like on the silk road around this time. In the last episode, we talked about Xuanzang: how he set out on his travels, his illegal departure from the Tang empire, and his perilous journey across the desert, ending up in Gaochang.  There, King Qu Wentai had tried to get him to stay, but he was determined to head out.  This episode we are going to cover his trip to Agni, Kucha, and Baluka—modern Aksu—and up to the Western Gokturk Qaghanate's capital of Suyab.  From there, we'll follow his footsteps through the Turkic controlled regions of Transoxania and into Tukhara, in modern Afghanistan.  Finally, we'll cover the last parts of his journey before he reached the start of his goal:  India. From Gaochang, Xuanzang continued on, through the towns he names as Wuban and Dujin, and into the country of Agni—known today as the area of Yanqi—which may also have been known as Wuqi.  The route was well-enough known, but it wasn't necessarily safe.  At one point, Xuanzang's caravan met with bandits, whom they were fortunately able to pay off.  The following night they encamped on a river bank with some merchants who also happened to be traveling the road.  The merchants, though, got up at midnight and headed out, hoping to get to the city early so that they could be the first ones to the market.  They only made it a few miles down the road, however, before they encountered more bandits, who slaughtered them and took their goods.  The following day, Xuanzang and his retinue came upon the merchants' remains lying in the road and saw the aftermath of the massacre. This was an unforgiving land, and the road was truly dangerous, even for those who traveled it regularly.  And yet Xuanzang was planning to travel its entire length until he reached India. So with little alternative, they carried on to the royal city of Agni. Agni, or Yanqi, sits on the southwestern edge of the basin, west of Bositeng lake, on the border between the Turfan basin and the larger Tarim Basin.  The name is thought to be a Tocharian—or Turfanian—name for the city, which is also known as Karashr. According to the biography by Huili, Xuanzang and his party didn't stay long in Agni.  Apparently Agni and Gaochang were not exactly on friendly terms, and even though the King of Agni and his ministers reportedly came out to greet Xuanzang and welcome him to their city, they refused to provide any horses.  They spent a single night and moved on. That said, Agni still made an impression on Xuanzang.  He noted how the capital was surrounded by hills on four sides, making it naturally defensible.  As for the people, he praises them as honest and straightforward.  They wore clothing of felt and hemp cloth, and cut their hair short, without hats or any kind of headwear.  Even the climate was pleasant, at least for the short time he was there.  He also notes that they used a script based on India—likely referring to the Brahmic script, which we find in the Tarim basin. However, as for the local lord, the King of Agni, he is a little less charitable.  Xuanzang claimed he was brave but “lacked resourcefulness” and he was a bit of a braggart.  Furthermore, the country had “no guiding principles or discipline and government orders are imperfect and not seriously implemented.”  He also mentioned the state of Buddhism in the country, noting that they were followers of Sarvastivada school, a Theravada sect popular along the Silk Road at the time.  Xuanzang was apparently not too pleased with the fact that they were not strict vegetarians, including the “three kinds of pure meat”.  From Agni, Xuanzang continued southwest, heading for the kingdom of Kucha.  He seems to have bypassed the nearby kingdom of Korla, south of Agni, and headed some 60 or 70 miles, climbing over a ridge and crossing two large rivers, and then proceeding another 200 miles or so to the land of Kucha. Kucha was a kingdom with over one hundred monasteries and five thousand monks following a form of Theravada Buddhism.  Here, Xuanzang was welcomed in by the king, Suvarnadeva, described as having red hair and blue eyes.  While Xuanzang was staying in Kucha, it is suspected that he probably visited the nearby Kizil grotto and the Buddhist caves, there, which include a painting of King Suvarnadeva's father, King Suvarnapuspa, and his three sons. You can still visit Kucha and the Kizil grottos today, although getting there is quite a trek, to be sure.  The ancient Kuchean capital is mostly ruins, but in the Kizil caves, protected from the outside elements, you can find vivid paintings ranging from roughly the 4th to the 8th century, when the site was abandoned.  Hundreds of caves were painted, and many still demonstrate vibrant colors.  The arid conditions protect them from mold and mildew, while the cave itself reduces the natural bleaching effect of sunlight.  The paintings are in numerous styles, and were commissioned by various individuals and groups over the years.  They also give us some inkling of how vibrant the city and similar structures must have been, back when the Kuchean kingdom was in its heyday. The people of Kucha are still something of a mystery.  We know that at least some of them spoke an Indo-European language, related to a language found in Agni, and both of these languages are often called Tocharian, which we discussed last episode.  Xuanzang himself noted that they used Indian writing, possibly referring to the Brahmi script, or perhaps the fact that they seem to have used Sanskrit for official purposes, such as the inscription on the cave painting at Kizil giving the name of King Suvarnapuspa.  The Kucheans also were clothed in ornamental garments of silk and embroidery.  They kept their hair cut, wearing a flowing covering over their heads—and we see some of that in the paintings. Xuanzang also notes that though we may think of this area as a desert, it was a place where rice and grains, as well as fruit like grapes, pomegranates, plums, pears, peaches, and almonds were grown.  Even today, modern Xinjiang grows some absolutely fantastic fruit, including grapes, which are often dried into raisins. Another point of interest for Xuanzang may have been that Kucha is known as the hometown of none other than Kumarajiva.  We first mentioned Kumarajiva back in episode 84.  Kumarajiva was one of the first people we know of who translated many of the sutras from India that were then more widely disseminated throughout the Yellow River and Yangzi river basins.  His father was from India and his mother was a Kuchean princess.  In the middle of the 4th century, when he was still quite young, he traveled to India and back with his mother on a Buddhist pilgrimage.  Later he would start a massive translation project in Chang'an.  His translations are credited with revolutionizing Chinese Buddhism. Xuanzang was initially welcomed by the king, his ministers, and the revered monk, Moksagupta.  They were accompanied by several thousand monks who set up tents outside the eastern gate, with portable Buddha images, which they worshipped, and then Xuanzang was taken to monastery after monastery until sunset.  At one of the monasteries, in the southeast of the city, there were several tens of monks who originally came from Gaochang, and since Xuanzang had come from there, they invited him to stay with them. The next day he met and feasted with the King, politely declining any meat, and then went to the monastery in the northwest to meet with the famous monk: Moksagupta.  Moksagupta himself had made the journey to India, and had spent 20 years there himself.  It seems like this would have been the perfect person for Xuanzang to talk to about his plans, but instead, the two butted heads.  Moksagupta seems to have seen Xuanzang's Mahayana faith as heretical.  He saw no reason for Xuanzang to travel all the way to India when he had all the sutras that anyone needed there in Kucha, along with Moksagupta himself.   Xuanzang's response seems to have been the Tang dynasty Buddhist version of “Okay, Boomer”, and then he went ahead and tore apart Moksagupta's understanding of his own sutras—or so Xuanzang relayed to his biographers.  We don't exactly have Moksagupta's side, and, let's face it, Xuanzang and his biographers are not necessarily reliable narrators.  After all, they followed Mahayana teachings, which they considered the “Greater Vehicle”, and they referred to the Theravada teachings as the “Hinayana” or “Lesser Vehicle”.  Meanwhile, Theravada Buddhists likely saw many of the Mahayana texts as extraneous, even heretical, not believing them to actually be the teachings of the Buddha. It must have been winter time, as the passes through the mountains on the road ahead were still closed, and so Xuanzang stayed in Kucha, spending his time sightseeing and meeting with various people.  He even went back to see Moksagupta, but the older monk shunned him, and would get up and exit the room rather than engaging with him, so they had no more conversations. Eventually, Xuanzang continued on his way west, following along the northern rim of the Tarim basin.  Two days out from Kucha, disaster struck.  Some two thousand or so Turkish bandits suddenly appeared—I doubt Xuanzang was counting, so it may have been more or less.  I imagine that memories of what had happened to the merchants near Agni must have gone through Xuanzang's mind.   Fortunately, for him, they were fighting over loot that they had pillaged from various travelers, and since they couldn't share it equally, they fell to fighting each other and eventually dispersed. He travelled for almost 200 miles after that, stopping only for a night at the Kingdom of Baluka, aka Gumo—the modern city of Aksu.  This was another Theravada Buddhist kingdom.  Xuanzang noted tens of Buddhist temples, and over 1000 Buddhist monks.  The country was not large—about 200 miles east to west and 100 miles north to south.  For reference that means it was probably comparable in size with Kyushu, in terms of overall area, or maybe the size of Denmark—excluding Greenland—or maybe the US state of Maryland.  Xuanzang described the country as similar to Kucha in just about every way, including the written language and law, but the spoken language was different, though we don't get many more details. From Baluka, he crossed northward through the Tianshan mountains, which are classified as an extension of the Pamirs known as the Ice Mountains.  Had he continued southwest, he would have hit Kashgar and crossed over between the Pamir and Tian Shan ranges into the Ferghana valley, but instead he turned north. We don't know exactly why he took this perilous option, but the route that may have been popular at the time as it was one of the most direct routes to the seat of the Western Gokturk Empire, which he was currently traveling through. The Tian Shan mountains were a dangerous journey.  Avalanches could block the road—or worse.  Xuanzang describes the permanent ice fields—indeed, it is the ice fields and glaciers of the Tian Shan that melt in the summer and provide the oasis towns of the Tarim Basin with water, even to this day.  In Xuanzang's day, those glaciers were likely even more prevalent than today, especially as they have been recorded as rapidly disappearing since 1961.  And where you weren't on snow and ice, the ground was probably wet and damp from the melt.  To keep warm, you would wear shoes over your shoes, along with heavy fur coats, all designed to reduce exposure. Xuanzang claims that 3 or 4 of every 10 people didn't survive the crossing—and that horses and oxen fared even worse.  Even if these numbers are an exaggeration, the message is clear:  This was a dangerous journey. After about seven days, Xuanzang came out of the mountains to the “Great Pure Lake”, the “Da Qing Hai”, also known as the Hot Sea or the Salt Sea, which likely refers to Issyk Kul.  The salt content, along with the great volume of water it possesses, means that the lake rarely freezes over, which is likely why it is seen as “hot” since it doesn't freeze when the fresh water nearby does.  This lake is the second largest mountain lake in the world, and the second deepest saltwater lake.  Traveling past the lake, he continued to Suyab, near modern Tokmok, in Kyrgyzstan, just west of the modern capital of Bishkek.  This was an old Sogdian settlement, and had since become the capital of the Western Gokturks.  Sogdians—like Xuanzang's guide, Vandak—were integral to the Gokturk kingdom. Their language was the lingua franca of the Silk Road, and at the time of the Gokturk Khaganate, it was also the official court language, and so when Xuanzang appeared at the court of the Great Khagan of the Western Gokturks, it was likely the language of diplomacy. When we think of Turkic people, many in the English speaking world think of Turkiye, and perhaps of the mighty Ottoman empire.  Some may think of Turkmenistan, Kazhakstan, Kyrgyzstan, or Uzbekistan, among others.  And of course, there are the Uyghur people in Xinjiang.  All of these people claim roots in the ancestral Turkic homeland in the Altai mountains, which sit largely in western Mongolia, north of China's Xinjiang region.  Much like the Xiongnu and the Mongols, they were pastoral nomads, moving their herds across the steppes, often covering great distances.  They would regularly move through different regions, perhaps returning each season, though sometimes not returning for years at a time.  They were often seen as barbarians by settled people living in cities, and yet their goods and horses were highly prized. Nomad and sedentary lifestyles would often collide.  Farmers would turn pastureland into fields, and when the nomadic people returned on their circuits, they would find walls and fences where there was once open land, and the people there would claim to “own” the land, a concept often foreign to people who were always on the move.  Nomadic people, such as the Gokturks, were not necessarily keeping vast libraries of records about themselves and their histories, and so much of what we get comes from external sources, which do not always have incredibly reliable narrators.  To many of the settled agriculturalists, groups like the Turks were marauders who raided their villages and farms.  They were a great bogeyman of the steppes, which required the firm hand of strong defenses to keep out—or so their opponents would want people to think. While they were known for their warfare, which incorporated their mobility, but they were keenly interested in trade, as well.  They understood the value of the trade routes and the various cities and states that they included in their empire.  Thus, the Sogdians and the Gokturks seem a natural fit: the Sogdians were more settled, but not entirely so, as demonstrated by their vast trade networks.  And the Sogdians also were part of the greater central Eurasian steppe culture, so the two cultures understood each other, to a degree.  They are even depicted similarly in art, with slight differences, such as long hair that was often associated with Turks over the Sogdians.  In some areas of the Gokturk empire, Sogdians would run the cities, while the Gokturks provided military aid and protection. Xuanzang's description of the people of Suyab, or the “City of Suye River”, doesn't pick out anyone in particular, and he even says that it was a place where traders of the Hu, or foreign, tribes from different countries mingle their abodes.  He mentions the people here as being called Suli, which is also the name given to the language—this may refer to “Sogdian” in general.  They write with an alphabet that is written vertically rather than horizontally—this may refer to a few scripts that were written this way, possibly based off Syriac or Aramaic alphabets that were adapted to Sogdian and other Iranian languages, but it isn't clear. We are told that the people dressed in felt and hemp clothing, with fur and “cotton” garments.  Their clothes fit tightly, and they kept their hair cut short, exposing the top of their heads—though sometimes they shaved it completely, tying a colored silk band around the forehead. He goes on to describe these people as greedy liars, possibly a reference to the mercantile nature of many of the people at the time. Something to note: The Turks of this time had not yet encountered Islam, which was just now starting to rise up in the Middle East.  The Prophet Muhammad is said to have been born around the end of the 6th century CE and was preaching in the early 7th century, though his teachings would begin to spread outward soon enough.  But that means that the Gokturks were not an Islamic empire.  Rather, their own traditions seem to have focused on the worship of Tengri, an Altaic personification of the universe, often simplified as a “sky god”.  Tengrism can be found amongst the Xiongnu, Mongols, and others, and it was the national religion of the Gokturks themselves, but there were many who also adopted other religions that they encountered, including Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Manichaeism, and Buddhism.  In fact, Xuanzang notes that the Turks he met in Suyab would not sleep or sit on beds made of wood because wood was thought to contain the spirit of fire, which he says they worshipped.  That sounds similar to Zoroastrian beliefs, where fire is associated with Ahura Mazda, who is also worshipped as a sky god.  These may have been beliefs inherited from their Eastern Iranian Sogdian partners. In Xuanzang's biography, we are given more details about his visit to Suyab.  Apparently, as he was headed to the city, he met a hunting party, which we are told was the retinue of Yehu Khan.  Hunting was an important part of life on the steppes, and it continued to be a favorite sport of the Gokturk nobility. Yehu Khan—possibly Yagbhu Khan, though that is up for some debate—is described as being dressed in a green silk robe, with his hair exposed, and wearing  a turban of white silk about ten feet long that wrapped his forehead and hung behind his back.  His “hunting” expedition wasn't just a couple of the guys.  It included about 200 officials, all with plaited hair and dressed in brocade robes—they weren't exactly out there roughing it.  He also had his soldiers, dressed in furs, felt, or fine woolen clothes, and there were so many cavalry that they stretched out of sight.  The Khan seemed pleased to meet Xuanzang, but his hunt was expected to last another couple of days, at least, so he sent an attendant named Dharmaja to take Xuanzang back to wait for the Khan to return. Three days later, Xuanzang was given an audience.  The khan was seated in a large yurt.  Xuanzang noted the seeming incongruity between the khan, sitting there in the tent, decorated with golden flowers, with the officials dressed in magnificent brocade garments sitting in two long rows in front of him and the armed guards behind him, compared to the simple felt walls of the tent. A ”yurt” is a common feature of nomadic life on the steppes.  It wasn't exactly a single person operation to haul them around, but they can be taken down and put up with relative ease.  And while yurts could be relatively simple, there are examples of much more elaborate structures.  There is little reason they couldn't be made larger, perhaps with some extra support.  In later centuries, there are examples of giant yurts that seem like real construction projects.  Use of tents, even in a city, where they had permanent palace buildings, was likely a means of retaining the nomadic steppe traditions, even while enjoying the benefits of city life. Whom exactly Xuanzang met with is a matter of debate.  His records seem to indicate that it was Tong Yabghu Qaghan of the Western Gokturk Khaganate, but other sources say that Tong Yabghu Qaghan died in 628, and the earliest Xuanzang could have been meeting with him was 630, two years later, so if that is the case, he must have met with Tong Yabghu's son, Si Yabghu Qaghan.  It is likely that Xuanzang, who was dictating his accounts years after, mentioned the Qaghan and then, when they looked up who it was, they simply made a mistake.  Remember, Xuanzang would have had everything translated through one or two languages.  He did know what he saw, however, and he recounted what he remembered. Tong Yabghu Qaghan oversaw the height of the Gokturk Qaghanate, and appears to have favored the Buddhist religion, though there were many different religions active in their territories at the time.  They oversaw an extremely cosmopolitan empire covering huge swaths of central Eurasia, including the lucrative silk road.  Xuanzang notes that at the court there were individuals from Gaochang and even a messenger from the Han—which is to say the Tang Empire.  One wonders if Xuanzang—or anyone at that time—realized just how tenuous the Khan'sposition was.  After Tong Yabghu's death, the Qaghanate would decline, and less than a decade later it would fall to the Tang dynasty, who took Suyab and made it their western outpost.  In fact, Suyab is thought to have been the birthplace, over a century later, of a young boy who would find a love of poetry.  That boy's name was Li Bai, or Ri Haku, in Japanese. He would become one of the most famous poets in Chinese history, and his poems were even known and studied in Japan.  And it was largely through Japanese study of Li Bai's poems that his works came to the English speaking world: first through Ernest Fenollosa, who had studied in Japan, and then by the celebrated Ezra Pound, who had used Ernest's notes to help with his own translations of the poems. This was, though, as I said, over a century after Xuanzang's journey.  At the time of our story, the Qaghan was throwing a feast, including Xuanzang and all of the foreign envoys.  Xuanzang comments on the food and drink—his hosts provided grape juice in lieu of wine, and cooked a special vegetarian feast just for him, while the other guests ate a feast of meat, such as veal, lamb, fish, and the like.  There was also the music of various regions along the Silk Road, which Xuanzang found to be catchy, but of course not as refined as the music he was used to, of course.  After dinner Xuanzang was asked to expound upon the Darma, largely about the basic principle that you should be kind to one another—I doubt he was getting into the deep mysteries of Buddhist philosophy. Xuanzang stuck around the court for three more days, during which time the Qaghan tried to get him to stay, but Xuanzang insisted that he had to make it to India.  And so the Qaghan relented.  He found men in his army who could translate for Xuanzang along his journey, and had letters of introduction written to at least as far as the state of Kapisa, in modern Afghanistan. And so, armed with the Qaghan's blessing and a fresh translator, Xuanzang struck out again.  They headed westward for over one hundred miles, eventually reaching Bingyul, aka the Thousand Springs.  This is the area where the Qaghan and his court would spend his summers, and the deer in the area were protected under his orders, so that they were not afraid of humans—which sounds similar to the situation with the deer in Nara.  Continuing on another fifty miles or so—the distances are approximate as Xuanzang's primary duty was not exactly to map all of this out—Xuanzang arrived at the city of Taras, in modern Kazakhstan, another place where the cultures of the Silk Road mixed and mingled.  Xuanzang didn't have much to say about Taraz, apparently, though it is one of the oldest cities in Transoxania, founded near the beginning of the Common Era.  A few miles south of there, Xuanzang reportedly found a village of re-settled ethnic Han that had been captured by the Gokturks and settled here.  They had adopted the dress and customs of the Turkic people, but continued to speak a version of Chinese. Southwest of that he reached the City of White Water, likely referring to Aksukent.  This is the same “Aksu” as the city in Xinjiang, both of which mean “White Water” in Turkic, but this one is in the south of Kazakhstan.  Xuanzang found the climate and products an improvement over what he had experienced in Taras.  Beyond that, he next arrived at the city of Gongyu, and then south again to Nujkend, and then traveling westward to the country of Chach, aka Tashkent.  Both Nujkend and Chach were large cities in nations of smaller, mostly autonomous city-states, which made up a lot of the political geography of Transoxania. I would note that Xuanzang's notes here are much more sparse than previously.  This may be because these were outside of the Tarim basin and therefore of less interest to individuals in the Tang empire.  Or perhaps he was just making his way more quickly and not stopping at every kingdom along the way. From Tashkent, he continued southeast to the Ferghana valley—the country of Feihan.  Oddly, this country doesn't appear in Xuanzang's biography, even though the Ferghana Valley seems to have been fairly well known back in the Tang Empire—it was known as the home of some of the best horses, which were one of its first major exports.  In fact, the Han dynasty even mounted a military expedition to travel to Ferghana just to obtain horses.  Xuanzang is oddly silent on this; however, he does talk about the fertile nature of the land.  He mentions that their language here is different from the lands he had been traveling through up to this point, and also points out that the people of the Ferghana valley were also visibly different from others in the area. From the Ferghana valley, Xuanzang headed west for about 300 miles or more to the land of Sutrushana—perhaps referring to the area of Ushrusana, with its capital of Bunjikat.  This country was also largely Sogdian, and described as similar to Tashkent.  From there, he traveled west through a great desert, passing skeletons, which were the only marker of the trail other than a view of the far off mountains.  Finally, they reached Samarkand, known as the country of “Kang” in Chinese, which was also the term used to mark Sogdians who claimed descent from the people of Samarkand. Samarkand is another of the ancient cities of Central Asia, and even today is the third largest city in modern Uzbekistan.  Human activity in the region goes back to the paleolithic era, and the city was probably founded between the 8th and 7th centuries BCE.  Samarkand was conquered by Alexander the Great, and during the Achaemenid Empire it was the capital of Sogdiana.  During Xuanzang's visit, Samarkand was described as an impenetrable fortress with a large population. For all of his travel, Samarkand was the first place Xuanzang notes as specifically not a Buddhist land.  In fact, there were two monasteries, suggesting that there had been Buddhists, but if any monks tried to stay there then the locals would chase them out with fire.  Instead, they worshipped fire—likely meaning Ahura Mazda and Zoroastrianism.  This leads to a story that I have to wonder about, given the reliability of our narrators. It is said that Xuanzang was met by the King with arrogance, but after staying the night Xuanzang was able to tell the King about Buddhism and its merits.  The king was intrigued, and asked to observe the Precepts, and treated Xuanzang with hospitality and respect.  So when two of Xuanzang's attendants went to the monasteries to worship, they were chased out with fire.  When the king heard about this, he had the people arrested and ordered their hands to be cut off.  Xuanzang could not bear to witness such suffering, however, and he intervened to have them spared.  So instead the king had them flogged and banished from the city.  Ever since then, all the people believed in Buddhism. Some parts of this strike true.  It was likely that the king would entertain this strange wanderer who had arrived with letters from the great Qaghan—that may have even explained why Xuanzang had been encouraged to make the dangerous journey to Suyab in the first place, so that he could obtain such permission.  And it would not be strange for the king to listen to his teachings.  If Xuanzang's attendants were attacked, that would have been a huge breach of hospitality, and however the King felt about it, he no doubt had to do something about it.  And so all of that sounds somewhat believable.  Does that mean everyone suddenly converted to Buddhism?  I don't know that I'm quite willing to go that far.  It is also likely that there were Buddhists there already, even if the majority religion was Zoroastrianism. From Samarkand, Xuanzang traveled farther southwest, to the country of Kasanna, which seems to have been the edge of what we might call Sogdiana.   According to his biographers, however, there was a little more to all of this.  Rather, he headed west to Kusanika.  Then he traveled to  Khargan, and further on to the country of Bukhara, and then to Vadi.  All of these were “An” in Chinese, which was the name element used for Sogdians from this region.  He then continued west to the country of Horismika, on the other side of the Amu Darya, aka the Oxus River of Transoxanian fame. From there he traveled further southwest, entering into the mountains.  The path here was often such that they had to travel single-file, and there was no food or water other than what you brought with you.  Eventually they came to a set of doors, known as the Iron Gate.  This was a Turkic fortress.  It was no doubt fortuitous that he had come from his meeting with the Qaghan, and likely had permission to pass through.  From there, they entered the country of Tukhara. As we noted in Episode 119, Tukhara was in the region of Bactria.  It was bordered by the Pamir range in the east, and the Persian empire in the west.  There were also the Great Snow Mountains in the south, likely referencing the Hindu Kush. Tukhara had been conquered by the Gokturks just within the past couple of decades, and Xuanzang notes that the country had been split into largely autonomous city-states as the local royalty had died without an heir many years before.  With the Gokturk conquest, it was now administered by Tardu Shad, the son of Tong Yabghu Qaghan.  “Shad” in this case was a local title. Here, Xuanzang's narrative gets a little dicey, especially between his biography and his records.  The records of the Western Regions denotes various countries in this area.  It is unclear if he traveled to all of them or is just recounting them from records he obtained.  He does give us at least an overview of the people and the region.  I would also note that this is one of the regions he visited, again, on his return trip, and so may have been more familiar with the region than those areas he had passed through from Suyab on down. For one thing, he notes that the language of the region was different from that of the “Suli”, which appears to refer to the Sogdians.  This was the old territory of the Kushan empire, and they largely spoke Bactrian.  Like Sogdian, it was another Eastern Iranian language, and they used an alphabet based largely on Greek, and written horizontally rather than vertically.  They also had their own coins. This region had plenty of Buddhist communities, and Xuanzang describes the cities and how many monasteries they had, though, again, it isn't clear if he actually visited all of them or not.  These are countries that Li Rongji translates as “Tirmidh”, “Sahaaniyan”, “Kharuun”, “Shuumaan”, etc. It does seem that Xuanzang made it to the capital city, the modern city Kunduz, Afghanistan. Xuanzang actually had something specific for the local Gokturk ruler, Tardu Shad.  Tardu Shad's wife was the younger sister of King Qu Wentai of Gaochang, whom we met last episode.  Qu Wentai had provided Xuanzang a letter for his younger sister and her husband.  Unfortunately, Xuanzang arrived to learn that the princess of Gaochang had passed away, and Tardu Shad's health was failing.  It does seem that Tardu Shad was aware of Xuanzang, however—a letter had already come from Qu Wentai to let them know that Xuanzang was on his way.  As I mentioned last episode, letters were an important part of how communities stayed tied together.  Of course, given the perils of the road, one assumes that multiple letters likely had to be sent just in case they didn't make it.  The US Postal Service this was not. Tardu Shad, though not feeling well, granted an interview with Xuanzang.  He suggested that Xuanzang should stick around.  Then, once the Shad had recovered from his illness, he would accompany Xuanzang personally on his trip to India.  Unfortunately, that was not to be.  While Xuanzang was staying there, he was witness to deadly drama.  Tardu Shad was recovering, which was attributed to the recitations by an Indian monk who was also there.  This outcome was not exactly what some in the court had wanted.  One of the Shad's own sons, known as the Tagin prince, plotted with the Shad's current wife, the young Khatun, and she poisoned her husband.  With the Shad dead, the throne might have gone to the son of the Gaochang princess, but he was still too young.  As such, the Tagin Prince was able to usurp the throne himself, and he married his stepmother, the young Khatun.  The funeral services for the late Tardu Shad meant that Xuanzang was obliged to stay at Ghor for over a month. During that time, Xuanzang had a seemingly pleasant interaction with an Indian monk.  And when he finally got ready to go, he asked the new Shad for a guide and horses.  He agreed, but also made the suggestion that Xuanzang should then head to Balkh.  This may have meant a bit of backtracking, but the Shad suggested that it would be worth it, as Balkh had a flourishing Buddhist community. Fortunately, there was a group of Buddhist monks from Balkh who happened to be in Kunduz to express their condolences at the passing of Tardu Shad, and they agreed to accompany Xuanzang back to their hometown, lest he end up getting lost and taking the long way there. The city of Balkh is also known as “Baktra”, as in “Bactria”, another name of this region.  A settlement has been there since at least 500 BCE , and it was already an important city when it was captured by Alexander the Great.  It sits at the confluence of several major trade routes, which no doubt were a big part of its success.  Xuanzang's biography notes that it was a massive city, though it was relatively sparsely populated—probably due to the relatively recent conquest by the Gokturks, which had occurred in the last couple of decades.  That said, there were still thousands of monks residing at a hundred monasteries in and around the city.  They are all characterized as monks of Theravada schools.  Southwest of the city was a monastery known as Navasamgharama, aka Nava Vihara, or “New Monastery”.  Despite its name, the monastery may have actually been much older, going back to the Kushan emperor Kaniska, in the 2nd century CE.  Ruins identified as this “New Monastery” are still visible south of Balkh, today. The monastery is described as being beautifully decorated, and it seems that it had a relic—one of the Buddha's teeth.  There are also various utensils that the Buddha is said to have used, as well.  The objects would be displayed on festival days.  North of the monastery there was a stupa more than 200 feet in height.  South of the monastery was a hermitage.  Each monk who studied there and passed away would have a stupa erected for them, as well.  Xuanzang notes that there were at around 700 memorial stupas, such that they had to be crammed together, base to base. It was here that Xuanzang met a young monk named Prajnaakara, who was already somewhat famous in India, and well-studied.  When questioned about certain aspects of Buddhism, Xuanzang was impressed by the monk's answers, and so stayed there a month studying with the young monk. Eventually, Xuanzang was ready to continue on his journey.  He departed Balkh towards the south, accompanying the teacher Prajnakara, and together they entered the Great Snow Mountains, aka the Hindu Kush.  This path was even more dangerous than the trip through the Tian Shan mountains to Suyab.   They eventually left the territory of Tukhara and arrived at Bamiyan.  Bamiyan was a kingdom in the Hindu Kush, themselves an extension of the Himalayan Mountain range.  It Is largely based around valley, home to the modern city of Bamyan, Afghanistan, which sits along the divide between Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent.  Today it is a major center for individuals of the Hazara ethnic group, one of the main ethnic groups in Afghanistan, which is a multi-ethnic state that includes, today, the Pashtun, Hazara, Tajik, and Uzbek people, along with a number of smaller ethnic groups.  Today they largely reside in the mountainous areas of the Hindu Kush. Bamiyan made an impact on our protagonist.   Their language was slightly different from that in Tukhara, but using the same—or similar enough—writing system.  Buddhism was thriving in the capital, and we are told of a rock statue of the standing Buddha, over a hundred feet in height, along with a copper statue of the standing Buddha nearby.    There was also another reclining Buddha a mile or two down the road.  There were multiple monasteries with thousands of monks, and the ruler of that kingdom received Xuanzang well. Xuanzang wasn't the first monk to travel to Bamiyan from the Middle Kingdom—in this he was, perhaps unwittingly, on the trail of the monk Faxian.  Faxian likely did not see these statues, though, as we believe they were built in the 6th and early 7th century—at least the stone Buddha statues.  They were a famous worship site until February 2001, when the Taliban gave an order to destroy all of the statues in Afghanistan.  Despite this, they were inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003. Fortunately, we have images from before their destruction.  These statues were a blend of Greco-Buddhist and Gandharan art styles—appropriate as it stands between the Hellenistic area of Tukhara and the ancient region of Gandhara—including the modern city of Kandahar and into the Indus Valley region of Pakistan. Continuing east through the mountains, Xuanzang eventually came out at the kingdom of Kapisa.  This may have had its capital around modern-day Bagram, north of modern Kabul, but the country seems to have been quite large.  Kapisa over saw some tens of other countries, and it is thought that at one time its influence extended from Bamyan and Kandahar to the area of modern Jalalabad.  Their language was even more different than that of Tukhara, but they were still using the same writing system.  The king of Kapisa is said to have been of Suli ethnicity—which would seem to indicate that he was Sogdian, or at least descended from people of the Transoxanian region.    Xuanzang notes that the ruler, as rough and fiery as he is described—as a true warlord or similar—he nonetheless made a silver image of the Buddha, eighteen feet in height, every year.  He also gave charity to the poor and needy in an assembly that was called every five years.  There were over one hundred monasteries and some 6000 monks, per Xuanzang's recollection, and notably, they were largely following Mahayana teachings. For the most part the monks that Xuanzang had encountered on this journey were Theravada—Xuanzang refers to them as “Hinayana”, referring to the “Lesser Vehicle” in contrast to Xuanzang's own “Mahayana”, or “Greater Vehicle”.  “Theravada” refers to the “way of the elders” and while Mahayana Buddhism largely accepts the sutras of Theravada Buddhism, there are many Mahayana texts that Theravada Buddhists do not believe are canonical.  We discussed this back in Episode 84. There was apparently a story of another individual from the Yellow River being sent as a hostage to Kapisa when it was part of the Kushan Empire, under Kanishka or similar.  Xuanzang recounts various places that the hostage, described as a prince, lived or visited while in the region.  Xuanzang's arrival likely stirred the imagination of people who likely knew that the Tang were out there, but it was such a seemingly impossible distance for most people.  And yet here was someone who had traveled across all of that distance.  One of the monasteries that claimed to have been founded because of that ancient Han prince invited Xuanzang to stay with them.  Although it was a Theravada monastery, Xuanzang took them up on the offer, both because of the connection to someone who may have been his countryman, but also because of his traveling companion, Prajnakara, who was also a Theravada monk, and may not be comfortable staying at a Mahayana monastery. Xuanzang spends a good deal of ink on the stories of how various monasteries and other sites were founded in Kapisa and the surrounding areas.  He must have spent some time there to accumulate all of this information.  It is also one of the places where he seems to have hit at least twice—once on the way to India, and once during his return journey. The King of Kapisa is said to have been a devotee of Mahayana Buddhism.  He invited Xuanzang and Prajnakara to come to a Mahayana monastery to hold a Dharma gathering.  There they met with several leading figures in the monastery, and they discussed different theories.  This gathering lasted five days, and at the end, the king offered Xuanzang and the other monks five bolts of pure brocade and various other gifts.  Soon thereafter, the monk Prajnakara was invited back to Tukhara, and so he and Xuanzang parted ways. And it was about time for Xuanzang to continue onwards as well.  From Kapisa, he would travel across the “Black Range” and into Lampaka.  This may refer to the area of Laghman or Jalalabad.  Today, this is in modern Afghanistan, but for Xuanzang, this would have been the northwestern edge of India.  He was almost there. And so are we, but we'll save his trip into India for next episode. Until then thank you for listening and for all of your support. If you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website,  SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.

"Seidenreiher über allen Gipfeln" - Li Bo - Uwe Kullnick spricht mit Thomas O. Höllmannn (Übers.) Hörbahn on Stage (Hördauer ca. 104 min)  Der wichtigste chinesische Lyriker in einer klugen Auswahl neu übersetzt In der faszinierenden Welt der chinesischen Poesie bildet Li Bo (auch als Li Bai oder Li Tai Bo bekannt) eine der wichtigsten Stimmen. Seine zeitlosen Gedichte geben in verblüffenden und schönen Bildern faszinierende Einblicke in die Tiefe und Vielfalt der Welt. Der Sinologe Thomas O. Höllmann hat für diesen Band aus dem Gesamtwerk die schönsten Texte klug ausgewählt, neu übersetzt und gibt zugleich einen hinreißenden Einblick in die Werkstatt des Übersetzers. Thomas O. Höllmann, geb. 1952, ist Sinologe, lehrte an der LMU München und war Präsident der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Veranstaltungsort: Bayerische Einigung/Bayerischer Volksstiftung, Georgenstr 63, München Schwabing Wenn Ihnen dieser Beitrag gefallen hat, hören Sie doch auch einmal hier hinein oder vielleicht in diese Sendung Kommen Sie doch auch einfach mal zu unseren Live-Aufzeichnungen ins Pixel (Gasteig) oder nach Schwabing Redaktion und Realisation Uwe Kullnick

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. NB: Michael Jordan is alive. The knights are of course shaped like horses.My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Ding Liren– Wei Yi– Wei Yi's poem for Ding Liren w/ Ethan McGuire's literal rendering and transliteration– Gukesh Dommaraju– Poetry Says Ep 263. Water-dragon blues– Poetry Says Ep 97. What makes poets lucky– World Chess Championship 2024, Game 1– Dreaming of Li Bai by Du Fu– Chess24/Chess.com– Gotham Chess– Take Take Take– On Writing and Failure by Stephen Marche– The Stephen Marche episode– The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost– Sorrow and Words by Li Qingzhao– The Wild Swans at Coole by W. B. Yeats– Wild Geese by Mary Oliver– Ethan's NVR newsletter– An Alley in Avignon by Mary Jo Salter– Ethan's recent thematically cohesive commonplace bookFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

Each year on September 18th I do something to commemorate composer and guitarist Jimi Hendrix. This year I set this famous short poem by classical Chinese poet Li Bai. Later this morning I'll post more about thoughts on how this poet and that musician might fit together. This just one example of what the Parlando Project does: we combine various words (mostly literary poetry) with music in different styles and then write about the experience of that at our blog and archives located at frankhudson.org

Li Bai, einer der berühmtesten Dichter der chinesischen Geschichte, besuchte Yangzhou, als er 26 Jahre alt war. Weil Li so großzügig war, verschenkte er 300.000 Kupfermünzen (die damalige Währung). Später wurde er verletzt, verarmte und hatte keine Bleibe. Mit Hilfe seines Dieners Dansha konnte Li im Daming-Tempel unterkommen. Eines Nachts hatte er einen interessanten Traum. Als er aufwachte, stellte er fest, dass er seine Heimatstadt vermisste... https://de.minghui.org/html/articles/2024/8/5/177280.html

Zeit seines Lebens war Kaiser Kangxi fleißig und umsichtig und bemühte sich um eine gute Regierungsführung. Mit herausragender Weisheit und Weitsicht regierte er die Qing-Dynastie 61 Jahre lang. In dieser Zeit setzte er eine gütige Politik um und sorgte für Wohlwollen in allen Teilen des Landes. Es war wahrlich eine Zeit, in der die Menschen Frieden und Glück genossen und das Land in Wohlstand erstrahlte. Als der fähigste Monarch mit dem besten Urteilsvermögen im späten chinesischen Kaisertum war Kangxi auch der sorgfältigste, wenn es darum ging, seine... https://de.minghui.org/html/articles/2023/10/31/171254.html

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rWotD Episode 2638: Weng Fanggang Welcome to Random Wiki of the Day, your journey through Wikipedia’s vast and varied content, one random article at a time.The random article for Wednesday, 24 July 2024 is Weng Fanggang.Weng Fanggang (Chinese: 翁方綱) (1733 - 1818) was a Chinese calligrapher, literary critic, philosopher, and poet during the Qing dynasty.A native of Beijing's Daxing District, Weng came to the attention of the Qianlong Emperor who was impressed with Weng's translation of the Peach Blossom Spring (桃花源 Tao Hua Yuan) by Tao Yuanming into the Manchu language. He was employed at court as a junior compiler, and later rose to become a member of the Grand Secretariat. Despite holding government posts in Shandong, Jiangxi and Jiangsu, Weng spend most of his professional life in Beijing, so as to be close to the literati of his day.Weng proposed the imposition of classical rules on poetry, in an attempt to curb what he saw as the weaker, more abstract works of his contemporaries, particularly those who followed the style of Wang Yangming. He was opposed to Wang Yangming's philosophy that man had an innate goodness, as he felt this detracted from the achievements of historical saints and Confucian worthies. Despite his preference for formal structure, Weng admired the works of Li Bai and wrote passionate defences of Li Bai's work. He also favoured Su Shi's work, and named a room in his personal library after one of Su's poetry collections that Weng obtained in 1773. His views on poetry led him to create the Jili pai or "School of Musculature", a system of poetic criticism that focused on scholarly contemplation of universal patterns and structures.Weng was also noted for his calligraphy, which was modelled after that of Ouyang Xun and Yu Shinan. He specialised in lishu script, and was regarded as having the same degree of skill as Liu Yong.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 01:11 UTC on Wednesday, 24 July 2024.For the full current version of the article, see Weng Fanggang on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm standard Emma.

Here's another well-worn favorite from the long list of great chengyu's: 磨杵成针 Mó Chǔ Chéng Zhén. The story behind this Chinese Saying stars none other than (one of China's greatest poets) Li Bai. As a youngster, Li Bai chanced upon an old woman, surnamed Wu, who was intent on accomplishing a seemingly impossible (in Li Bai's eyes) task. Don't let any naysayers deter you. Don't fear the impossible. Listen to this quick story and maybe acquire a little bit of inspiration in what you're trying to accomplish. Thanks everyone for listening. If you'd like to donate to the show, you can at: https://teacup.media/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here's another well-worn favorite from the long list of great chengyu's: 磨杵成针 Mó Chǔ Chéng Zhén. The story behind this Chinese Saying stars none other than (one of China's greatest poets) Li Bai. As a youngster, Li Bai chanced upon an old woman, surnamed Wu, who was intent on accomplishing a seemingly impossible (in Li Bai's eyes) task. Don't let any naysayers deter you. Don't fear the impossible. Listen to this quick story and maybe acquire a little bit of inspiration in what you're trying to accomplish. Thanks everyone for listening. If you'd like to donate to the show, you can at: https://teacup.media/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here's another well-worn favorite from the long list of great chengyu's: 磨杵成针 Mó Chǔ Chéng Zhén. The story behind this Chinese Saying stars none other than (one of China's greatest poets) Li Bai. As a youngster, Li Bai chanced upon an old woman, surnamed Wu, who was intent on accomplishing a seemingly impossible (in Li Bai's eyes) task. Don't let any naysayers deter you. Don't fear the impossible. Listen to this quick story and maybe acquire a little bit of inspiration in what you're trying to accomplish. Thanks everyone for listening. If you'd like to donate to the show, you can at: https://teacup.media/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here's another well-worn favorite from the long list of great chengyu's: 磨杵成针 Mó Chǔ Chéng Zhén. The story behind this Chinese Saying stars none other than (one of China's greatest poets) Li Bai. As a youngster, Li Bai chanced upon an old woman, surnamed Wu, who was intent on accomplishing a seemingly impossible (in Li Bai's eyes) task. Don't let any naysayers deter you. Don't fear the impossible. Listen to this quick story and maybe acquire a little bit of inspiration in what you're trying to accomplish. Thanks everyone for listening. If you'd like to donate to the show, you can at: https://teacup.media/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here's another well-worn favorite from the long list of great chengyu's: 磨杵成针 Mó Chǔ Chéng Zhén. The story behind this Chinese Saying stars none other than (one of China's greatest poets) Li Bai. As a youngster, Li Bai chanced upon an old woman, surnamed Wu, who was intent on accomplishing a seemingly impossible (in Li Bai's eyes) task. Don't let any naysayers deter you. Don't fear the impossible. Listen to this quick story and maybe acquire a little bit of inspiration in what you're trying to accomplish. Thanks everyone for listening. If you'd like to donate to the show, you can at: https://teacup.media/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here's another well-worn favorite from the long list of great chengyu's: 磨杵成针 Mó Chǔ Chéng Zhén. The story behind this Chinese Saying stars none other than (one of China's greatest poets) Li Bai. As a youngster, Li Bai chanced upon an old woman, surnamed Wu, who was intent on accomplishing a seemingly impossible (in Li Bai's eyes) task. Don't let any naysayers deter you. Don't fear the impossible. Listen to this quick story and maybe acquire a little bit of inspiration in what you're trying to accomplish. Thanks everyone for listening. If you'd like to donate to the show, you can at: https://teacup.media/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here's another well-worn favorite from the long list of great chengyu's: 磨杵成针 Mó Chǔ Chéng Zhén. The story behind this Chinese Saying stars none other than (one of China's greatest poets) Li Bai. As a youngster, Li Bai chanced upon an old woman, surnamed Wu, who was intent on accomplishing a seemingly impossible (in Li Bai's eyes) task. Don't let any naysayers deter you. Don't fear the impossible. Listen to this quick story and maybe acquire a little bit of inspiration in what you're trying to accomplish. Thanks everyone for listening. If you'd like to donate to the show, you can at: https://teacup.media/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here's another well-worn favorite from the long list of great chengyu's: 磨杵成针 Mó Chǔ Chéng Zhén. The story behind this Chinese Saying stars none other than (one of China's greatest poets) Li Bai. As a youngster, Li Bai chanced upon an old woman, surnamed Wu, who was intent on accomplishing a seemingly impossible (in Li Bai's eyes) task. Don't let any naysayers deter you. Don't fear the impossible. Listen to this quick story and maybe acquire a little bit of inspiration in what you're trying to accomplish. Thanks everyone for listening. If you'd like to donate to the show, you can at: https://teacup.media/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Programa 4x148. A en Li Bai li agradava exagerar les seves gestes. El nano era un bon poeta, d'aix

Programa 4x148. A en Li Bai li agradava exagerar les seves gestes. El nano era un bon poeta, d'aix

Jesus prayed, “I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves” (Jn. 17). Acts 1:15-17, 21-26 Psalm 1 1 John 5:9-13 John 17:6-19 Friendship According to Aristotle and Jesus 1. “We seek one mystery, God, with another mystery, ourselves. We are mysterious to ourselves because God's mystery is in us.” [i] Gary Wills wrote these words about the impossibility of fully comprehending God. Still, we can draw closer to the Holy One. I am grateful for friends who help me see our Father in new ways. This week my friend Norwood Pratt sent me an article which begins with a poem by Li Bai (701-762). According to legend he died in the year 762 drunkenly trying to embrace the moon's reflection in the Yangtze River. Li Bai writes, “The birds have vanished from the sky. / Now the last cloud drains away // We sit together, the mountain and me, / until only the mountain remains.” [ii] For me this expresses the feeling of unity with God that comes to me in prayer. This poet was one of many inspirations for a modern Chinese American poet named Li-Young Lee (1957-). Lee's father immigrated to the United States and served as a Presbyterian pastor at an all-white church in western Pennsylvania. Lee feels fascinated by infinity and eternity. He writes this poem about the “Ultimate Being, Tao or God” as the beloved one, the darling. Each of us in the uniqueness of our nature and experience has a different experience of holiness. He writes, “My friend and I are in love with the same woman… I'd write a song about her.  I wish I could sing. I'd sing about her. / I wish I could write a poem. / Every line would be about her. / Instead, I listen to my friend speak / about this woman we both love, / and I think of all the ways she is unlike / anything he says about her and unlike / everything else in the world.” [iii] These two poets write about something that cannot easily be expressed, our deepest desire to be united with God. Jesus also speaks about this in the Gospel of John, in his last instructions to the disciples and then in his passionate prayer for them, and for us. In his last words Jesus describes the mystery of God and our existence using a surprising metaphor. At the center of all things lies our experience of friendship. On Mother's Day when we celebrate the sacrifices associated with love I want to think more with you about friendship and God. To understand the uniqueness of Jesus' teaching, it helps to see how another great historical thinker understood this subject. 2. Long before Jesus' birth the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC) studied at Plato's school in Athens (from the age of 17 to 37). After this Aristotle became the tutor of Alexander the Great and founded a prominent library that he used as the basis for his thought. Scholars estimate that about a third of what Aristotle wrote has survived. He had a huge effect on the western understanding of nature. He also especially influenced the thirteenth century theologian Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) and therefore modern Roman Catholic approaches to Christian thought. For Aristotle God is eternal, non-material, unchanging and perfect. He famously describes God as the unmoved mover existing outside of the world and setting it into motion. Because everything seeks divine perfection this God is responsible for all change that continues to happen in the universe. We experience a world of particular things but God knows the universal ideas behind them (or before them). For Aristotle God is pure thought, eternally contemplating himself. God is the telos, the goal or end of all things. [iv] Aristotle begins his book Nicomachean Ethics by observing that “Happiness… is the End at which all actions aim.” [v] Everything we do ultimately can be traced back to our desire for happiness and the purpose of Aristotle's book is to help the reader to attain this goal. Happiness comes from having particular virtues, that is habitual ways of acting and seeking pleasure. These include: courage, temperance, generosity, patience. In our interactions with others we use social virtues including: amiability, sincerity, wit. Justice is the overarching virtue that encompasses all the others. Aristotle writes that there are three kinds of friendships. The first is based on usefulness, the second on pleasure. Because these are based on superficial qualities they generally do not last long. The final and best form of friendship for him is based on strength of character. These friends do not love each other for what they can gain but because they admire each other's character. Aristotle believes that this almost always this happens between equals although sometimes one sees it in the relation between fathers and sons (I take this to mean between parents and children). Famous for describing human beings as the political animal, Aristotle points out that we can only accomplish great things through cooperation. Institutions and every human group rely on friendly feelings to be effective. Friendship is key to what makes human beings effective, and for that matter, human. Finally, Aristotle believes that although each person should be self-sufficient, friendship is important for a good life. 3. The Greek word for Gospel, that particular form of literature which tells the story of Jesus, is euangelion. We might forget that this word means good news until we get a sense for the far more radical picture of God and friendship that Jesus teaches. For me, one of the defining and unique features of Christianity as a religion comes from Jesus' insistence that our relation to God is like a child to a loving father. Jesus teaches us to pray, “Our Father who art in heaven.” Jesus clarifies this picture of God in his story of the Prodigal Son who goes away and squanders his wealth in a kind of first century Las Vegas. In the son's destitution he returns home and as he crests the hill, his father “filled with compassion,” hikes up his robes and runs to hug and kiss him. Jesus does not just use words but physical gestures to show what a friend is. In today's gospel Jesus washes his friends' feet before eats his last meal with them. The King James Version says, “there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved” (Jn. 13:23). [vi] Imagine Jesus, in the actual embrace of his beloved friend, telling us who God is. Jesus explicitly says I do not call you servants but friends (Jn. 15). A servant does not know what the master is doing but a friend does. And you know that the greatest commandment is to love one another. Later in prayer he begs God to protect us from the world, “so that [we] may have [his] joy made complete in [ourselves]” (Jn. 17). 4. Gregory of Nyssa (c. 332-395) was born ten years after the First Council of Nicaea and attended the First Council of Constantinople. He writes about how so many ordinary people were arguing about doctrine, “If in this city you ask anyone for change, he will discuss with you whether the Son was begotten or unbegotten. If you ask about the quality of the bread you will receive the answer, “The father is the greater and the Son is lesser.' If you suggest a bath is desirable you will be told, ‘There was nothing before the Son was created.'” [vii] Gregory with his friends Basil and Gregory Nazianzus wondered what description of Jesus would lead to faith rather than just argument. [viii] Gregory of Nyssa came to believe that the image of God is only fully displayed when every human person is included. [ix] In his final book Life of Moses Gregory responds to a letter from a younger friend who seeks counsel on “the perfect life.” [x] Gregory writes that Moses exemplifies this more than all others because Moses is a friend to God. True perfection is not bargaining with, pleading, tricking, manipulating, fearing God. It is not avoiding a wicked life out of fear of punishment. It is not to do good because we hope for some reward, as if we are cashing in on the virtuous life through a business contract. Gregory closes with these words to his young admirer, “we regard falling from God's friendship as the only dreadful thing… and we consider becoming God's friend the only thing worthy of honor and desire. This… is the perfection of life. As your understanding is lifted up to what is magnificent and divine, whatever you may find… will certainly be for the common benefit in Christ Jesus.” [xi] On Thursday night I was speaking to Paul Fromberg the Rector of St. Gregory's church about this and he mentioned a sophisticated woman who became a Christian in his church. In short she moved from Aristotle's view of friendship among superior equals to Jesus' view. She said, “Because I go to church I can have real affection for people who annoy the shit out of me. My affection is no longer just based on affinity.” [xii] 5. I have been thoroughly transformed by Jesus' idea of friendship. My life has become full of Jesus' friends, full of people who I never would have met had I followed Aristotle's advice. Together we know that in Christ unity does not have to mean uniformity. Before I close let me tell you about one person who I met at Christ Church in Los Altos. Even by the time I met her Alice Larse was only a few years away from being a great-grandmother. She and her husband George had grown up together in Washington State. He had been an engineer and she nursed him through his death from Alzheimer's disease. Some of my favorite memories come from the frequent summer pool parties she would have for our youth groups. She must have been in her sixties when she started a “Alice's Stick Cookies Company.” Heidi and I saw them in a store last week!   At Christ Church we had a rotating homeless shelter and there were several times when Alice, as a widow living by herself, had various guests stay at her house. When the church was divided about whether or not to start a school she quickly volunteered to serve as senior warden. She was not sentimental. She was thoroughly practical. She was humble. She got things done… but with a great sense of humor.   There was no outward indication that she was really a saint. I missed her funeral two weeks ago because of responsibilities here. I never really had the chance to say goodbye but I know that one day we will be together in God. Grace Cathedral has hundreds of saints just like her who I have learned to love in a similar way.   Ram Dass was a dear friend of our former Dean Alan Jones. He used to say, “The name of the game we are in is called ‘Being at one with the Beloved.' [xiii] The Medieval mystic Julian of Norwich writes that God possesses, “a love-longing to have us all together, wholly in himself for his delight; for we are not now wholly in him as we shall be…” She says that you and I are Jesus' joy and bliss. [xiv]   We seek one mystery, God, with another mystery, ourselves. We are mysterious to ourselves because God's mystery is in us.” [xv] In a world where friendship can seem to be only for utility or pleasure I pray that like Jesus, you will be blessed with many friends, that you find perfection of life and even become friends with God. [i] Gary Wills, Saint Augustine (NY: Viking, 1999) xii. [ii] Li Bai, “Zazen on Ching-t'ing Mountain,” tr. Sam Hamill, Crossing the Yellow River: Three Hundred Poems from the Chinese, (Rochester, NY: BOA Editions, 2000). About 1000 poems attributed to Li still exist. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48711/zazen-on-ching-ting-mountain [iii] Ed Simon, “There's Nothing in the World Smaller than the Universe: In The Invention of the Darling, Li-Young Lee presents divinity as spirit and matter, profound and quotidian, sacred and profane,” Poetry Foundation. This article quotes, “The Invention of the Darling.”  https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/162572/theres-nothing-in-the-world-smaller-than-the-universe [iv] More from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: “Aristotle made God passively responsible for change in the world in the sense that all things seek divine perfection. God imbues all things with order and purpose, both of which can be discovered and point to his (or its) divine existence. From those contingent things we come to know universals, whereas God knows universals prior to their existence in things. God, the highest being (though not a loving being), engages in perfect contemplation of the most worthy object, which is himself. He is thus unaware of the world and cares nothing for it, being an unmoved mover. God as pure form is wholly immaterial, and as perfect he is unchanging since he cannot become more perfect. This perfect and immutable God is therefore the apex of being and knowledge. God must be eternal. That is because time is eternal, and since there can be no time without change, change must be eternal. And for change to be eternal the cause of change-the unmoved mover-must also be eternal. To be eternal God must also be immaterial since only immaterial things are immune from change. Additionally, as an immaterial being, God is not extended in space.” https://iep.utm.edu/god-west/ [v] Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, trans. H. Rackham, Loeb Classical Library vol. XIX (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1975) 30-1. [vi] h™n aÓnakei÷menoß ei–ß e˙k tw◊n maqhtw◊n aujtouv e˙n twˆ◊ ko/lpwˆ touv ∆Ihsouv, o§n hjga¿pa oJ ∆Ihsouvß (John 13:23). I don't understand why the NRSV translation translate this as “next to him” I think that Herman Waetjen regards “in Jesus' bosom” as correct. Herman Waetjen, The Gospel of the Beloved Disciple: A Work in Two Editions (NY: T&T Clark, 2005) 334. [vii] Margaret Ruth Miles, The Word Made Flesh: A History of Christian Thought (Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2005), 105. [viii] Ibid., 108. [ix] From Jesse Hake, “An Intro to Saint Gregory of Nyssa and his Last Work: The Life of Moses,” 28 July 2022: https://www.theophaneia.org/an-intro-to-saint-gregory-of-nyssa-and-his-last-work-the-life-of-moses/ “For example, Gregory says that the image of God is only fully displayed when every human person is included, so that the reference in Genesis to making humanity in God's image is actually a reference to all of humanity as one body (which is ultimately the body of Jesus Christ that is also revealed at the end of time): In the Divine foreknowledge and power all humanity is included in the first creation. …The entire plenitude of humanity was included by the God of all, by His power of foreknowledge, as it were in one body, and …this is what the text teaches us which says, God created man, in the image of God created He him. For the image …extends equally to all the race. …The Image of God, which we behold in universal humanity, had its consummation then. …He saw, Who knows all things even before they be, comprehending them in His knowledge, how great in number humanity will be in the sum of its individuals. …For when …the full complement of human nature has reached the limit of the pre-determined measure, because there is no longer anything to be made up in the way of increase to the number of souls, [Paul] teaches us that the change in existing things will take place in an instant of time. [And Paul gives to] that limit of time which has no parts or extension the names of a moment and the twinkling of an eye (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).” [x] Gregory of Nyssa, The Life of Moses trans. Abraham J. Malherbe and Everett Ferguson, “Preface” by John Myendorff (NY: Paulist Press, 1978) 29. [xi] Ibid., 137. [xii] Paul Fromberg conversation at One Market, Thursday 9 May 2024. [xiii] Alan Jones, Living the Truth (Boston, MA: Cowley Publications, 2000) 53. [xiv] Quoted in Isaac S. Villegas, “Christian Theology is a Love Story,” The Christian Century, 25 April 2018. https://www.christiancentury.org/lectionary/may-13-easter-7b-john-17-6-19?code=kHQx7M4MqgBLOUfbwRkc&utm_source=Christian+Century+Newsletter&utm_campaign=1ccba0cb63-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_SCP_2024-05-06&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-31c915c0b7-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D [xv] Gary Wills, Saint Augustine (NY: Viking, 1999) xii.

Recorded by Academy of American Poets staff for Poem-a-Day, a series produced by the Academy of American Poets. Published on May 11, 2024. www.poets.org

Today's poem is Spring View by Du Fu, translated by Arthur Sze. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, guest host Victoria Chang writes… “I have always loved imagining how people lived a long time ago, what they thought about, how they dressed, what they ate. One of the best ways to see how people really lived is through poems, really old poems. Du Fu is a poet who lived during the Tang Dynasty in China from 721 to 770, A.D. He was one of the three most prominent poets in the Tang era, along with Wang Wei and Li Bai. Du Fu lived during turbulent war times, which feels like every era of history, including our present times.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Today's poem is the work of an eighth-century poet whose reputation didn't peak until the twentieth century. Li Po's “The Solitude of Night” (translated here by Shigeyoshi Obata) resembles Japanese haiku in its atmospheric brevity and is heavy with the kind of common-to-man melancholy the modernists would feel so deeply more than a millennium later.A Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty, Li Po (also known as Li Bai, Li Pai, Li T'ai-po, and Li T'ai-pai) was probably born in central Asia and grew up in Sichuan Province. He left home in 725 to wander through the Yangtze River Valley and write poetry. In 742 he was appointed to the Hanlin Academy by Emperor Xuanzong, though he was eventually expelled from court. He then served the Prince of Yun, who led a revolt after the An Lushan Rebellion of 755. Li Bai was arrested for treason; after he was pardoned, he again wandered the Yangtze Valley. He was married four times and was friends with the poet Du Fu.-bio via Poetry Foundation Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe

Three new high-speed train routes became operational on Tuesday, promoting social and economic development, improving the quality of people's lives and showcasing China's expertise in building high-speed railways in varied and difficult terrain, according to the operator, China State Railway Group.据中国国家铁路集团，三条新的高速列车路线已于周二投入运营，促进了社会和经济发展，提高了人民生活质量，并展示中国在多变复杂地形中建设高速铁路的专业知识。A sleek new bullet train tore through the rugged terrain of southwestern China's Sichuan province at 350 kilometers per hour on Tuesday, completing a high-speed loop in the southern part of the province.周二，一列闪亮的高铁列车以每小时350公里的速度穿过四川省崎岖的地形，完成了四川省南部的高铁环路。The 261-km line will boost tourism, linking the provincial capital of Chengdu with Zigong, which is famed for its dinosaur fossils, and the white spirits brewing city of Yibin.这条全长261公里的高铁将促进旅游业的发展，将省会成都与以恐龙化石闻名的自贡和以五粮液出名的宜宾连接起来。In the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area of southern China, another high-speed route, designed for speeds up to 350 km/h, also began operations on Tuesday.在中国南部的粤港澳大湾区，另一条设计时速高达350公里的高速路线也于周二开始运营。The 162-km line connecting Shantou and Shanwei in Guangdong province is significant as a coastal route within China's expansive high-speed rail network.这条全长162公里的线路连接广东省汕头市和汕尾市，是中国庞大的高铁网络中重要的沿海线。On Tuesday, a substantial section of the line, linking Shantou South with Shanwei, was inaugurated. The final 20 km of the entire route, incorporating an undersea tunnel in Shantou Coastal Bay, is currently under construction. The timetable for its full opening has not been undisclosed.周二，连接汕头南和汕尾铁路的大部分沿线站点开通。整条铁路的最后20公里，包括汕头海湾的海底隧道，目前正在建设中。全面开放的时间尚未公布。The third high-speed rail line inaugurated on Tuesday is located in East China's Fujian province. The 92-km line, designed for speeds up to 250 km/h, connects Longyan and Wuping in Fujian. It is a pivotal segment of a larger railway network linking Fujian with Guangdong.周二开通的第三条高铁线路位于中国东部的福建省。这条全长92公里的线路设计时速高达250公里/小时，连接福建龙岩和武平，是连接福建和广东的大型铁路网的关键部分。The three lines, though located in different parts of China, all involved construction under challenging conditions.这三条线路虽然位于中国不同地区，但在建设时，都克服了在极具挑战性的条件限制。According to China State Railway Group, the country now has trains running at the highest commercial speeds and boasts the greatest variety of operational scenarios, thus transforming the nation from a follower of high-speed rail development to a true leader in technologies.据中国国家铁路集团，中国现存的高速列车的运行速度是最高商业速度，运营场景最为多样化，中国已经从高铁发展的追随者，转变为真正的技术领导者。China has developed the most comprehensive technologies and gained the richest railway management experience and operational know-how in the world, according to the company.据该公司称，中国已经研发了世界上最全面的技术，拥有世界上最丰富的铁路管理经验和运营知识。Zhao Xianghong, deputy director of the science, technology and information research institute of the China Academy of Railway Sciences, said, "China is a world leader in some aspects of high-speed railway development."铁道科学研究院科学技术信息研究所副所长赵向红表示：“中国的高速铁路发展在某些方面已经处于世界领先地位。”In Sichuan, the engineering feat involved tackling the notoriously challenging topography, featuring treacherous mountains, deep valleys and snaking rivers. As Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai once wrote, traversing Sichuan's roads was akin to "scaling the heavens".在四川，这项浩荡的工程需要应对具有挑战性的地形，包括险峻的山脉、深谷和蜿蜒的河流。正如唐代诗人李白曾经写过的那样，进入四川的道路“难于上青天”。But engineers conquered the terrain, building 231 bridges and 29 tunnels along the new line, surpassing past global challenges in high-speed rail construction in the mountains, China State Railway Group said.但中国国家铁路集团表示，工程师们克服了地形造成的困难，在新线路沿线建造了231座桥梁、29条隧道，解决了过去全球在山区建设高铁的挑战。In Fujian, the new line passes through a national park, along gas pipelines and through the karst area, which made construction challenging. Engineers tackled the problems by adopting innovative methods, said Li Hongbin, a senior engineer at China Railway Design Corp.在福建，新线路穿过国家公园、天然气管道和喀斯特地貌，施工极具挑战性。工程师们通过创新，采取新方法，解决了这些问题，中国铁路设计公司高级工程师李洪斌（音译）说。Tunnels and bridges account for about 83 percent of the newly opened section, he said.他说，隧道和桥梁约占新开通路段的83%。The construction of the line in Guangdong also presented challenges due to the coastal environment, characterized by high salinity and humidity. Overcoming these difficulties in the complex hydrogeological setting was crucial. Technical hurdles were addressed through the construction of key infrastructure elements, including the Aojiang River Mega Bridge and the Huilai Tunnel, according to China State Railway Group.由于铁路沿海，具有高盐度和高湿度的特征，这给广东线的建设也带来了挑战。在复杂的水文地质环境中克服这些困难至关重要。据中国国家铁路集团称，通过建设包括鳌江特大桥、惠来隧道在内的关键基础设施，建筑团队解决了技术障碍。The expanding network of China's high-speed railway has greatly benefited people living along the route. Luo Dan, a Chengdu native, is planning a holiday by train over the New Year.中国高铁网络不断扩大，使沿线人民受益匪浅。成都本地人罗丹（音译）正计划在新年期间乘火车度假。"The new line in Sichuan forms a high-speed loop linking several tourism attractions in the province, such as Zigong and Leshan. I won't be driving to the places, since the train service is so fast and convenient now," said the 33-year-old. “四川的新线路形成了一条高速环线，连接了自贡和乐山等省内多个旅游景点。我不会开车去这些地方，因为现在的火车服务非常方便快捷，”这位33岁的乘客表示。Four trains will run daily on the route starting on Jan 1, according to China State Railway Group.据中国国家铁路集团，从1月1日开始，每天将有四列火车在这条路线上运行。Karst arean. 喀斯特溶岩地区

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Confiding in Stone: A Journey of Self-Discovery at the Beijing Opera House Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.org/confiding-in-stone-a-journey-of-self-discovery-at-the-beijing-opera-house Story Transcript:Zh: 张伟开着他普通的小汽车，行驶在北京的熙熙攘攘的街头。他的目的地是他心中的梦想—北京歌剧院。他特别喜欢乐队的节奏和歌剧的舞美。他总是独自坐在他那旧皮座位上，享受那份宁静。然而，今天的他有些不同。En: Zhang Wei drove his ordinary car through the bustling streets of Beijing. His destination was his dream in his heart - the Beijing Opera House. He especially loved the rhythm of the orchestra and the beauty of the opera's sets. He always sat alone in his old leather seat, enjoying the tranquility. However, he was feeling a little different today.Zh: 当他进入歌剧院的园林时，他的眼睛被一件艺术品吸引。不是在庭院里的那座泛着金光的古老雕像，而是那个矮矮的，饱经风霜的石像。读着介绍牌上的原型名字，“李白”，他遥想那个山中欢笑的人，于是他向那尊雕像走去。En: As he entered the gardens of the opera house, his eyes were drawn to a piece of art. It wasn't the ancient statue that shimmered with gold in the courtyard, but the short, weathered stone statue. Reading the name of the prototype on the plaque, "Li Bai," he imagined the man who laughed in the mountains and walked towards the statue.Zh: “你好，李白。”张伟心情复杂地对着雕像说道。En: "Hello, Li Bai," Zhang Wei said to the statue with mixed emotions.Zh: 他开始向雕僐藏述心中的困惑和压力，他希望能从李白那个追求自由恣意生活的人格中得到解答和提示。然而，雕像只是静静的矗立在那里，张伟的讲述只得到了风的响应。En: He began to describe his confusion and pressure to the statue, hoping to find answers and guidance from the personality of Li Bai, who pursued a life of freedom and indulgence. However, the statue just stood there quietly, and Zhang Wei's narrative only received the response of the wind.Zh: 此时一位保洁阿姨过来，看到了这一幕，她走过来问：“先生，你确定你和雕像讲话吗？”En: At this moment, a cleaning aunt came over and saw the scene. She walked up and asked, "Sir, are you sure you were talking to the statue?"Zh: 张伟愣住了，然后非常羞涩地说：“我只是误以为……他可能回答我。”En: Zhang Wei was stunned, then very shyly said, "I just thought... he might answer me."Zh: 保洁阿姨微笑着说：“你没有错，每个人都需要找个出口来表达自己，就像我经常和这些花草树木说话一样。”En: The cleaning aunt smiled and said, "You're not wrong. Everyone needs to find an outlet to express themselves, just like how I often talk to these flowers, plants, and trees."Zh: 张伟惭愧地低下了头，他现在才意识到他一直以来寻找的并不是别人的回应，而是自己内心的宁静和释放。也许人真的需要有个地方去倾诉，无论是谁，都需要有种方式来宣泄自己的压力。张伟非常感谢这个陌生的阿姨，她的一句话瞬间点亮了他的世界。En: Zhang Wei felt ashamed and lowered his head. He realized now that what he had been seeking was not the response of others, but the peace and release within himself. Perhaps people truly need a place to confide in, and everyone needs a way to relieve their stress. Zhang Wei was very grateful to this stranger aunt. Her words instantly brightened his world.Zh: 然后，张伟微笑着向阿姨道了谢，然后他开始用新的视角看待歌剧，在音乐的交汇中找寻自我，找寻故事，找寻人生。En: Then, Zhang Wei smiled and thanked the aunt, and he began to view opera from a new perspective, searching for himself, stories, and life in the intersection of music.Zh: 这就是一个平凡而又不平凡的日子——张伟在一个风和日丽的下午，与李白的雕像诉说生活中的困扰与压力，在一个普通的阿姨的提点下，找到了看待问题的新视角，为他的心灵带来了宁静。En: This was an ordinary yet extraordinary day - Zhang Wei, on a beautiful sunny afternoon, shared the troubles and pressures of life with the statue of Li Bai. With a gentle reminder from an ordinary aunt, he found a new perspective to approach problems and brought tranquility to his soul. Vocabulary Words:Zhang Wei: 张伟car: 小汽车Beijing: 北京Opera House: 歌剧院orchestra: 乐队sets: 舞美leather seat: 皮质座位tranquility: 宁静garden: 园林art: 艺术品ancient statue: 古老雕像stone statue: 石像prototype: 原型Li Bai: 李白mountains: 山中laughter: 欢笑confusion: 困惑pressure: 压力freedom: 自由indulgence: 恣意response: 回应wind: 风cleaning aunt: 保洁阿姨talking: 讲话outlet: 出口flowers: 花草plants: 植物trees: 树木peace: 宁静relief: 宣泄

An academic society has urged the producers of a popular movie to apologize for factual errors in the film to avoid misleading viewers and hurting the feelings of people from where the historical events took place.洛阳市隋唐史学会称因“与史实不符”，要求《长安三万里》制片方道歉，以避免误导观众，伤害历史事件发生地百姓的感情。The Luoyang Society of Sui and Tang Studies, based in Luoyang, Henan province, said in a statement via social media that the animated movie Chang An, which depicts historical and political events and famous poets during the Tang Dynasty, has several key areas that "severely vary from historical events".动画电影《长安三万里》以盛唐为背景，讲述唐代的历史和政治事件以及著名诗人之间的友谊和往事。河南省洛阳市隋唐史学会在社交媒体上发表声明称，该电影几个关键情节与真实历史不符。According to the society, the first meeting of Li Bai and Du Fu, two renowned poets in China's history, took place in the year 744 in Luoyang, not in Chang'an, or present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi province, which the movie says. Du also grew up in Luoyang, not in Chang'an as the movie claims.根据该学会的说法，著名诗人李白和杜甫的第一次相逢是在公元744年的洛阳，并非影片中描写的长安或今天的陕西省西安市。杜甫早年生活在洛阳，并非影片中描写的长安The movie has a scene called "Three Greats within a Day", which depicts the meeting of a painter, a swordsman and a calligrapher who each give their own exceptional performance. However, the society said that the incident actually took place at a temple in Luoyang, not in Chang'an.电影中“一日三绝”场景，描绘了画家、剑客和书法家的风云际会。然而，该学会表示，这起事件实际上发生在洛阳的一座寺庙中，而非影片中描写的扬州，The movie, which premiered on July 8, had earned 1.7 billion yuan ($235 million) at the box office as of Thursday, according to movie statistics website Maoyan. The film has been especially popular with teenagers, and many of them like to recite verses from the poetry-filled movie.根据电影统计网站猫眼的数据，《长安三万里》于7月8日首映，截至8月17日，票房收入已达17亿元(2.35亿美元）。该电影深受青少年的喜爱，引发了“背诗热”。Although it's unreasonable to change the movie, the producers can still acknowledge their mistakes publicly and apologize to viewers to ease online vitriol, the society said.隋唐史学会表示，虽不能苛求制片方修改影片，但制片方至少应发表声明，承认影片错误或失误，向观众致歉，以平息各地网友骂战。According to the society, due to these "factual errors", netizens from Luoyang and Xi'an have engaged in an online war of words, which the producers have turned a blind eye to. The society said it has hired a legal firm to send a lawyer's letter to the director and the production company, urging them to correct the mistakes and apologize.根据该学会的说法，近期因该影片情节与历史不符，网络上掀起了骂战，特别是洛阳与西安网友之间的骂战愈演愈烈，但该片制片方却对此不予置评，不予回应，放任不管。洛阳市隋唐史学会已委托律师事务所，向制片方、导演等发出律师函，要求其发表纠错、致歉声明。The society studies the history of the Sui and Tang dynasties . At that time, Chang'an was the capital of the Tang Dynasty, while Luoyang was the "eastern capital". Both metropolises were highly prosperous and believed to be among the largest cities in the world at the time.洛阳市隋唐史学会是一家研究隋唐历史的学会。在当时，长安是唐朝的都城，洛阳是“陪都”，两个大都市都非常繁华，均为当时世界最大的城市。Xie Junwei, director of the movie, acknowledged that Li Bai and Du Fu's first meeting did take place in Luoyang, according to a report by media outlet Shanghai Observer. But he added that the movie only described a part of their lives, and they were not presented in full.据上观新闻报道，电影导演谢君伟承认，李白和杜甫的第一次见面确实是在洛阳。但他补充说，这部电影只描述了他们生活的一部分，并不是全貌。Hu Zhongxing, a retired professor from Fudan University's Department of Chinese Language and Literature, told Shanghai Observer that Li and Du's meeting was a major historical and cultural event, and changing the location of the event is "not proper". He suggested using one or two lines to maintain the overall plot while telling the audience where the meeting actually took place.复旦大学中文系退休教授胡中行在接受上观新闻采访时表示，李杜首次见面在历史和文化层面是一次重大事件，对地点进行改动的确欠妥。他建议，可以借助一两句台词，既不改变剧中设计，又能向观众传递二人首次相会是在洛阳的史实。A screenwriter surnamed Zhang told Shanghai Observer that the Chang'an depicted in the movie should be viewed as a more abstract reference instead of an accurate historical citation.一位张姓编剧对上观新闻表示，这部电影中“长安”更像是一个抽象化的指代，而不是一个准确的历史引用。"For historical scholars, such a detail should not be changed, but for movie creators, they think that it can be moderately altered," she said.她说：“影视作品应有其独立性，对于文史学者来说这个细节不能改变，但在电影创作来看可以适当改变。”Reporter: Liang ShuangIntern：Zang TianyiHistorical英 /hɪˈstɒrɪkl/美 /hɪˈstɔːrɪkl/adj. 历史的Producer英 /prəˈdjuːsə(r)/美 /prəˈduːsər/n.制片人Apologize英 /əˈpɒlədʒaɪz/美 /əˈpɑːlədʒaɪz/vt. & vi. 道歉

主播：Selah | 以宁 歌曲 ： Shotgun*更多节目配乐，请在“网易云音乐”搜索“一席英语-老外来了歌单”。今天，我们聊一聊最近爆火的国漫电影《长安三万里》。1. 《长安三万里》l 英文名：《长安三万里》英文译名：Chang An。l 时长：The film epic spans 168 minutes（时长168分钟）. It's the longest runtime of any Chinese animated movie（中国动漫史上最长电影）.l 票房：Since its release on July 8, it has now grossed more than $1.6 billion. 这部电影自7月8日上映以来，已经突破了16亿的票房。• release /rɪˈli:s/ n. 发布；公映• gross vt. 总共赚得l 豆瓣评分：The movie has garnered a rating of 8.3 out of ten on Douban. 豆瓣评分高达8.3分。It's one of the most acclaimed animated blockbusters of the summer season.• garner vt. 获得• acclaimed /əˈkleɪmd/ adj. 广受欢迎的• blockbuster n. 了不起的人或事；大片• 剧情：The film is set in the glorious age of Tang Dynasty（影片以盛唐时期为背景）. It tells the story of Chang'an after the war（讲述安史之乱后，长安城的故事）. Gao Shi in the situation recalled his past with Li Bai（身陷困境的高适回忆起自己与李白的过往）.除了李白与高适，里面还有盛唐时期的各领域大咖，比如说：Wang Changling, known for military-themed poems 以军事主题诗歌而闻名的王昌龄calligrapher Zhang Xu 书法家张旭palace musician Li Guinian “唐代乐圣”李龟年2. 《长安三万里》诗句翻译令人称赞48 Tang poems are cited in the film. 影片中一共出现了48首经典的唐诗佳句。这部电影火起来，跟这些脍炙人口的经典唐诗是分不开的。电影另一个成功的点就是字幕的英文翻译，我们选择《将进酒》中的几句和大家分享一下。人生得意须尽欢，莫使金樽空对月。When life goes well, be joyous;Never show the moon an empty cup. • joyous /ˈdʒɔɪəs/ adj. 充满快乐的• be joyous 要尽情快乐天生我材必有用，千金散尽还复来。Heaven gave me the talent for a reason；Spend now, riches return in season.这两句，含义翻译得特别到位，reason和season还完美地押上韵了。古来圣贤皆寂寞，惟有饮者留其名。Ancient sages leave no name; It's great drinkers who enjoy great fame. • sage圣贤name名字和fame名声也很押韵，而且it's…who…是强调句型，把“惟有”的强调体现出来了。君不见高堂明镜悲白发，朝如青丝暮成雪。Can you see the grief of white hair in the mirrorsAs dawn's black silk turns to evening snow?白发在英语中是grey hair，但这里译者用了“white hair”，一个“white”更能和李白的“雪”字对应起来，强调头发的全白。“white hair”这个翻译真的很妙，特别符合诗的意境。《长安三万里》电影台词的译者很有来头，是片方邀请的澳大利亚的sinologist（汉学家）Linda Jaivin 女士。她的汉语名字是贾佩琳。 Linda Jaivin has been deeply engaged in Chinese and English culture for more than 40 years（贾佩琳已经深耕中英文化领域四十余年），曾翻译了很多有名的中文影片。比如说：• Farewell My Concubine《霸王别姬》• Forever Enthralled《梅兰芳》• Hero《英雄》• Ashes of Time《东邪西毒》• A City of Sadness《悲情城市》3. 《长安三万里》在国外好评如潮《长安三万里》在国外也引起了很大的反响，网友们给出了很多positive comments（正面评价）。Comment 1：这位网友说TA非常喜欢中国文化，很想看这部电影。Comment 2：这位网友将国漫《长安三万里》和迪士尼电影相媲美，留言说，如果迪士尼把电影做成这样，TA会对迪士尼的电影再一次get excited（变得兴奋）。Comment 3：近段时间中国最好的电影，看上去很赞。希望《长安三万里》能把中国文化成功地带到国外。欢迎大家评论区留言告诉我们：大家看了《长安三万里》了吗？你有什么想分享的吗？

Today, we'll tell you about an animated summertime blockbuster that brings to life some of the most iconic figures in Chinese literary history and has revived interest in a Tang Dynasty poet whose name alone can evoke legends.

Eigentlich wollte Li Bai (701-762) Beamter werden. Doch er wurde abgewiesen. Deshalb wurde er ein Freiberufler: ein Dichter, der durchs China der Tang-Dynastie zog und mit seinen Texten schließlich so bekannt wurde, dass sie bis heute von Schulkindern auswendig gelernt, bei passenden Gelegenheiten rezitiert und auch immer wieder neu übersetzt werden. Nun hat der sino-amerikanische Autor Ha Jin – bekannt vor allem für seine Politromane zur jüngeren chinesischen Geschichte – mit „Der verbannte Unsterbliche“ eine Biographie des unkonventionellen Tang-Lyrikers vorgelegt. Eine Lebensgeschichte, die auch eine spannende Kulturgeschichte des 8. Jahrhunderts bietet. Der Sinologe Thomas O. Höllmann hat die Texte von Li Bai selbst schon vielfach übersetzt. Er hat „Der verbannte Unsterbliche“ gern gelesen – allerdings mehr als historischen Roman denn als verlässliche Biographie. Um Li Bai haben sich über die Jahrhunderte etliche Mythen gebildet, sagt Höllmann im Gespräch mit SWR2-Literaturredakteurin Katharina Borchardt. Außerdem habe es zu seiner Zeit weder Goldmünzen noch Teehäuser oder Schnaps gegeben. Dies sei der „überbordenden Phantasie“ des Autors Ha Jin zuzuschreiben. Die Beschäftigung mit Li Bai aber sei trotzdem unbedingt empfohlen. Li Bai war zu seiner Zeit ein echter Ausnahmedichter“, sagt Höllmann. „Er schrieb sehr knapp, sehr schnörkellos und verwehrte sich gegen den Bildungsdünkel, den andere Lyriker damals durchaus vor sich her trugen.“ Dass bei Li Bai das „Individuum stark im Zentrum der Dichtung steht“ lässt uns seine hinreißenden Texte auch heute noch sehr unmittelbar erfahren. Im SWR2-Gespräch gibt es lyrische Kostproben und sogar einen Übersetzungsvergleich. Denn Ha Jin zitiert Verse Li Bais, die auch Thomas O. Höllmann für seine sechzig Gedichte aus dem alten China umfassende Lyrikanthologie „Erwartung & Melancholie“ übersetzt hat. Aus dem Englischen von Susanne Hornfeck Matthes & Seitz Verlag, 303 Seiten, 26 Euro ISBN 978-3-7518-0095-2 Thomas O. Höllmann - Erwartung & Melancholie. Sechzig Gedichte aus dem alten China Engeler Verlage, 150 Seiten, 14 Euro ISBN 978-3-9073-6912-8

The scorching summer heat seems to be driving moviegoers by the thousands into the theaters. As of the weekend ending Saturday, the country's summer box-office haul had exceeded 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion), the milestone being achieved in the shortest time span in the history of the Chinese film industry.酷暑似乎驱使成千上万的影迷涌入影院。截至7月22日，2023年暑期档总票房（含预售）突破100亿元(14亿美元)，创下中国影史上暑期档最短时间内破100亿记录。The box-office revenue was grossed between June 1 and July 22, an increase of 158 percent over the same period last year, with single-day collections surpassing 100 million yuan for 32 consecutive days, according to Beacon, a live film information tracker.根据实时电影信息追踪网站灯塔专业版的数据，6月1日至7月22日，票房收入与去年同期相比增长了158%，连续32天单日票房收入超过1亿元。A total of 89 new movies have hit the theaters during the period, translating into 20 million screenings and 249 million tickets sold, combined figures from China Film Distribution and Screening Association and Beacon showed.据中国电影发行放映协会和灯塔专业版的数据显示，在此期间，共有89部新电影上映，放映场次达到2000万场，售出门票2.49亿张。In recent years, China has witnessed a growing interest in domestic movie productions. The trend has continued this summer, with the top three highest-grossing films all being Chinese releases.近年来，国产电影在国内备受关注，这一趋势在今年的暑假档得以延续，目前票房收入排名前三的均为国产电影。Having raked in 3.5 billion yuan till now, Lost in the Stars— a crime thriller that follows the story of a man searching for his missing wife during an overseas trip — has been on top of the summer season charts with its storyline provoking deep contemplation about marriage and female friendship.悬疑犯罪片《消失的她》凭借35亿元的票房收入，位居暑期档票房榜首。该电影讲述了一个男人在海外旅行中寻找失踪妻子的故事，该电影的故事情节引发了人们对婚姻和女性友谊的深刻思考。Following the champion isNever Say Never, the second directorial venture of action actor-turned filmmaker Wang Baoqiang. Adapted from a true story, the movie — which has raked in over 1.8 billion yuan — portrays how a group of underprivileged rural youngsters struggle for survival and success through martial art competitions.紧随其后的是《八角笼中》，票房收入超过18亿元。该电影是由动作演员转型为电影制作人的王宝强的第二部导演作品，电影改编自真实故事，讲述了一群贫困的农村年轻人通过武术比赛为生存和成功而奋斗的故事。 Chang'an,China's longest animated movie at 168 minutes, which tells the story of beloved Tang Dynasty (618-907) poets Li Bai and his confidant Gao Shi, has secured the third spot by grossing 1.1 billion yuan.中国史上最长的动画电影《长安三万里》以11亿票房排名第三，该片时长168分钟，讲述了深受人们喜爱的唐代诗人李白和知己高适的故事。Chang'anbrings to life on the screen a total of 48 poems composed by some of the dynasty's most famous poets, prompting many parents to take their children to theaters so that they could learn about these literary masterpieces.这部电影将唐朝著名的诗人创作的48首诗搬上了银幕，这使得许多家长带着孩子去电影院观影，以此让孩子学习这些文学名著。For most industry insiders, the momentum created by these Chinese blockbusters signals a promising future for the domestic film industry, which has already grossed over 32.7 billion yuan in the first seven months of the year.今年前七个月，中国电影的总收入已经超过327亿元人民币。大多数业内人士认为，这预示着国产电影业的前景光明。Hu Jianli, secretary-general of the China Film Critics Association, said that this summer movie season is the first after pandemic prevention measures were lifted, and the speed and scale of recovery of the film industry has exceeded expectations.中国电影评论学会秘书长胡建礼表示，今年暑期档是疫情防控措施解除后的第一个电影档，电影产业复苏的速度和规模都超出了预期。He added that big-budget Hollywood movies, once highly popular among the local audience, have now been overshadowed by Chinese movies. The underwhelming market performance ofTransformers: Rise of the BeastsandMission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part Oneare prime examples.他补充，曾经在观众中非常受欢迎的好莱坞大片，现在已经被国产电影超越。例如，《变形金刚：超能勇士崛起》和《碟中谍7:致命清算（上）》的市场表现平平。Yuan Yun'er, a Beijing-based film critic, said the changing preferences of Chinese audiences can be attributed to the staleness of the common Hollywood formula of stunning action sequences and a plotline where the hero saves the day.北京影评人袁云儿（音译）表示，中国观众观影偏好发生变化，这可能是由于好莱坞那种令人惊叹的动作场面和英雄救场的情节已经过时。 While the charm of Hollywood is diminishing, the Chinese film industry has made remarkable progress in terms of budget and special effects, leading to visually captivating cinema that resonate better with local audiences due to the familiar cultural elements, Yuan explained.袁云儿解释，好莱坞的魅力在减弱的同时，中国电影业在预算和特效方面取得了显著进步。国产电影融入了熟悉的文化元素，在视觉上更加吸引人，让中国观众产生共鸣。Chen Jin, an analyst with Beacon, estimated that the summer season will continue to rake in more revenue with the release of more Chinese films in the coming weeks.灯塔专业版分析师陈晋（音译）估计，未来几周，随着更多国产电影的上映，暑期档的票房收入将逐步攀升。On Thursday and Friday, two new Chinese releases quickly turned blockbusters.Creation of the Gods 1: Kingdom of Storms,a mythological epic adapted from a Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) classic collected 345 million yuan in four days, surpassing Mission: Impossible 7, which has earned 289 million yuan since it opened on July 14. Wonder Family, a fantasy produced by the country's most popular comedy brand Mahua FunAge, has grossed 211 million yuan in three days.20日和21日，两部国产电影上映，迅速斩获大量票房。改编自明代（1368-1644年）经典神话史诗的《封神第一部：朝歌风云》仅用四天时间，票房收入就高达3.45亿元人民币，超过了《碟中谍7》自7月14日上映以来的2.89亿元票房。由国内最受欢迎的喜剧品牌开心麻花影业有限公司出品的奇幻喜剧《超能一家人》三天内票房达2.11亿元人民币。 The highly anticipated upcoming releases includeOne and Only, which follows the story of a young dancer pursuing his hip-hop dream, and,Meg 2: The Trench, the sequel to a successful Sino-US sci-fi coproduction. The two movies are scheduled to be released on July 28 and Aug 4, respectively.在即将上映的电影中，讲述年轻舞者逐梦嘻哈的《热烈》和中美合拍科幻片《巨齿鲨2：海沟》备受瞩目，这两部电影将于7月28日和8月4日上映。"This summer season, which will conclude by the end of August, may see earnings surpass 16 billion yuan at the box office," said Chen, adding that the market has the potential to fully recover to pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, the summer season box office collection was 17.8 billion yuan.陈晋表示，将于8月底结束的暑期档的票房收入可能超过160亿元，市场可能能够完全恢复到疫情前的水平。据了解，2019年暑期档的票房收入为178亿元。Film英 /fɪlm/美 /fɪlm/n. 电影Box-office英/ˈbɒks ɒfɪs/ 美/ˈbɑːks ɑːfɪs/n.票房Revenue英 /ˈrevənjuː/ 美 /ˈrevənuː/n. 收入 Reporter: Xu Fan Intern :Zang Tianyi

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Dr. Charles Liu and co-host Allen Liu continue our exploration into the poetry of the stars with Part 2 of our episode featuring poet/astronomer/cosmologist Dr. Yun Wang and poet/author Midge Goldberg, editor of “Outer Space: 100 Poems.” We pick up right where we left off in Part 1, with a discussion of standard candles and how Edwin Hubble used Cepheid Variable Stars to determine the distance to Andromeda – incorrectly, as Chuck explains. We then find out that Yun is working on not one, but two upcoming space telescopes: The Euclid Space Telescope launching in July 2023 and the Roman Space Telescope, a Hubble-class space telescope named after Nancy Grace Roman, NASA's first Chief of Astronomy, launching in 2027. As with Part 1, The LIUniverse couldn't possibly have two poets as guests on the show without a little poetry reading and analysis. Allen kicks it off by reading a Walt Whitman poem, “A Noiseless, Patient Spider.” Midge follows up with a reading excerpted from “My God, It's Full of Stars” by Tracy K. Smith, one of the first poems she chose to put into “Outer Space: 100 Poems.” Yun reads both the original Chinese version and then the translation of a poem by Su Dongpo, the Song Dynasty poet who is the third of the greatest poets in Chinese history, followed by an English translation. (The group discussed the other two, Du Fu and Li Bai of the Tang Dynasty era in China, in Part 1 – just another reason to go and listen if you haven't already, poetry fans!) Chuck reads from a poem by Salvatore Quasimodo, the Nobel prize-winning Italian poet, after which he reminds us all about Commander Data's unfortunate attempt at poetry about his cat Spot on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Allen begrudgingly reads the first couplet, and Midge describes what happens when AI writes a sonnet. Finally, Charles ends the episode with a reading and discussion of “When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer” from Walt Whitman's “Leaves of Grass,” which Yun explains she doesn't hate anymore, but still doesn't love. If you'd like to know more about Dr. Yun Wang and her many scientific and poetic publications, see her bio page at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech): https://web.ipac.caltech.edu/staff/wang/. To learn more about Midge Goldberg, visit her website: https://www.midgegoldberg.com/ or follow her on Twitter at @MidgeGoldberg. “Outer Space: 100 Poems” is published by Cambridge University Press: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/outer-space-100-poems/7D8D674BE0C7215CCC9FD0284044B819 We hope you enjoy this episode of The LIUniverse, and, if you do, please support us on Patreon. Credits for Images Used in this Episode: – Edwin Hubble in 1931 – John Hagemeyer, Public Domain – Euclid Space Telescope (rendering) – European Space Agency, CC BY-SA 3.0 – Roman Space Telescope (rendering) – NASA (WFIRST Project and Dominic Benford), Public Domain – Painting of Su Dongpo (posthumous) – Zhao Mengfu, 1301, Public Domain

We often hear about the music of the spheres, but why not the poetry of the stars? In this episode Dr. Charles Liu and co-host Allen Liu welcome poet/astronomer/cosmologist Dr. Yun Wang and poet/author Midge Goldberg, editor of “Outer Space: 100 Poems” that includes Yun's poem, “Space Journal: Serendipity.” As always, though, we start off with the day's joyfully cool cosmic thing, a possible candidate relativistic tidal disruption event. Put another way, in a galaxy far, far away, a supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy is possibly shredding a star, creating a brightening flare of radio emission. Naturally, given our guests, Chuck and company reflect on the idea of a black hole as a metaphor. Moving on, Dr. Wang discusses her exploration of our universe and her eventual goal of modeling a billion galaxies in 3-D. She and Chuck briefly address whether universal expansion will continue forever, as some posit, and whether dark energy is truly a cosmological constant or not. Then it's poetry time! Midge recounts her journey to create “Outer Space: 100 Poems” and how she eventually connected with Yun, who not only contributed her own poem to the book but also translated a poem by Du Fu, who Chuck explains is one of the two greatest poets of the Tang Dynasty in China. The other is Li Bai, composer of “Night Thoughts,” the only poem Dr. Liu can recite by heart in Chinese, which he proceeds to do before also reciting the English translation he wrote. Midge talks about choosing poems from around the world, drawn from ancient cultures up to modern day poetry about landing on the moon, and describes some of their age-old, shared themes. For our student question, William asks, “How can poetry be used to communicate astronomy research?” Midge points to an eponymous poem about “Olber's Paradox” she included in the book which taught her about the paradox. You'll learn about the first scientifically reasonable answer to the paradox, which Midge points out, was written by none other than Edgar Allen Poe! Yun explains how she almost unintentionally mingles her science and her poetry in her writing, after which she reads her poem, “Space Journal: Serendipity.” To answer William's query, she dives into the actual science and astronomy research that is embodied in every word of her poem. Does Chuck find an opportunity to talk about the holodecks in Star Trek, Schrodinger's Cat, and other equally geeky subjects? You'll have to listen to find out. Come back in two weeks for the rest of Chuck's interview with Dr. Yun Wang and poet/author Midge Goldberg. If you'd like to know more about Dr. Yun Wang and her many scientific and poetic publications, see her bio page at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech): https://web.ipac.caltech.edu/staff/wang/. To learn more about Midge Goldberg, visit her website: https://www.midgegoldberg.com/ or follow her on Twitter at @MidgeGoldberg. “Outer Space: 100 Poems” is published by Cambridge University Press: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/outer-space-100-poems/7D8D674BE0C7215CCC9FD0284044B819 We hope you enjoy this episode of The LIUniverse, and, if you do, please support us on Patreon.

携手建设守望相助、共同发展、普遍安全、世代友好的中国－中亚命运共同体Working Together for a China-Central Asia Community with a Shared Future Featuring Mutual Assistance, Common Development, Universal Security, and Everlasting Friendship ——在中国－中亚峰会上的主旨讲话（2023年5月19日） 中华人民共和国主席 习近平 Keynote Speech by H.E. Xi Jinping President of the People's Republic of China At the China-Central Asia Summit 19 May 2023尊敬的各位同事，女士们，先生们，朋友们：Distinguished Colleagues,Ladies and Gentlemen,Friends,欢迎大家来到西安，出席中国－中亚峰会，共商中国同中亚五国合作大计。I'd like to welcome you all to Xi'an for the China-Central Asia Summit to explore together ways for closer cooperation between China and the five Central Asian countries. 西安古称长安，是中华文明和中华民族的重要发祥地之一，也是古丝绸之路的东方起点。2100多年前，中国汉代使者张骞自长安出发，出使西域，打开了中国同中亚友好交往的大门。千百年来，中国同中亚各族人民一道推动了丝绸之路的兴起和繁荣，为世界文明交流交融、丰富发展作出了历史性贡献。中国唐代诗人李白曾有过“长安复携手，再顾重千金”的诗句。今天我们在西安相聚，续写千年友谊，开辟崭新未来，具有十分重要的意义。Xi'an, known as Chang'an in ancient times, is an important cradle of the Chinese civilization and nation. It is also the starting point of the ancient Silk Road on the east end. Over 2,100 years ago, Zhang Qian, a Han Dynasty envoy, made his journey to the West from Chang'an, opening the door to the friendship and exchanges between China and Central Asia. With their joint endeavor of hundreds of years, Chinese and Central Asian peoples made the Silk Road expand and prosper, a historic contribution to the interaction, integration, enrichment and development of world civilizations. The Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai (701-761) once wrote, “In Chang'an we meet again, worthy of more than a thousand pieces of gold.” Our gathering in Xi'an today to renew our millennia-old friendship and open up new vistas for the future is of very important significance.2013年，我担任中国国家主席后首次出访中亚，提出共建“丝绸之路经济带”倡议。10年来，中国同中亚国家携手推动丝绸之路全面复兴，倾力打造面向未来的深度合作，将双方关系带入一个崭新时代。Back in 2013, I put forward the initiative of jointly building a Silk Road Economic Belt during my first visit to Central Asia as Chinese president. Over the past decade, China and Central Asian countries have worked closely together to fully revive the Silk Road and actively deepen future-oriented cooperation, steering our relations into a new era.横跨天山的中吉乌公路，征服帕米尔高原的中塔公路，穿越茫茫大漠的中哈原油管道、中国－中亚天然气管道，就是当代的“丝路”；日夜兼程的中欧班列，不绝于途的货运汽车，往来不歇的空中航班，就是当代的“驼队”；寻觅商机的企业家，抗击新冠疫情的医护人员，传递友谊之声的文化工作者，上下求索的留学生，就是当代的友好使者。The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan highway that runs across the Tianshan Mountain, the China-Tajikistan expressway that defies the Pamir Plateau, and the China-Kazakhstan crude oil pipeline and the China-Central Asia Gas Pipeline that traverse the vast desert — they are the present-day Silk Road. The China-Europe Railway Express operating around the clock, the endless streams of freight trucks, and crisscrossing flights — they are the present-day camel caravans. Entrepreneurs seeking business opportunities, health workers fighting the COVID-19, cultural workers delivering message of friendship, and international students pursuing further education — they are the present-day goodwill ambassadors.中国同中亚国家关系有着深厚的历史渊源、广泛的现实需求、坚实的民意基础，在新时代焕发出勃勃生机和旺盛活力。The China-Central Asia relationship is steeped in history, driven by broad actual needs, and built on solid popular support. Our relations are brimming with vigor and vitality in the new era.各位同事！Colleagues,当前，百年变局加速演进，世界之变、时代之变、历史之变正以前所未有的方式展开。中亚是亚欧大陆的中心，处在联通东西、贯穿南北的十字路口。Transformations of the world unseen in a century are unfolding at a faster pace. Changes of the world, of our times, and of the historical trajectory are taking place in ways like never before. Central Asia, the center of the Eurasian continent, is at a crossroads connecting the East and West, the South and North. 世界需要一个稳定的中亚。中亚国家主权、安全、独立、领土完整必须得到维护，中亚人民自主选择的发展道路必须得到尊重，中亚地区致力于和平、和睦、安宁的努力必须得到支持。The world needs a stable Central Asia. The sovereignty, security, independence and territorial integrity of Central Asian countries must be upheld; their people's choice of development paths must be respected; and their efforts for peace, harmony and tranquility must be supported.世界需要一个繁荣的中亚。一个充满活力、蒸蒸日上的中亚，将实现地区各国人民对美好生活的向往，也将为世界经济复苏发展注入强劲动力。The world needs a prosperous Central Asia. A dynamic and prospering Central Asia will help people in the region achieve their aspiration for a better life. It will also lend strong impetus to global economic recovery.世界需要一个和谐的中亚。“兄弟情谊胜过一切财富”。民族冲突、宗教纷争、文化隔阂不是中亚的主调，团结、包容、和睦才是中亚人民的追求。任何人都无权在中亚制造不和、对立，更不应该从中谋取政治私利。The world needs a harmonious Central Asia. As a Central Asian saying goes, “Brotherhood is more precious than any treasure.” Ethnic conflicts, religious strife, and cultural estrangement are not the defining feature of the region. Instead, solidarity, inclusiveness, and harmony are the pursuits of the Central Asian people. No one has the right to sow discord or stoke confrontation in the region, let alone seek selfish political interests.世界需要一个联通的中亚。中亚拥有得天独厚的地理优势，有基础、有条件、有能力成为亚欧大陆重要的互联互通枢纽，为世界商品交换、文明交流、科技发展作出中亚贡献。The world needs an interconnected Central Asia. Blessed with unique geographical advantages, Central Asia has the right foundation, condition and capability to become an important connectivity hub of Eurasia and make unique contribution to the trading of goods, the interplay of civilizations and the development of science and technology in the world.各位同事！Colleagues,去年，我们举行庆祝中国同中亚五国建交30周年视频峰会时，共同宣布建设中国－中亚命运共同体。这是我们在新的时代背景下，着眼各国人民根本利益和光明未来，作出的历史性选择。建设中国－中亚命运共同体，要做到四个坚持。At the virtual summit commemorating the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Central Asian countries held last year, we jointly announced our vision of a China-Central Asia community with a shared future. It was a historic choice made for the fundamental interests and bright future of our peoples in the new era. In building this community, we need to stay committed to four principles.一是坚持守望相助。我们要深化战略互信，在涉及主权、独立、民族尊严、长远发展等核心利益问题上，始终给予彼此明确、有力支持，携手建设一个守望相助、团结互信的共同体。First, mutual assistance. It is important that we deepen strategic mutual trust, and always give each other unequivocal and strong support on issues concerning our core interests such as sovereignty, independence, national dignity, and long-term development. We should work together to ensure that our community features mutual assistance, solidarity, and mutual trust.二是坚持共同发展。我们要继续在共建“一带一路”合作方面走在前列，推动落实全球发展倡议，充分释放经贸、产能、能源、交通等传统合作潜力，打造金融、农业、减贫、绿色低碳、医疗卫生、数字创新等新增长点，携手建设一个合作共赢、相互成就的共同体。Second, common development. It is important that we continue to set the pace for Belt and Road cooperation and deliver on the Global Development Initiative. We should fully unlock our potentials in traditional areas of cooperation such as economy, trade, industrial capacity, energy and transportation. And we should forge new drivers of growth in finance, agriculture, poverty reduction, green and low-carbon development, medical service, health, and digital innovation. We should work together to ensure that our community features win-win cooperation and common progress.三是坚持普遍安全。我们要共同践行全球安全倡议，坚决反对外部势力干涉地区国家内政、策动“颜色革命”，保持对“三股势力”零容忍，着力破解地区安全困境，携手建设一个远离冲突、永沐和平的共同体。Third, universal security. It is important that we act on the Global Security Initiative, and stand firm against external attempts to interfere in domestic affairs of regional countries or instigate color revolutions. We should remain zero-tolerant to the three forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism, and strive to resolve security conundrums in the region. We should work together to ensure that our community features no-conflict and enduring peace.四是坚持世代友好。我们要践行全球文明倡议，赓续传统友谊，密切人员往来，加强治国理政经验交流，深化文明互鉴，增进相互理解，筑牢中国同中亚国家人民世代友好的基石，携手建设一个相知相亲、同心同德的共同体。Fourth, everlasting friendship. It is important that we implement the Global Civilization Initiative, carry forward our traditional friendship, and enhance people-to-people exchanges. We should do more to share our experience in governance, deepen cultural mutual learning, increase mutual understanding, and cement the foundation of the everlasting friendship between the Chinese and Central Asian peoples. We should work together to ensure that our community features close affinity and shared conviction.各位同事！Colleagues,这次峰会为中国同中亚合作搭建了新平台，开辟了新前景。中方愿以举办这次峰会为契机，同各方密切配合，将中国－中亚合作规划好、建设好、发展好。Our Summit has created a new platform and opened up new prospects for China-Central Asia cooperation. China will take this as an opportunity to step up coordination with all parties for good planning, development and progress of China-Central Asia cooperation.一是加强机制建设。我们已经成立外交、经贸、海关等会晤机制和实业家委员会。中方还倡议成立产业与投资、农业、交通、应急管理、教育、政党等领域会晤和对话机制，为各国开展全方位互利合作搭建广泛平台。First, we need to strengthen institutional building. We have set up meeting mechanisms on foreign affairs, economy, trade and customs, as well as a business council. China has also proposed establishment of meeting and dialogue mechanisms on industry and investment, agriculture, transportation, emergency response, education, and political parties, which will be platforms for all-round mutually beneficial cooperation between our countries.二是拓展经贸关系。中方将出台更多贸易便利化举措，升级双边投资协定，实现双方边境口岸农副产品快速通关“绿色通道”全覆盖，举办“聚合中亚云品”主题活动，打造大宗商品交易中心，推动贸易规模迈上新台阶。Second, we need to expand economic and trade ties. China will take more trade facilitation measures, upgrade bilateral investment treaties, and open “green lanes” for streamlined customs clearance of agricultural and sideline products at all border ports between China and Central Asian countries. China will also hold a live-streaming sales event to further promote Central Asian products, and build a commodities trading center. All this is part of an effort to push two-way trade to new heights.三是深化互联互通。中方将全面提升跨境运输过货量，支持跨里海国际运输走廊建设，提升中吉乌、中塔乌公路通行能力，推进中吉乌铁路项目对接磋商。加快现有口岸现代化改造，增开别迭里口岸，大力推进航空运输市场开放，发展地区物流网络。加强中欧班列集结中心建设，鼓励优势企业在中亚国家建设海外仓，构建综合数字服务平台。Third, we need to deepen connectivity. China will strive to increase the volume of cross-border cargo transportation, support the development of the trans-Caspian international transport corridor, enhance the traffic capacity of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan highway and the China-Tajikistan-Uzbekistan highway, and move forward consultations on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway. China will seek to modernize the existing border ports at a faster pace, open a new border port at Biedieli, promote the opening of the air transportation market, and build a regional logistics network. China will also step up the development of China-Europe Railway Express assembly centers, encourage capable enterprises to build overseas warehouses in Central Asian countries, and build a comprehensive digital service platform.四是扩大能源合作。中方倡议建立中国－中亚能源发展伙伴关系，加快推进中国－中亚天然气管道D线建设，扩大双方油气贸易规模，发展能源全产业链合作，加强新能源与和平利用核能合作。Fourth, we need to expand energy cooperation. China would like to propose that we establish a China-Central Asia energy development partnership. We should expedite the construction of Line D of the China-Central Asia Gas Pipeline, expand trade in oil and gas, pursue cooperation throughout the energy industrial chains, and strengthen cooperation on new energy and peaceful use of nuclear energy.五是推进绿色创新。中方愿同中亚国家在盐碱地治理开发、节水灌溉等领域开展合作，共同建设旱区农业联合实验室，推动解决咸海生态危机，支持在中亚建立高技术企业、信息技术产业园。中方欢迎中亚国家参与可持续发展技术、创新创业、空间信息科技等“一带一路”专项合作计划。Fifth, we need to promote green innovation. China will work with Central Asian countries to conduct cooperation in such areas as improvement and utilization of saline-alkali land and water-saving irrigation, build together a joint laboratory on agriculture in arid lands, and tackle the ecological crisis of the Aral Sea. China supports establishing high-tech firms and IT industrial parks in Central Asia. China also welcomes Central Asian countries to participate in special cooperation programs under the Belt and Road Initiative, including programs on sustainable development technologies, innovation and start-up, and spatial information science and technology.六是提升发展能力。中方将制定中国同中亚国家科技减贫专项合作计划，实施“中国－中亚技术技能提升计划”，在中亚国家设立更多鲁班工坊，鼓励在中亚的中资企业为当地提供更多就业机会。为助力中国同中亚国家合作和中亚国家自身发展，中方将向中亚国家提供总额260亿元人民币的融资支持和无偿援助。Sixth, we need to enhance capabilities for development. China will formulate a China-Central Asia special cooperation program for poverty reduction through science and technology, implement the “China-Central Asia technology and skills improvement scheme”, set up more Luban Workshops in Central Asian countries, and encourage Chinese companies in Central Asia to create more local jobs. To bolster our cooperation and Central Asian development, China will provide Central Asian countries with a total of 26 billion RMB yuan of financing support and grant.七是加强文明对话。中方邀请中亚国家参与“文化丝路”计划，将在中亚设立更多传统医学中心，加快互设文化中心，继续向中亚国家提供政府奖学金名额，支持中亚国家高校加入“丝绸之路大学联盟”，办好中国同中亚国家人民文化艺术年和中国－中亚媒体高端对话交流活动，推动开展“中国－中亚文化和旅游之都”评选活动、开行面向中亚的人文旅游专列。Seventh, we need to strengthen dialogue between civilizations. China invites Central Asian countries to take part in the “Cultural Silk Road” program, and will set up more traditional medicine centers in Central Asia. We will speed up establishment of cultural centers in each other's countries. China will continue to provide government scholarships for Central Asian countries, and support their universities in joining the University Alliance of the Silk Road. We will ensure the success of the Year of Culture and Arts for the Peoples of China and Central Asian Countries as well as the China-Central Asia high-level media dialogue. We will launch the “China-Central Asia Cultural and Tourism Capital” program, and open special train services for cultural tourism in Central Asia.八是维护地区和平。中方愿帮助中亚国家加强执法安全和防务能力建设，支持各国自主维护地区安全和反恐努力，开展网络安全合作。继续发挥阿富汗邻国协调机制作用，共同推动阿富汗和平重建。Eighth, we need to safeguard peace in the region. China is ready to help Central Asian countries strengthen capacity building on law enforcement, security and defense, support their independent efforts to safeguard regional security and fight terrorism, and work with them to promote cyber-security. We will continue to leverage the role of the coordination mechanism among Afghanistan's neighbors, and jointly promote peace and reconstruction in Afghanistan.各位同事！Colleagues,去年十月，中国共产党第二十次全国代表大会成功召开，明确了全面建成社会主义现代化强国、实现第二个百年奋斗目标、以中国式现代化全面推进中华民族伟大复兴的中心任务，绘就了中国未来发展的宏伟蓝图。我们愿同中亚国家加强现代化理念和实践交流，推进发展战略对接，为合作创造更多机遇，协力推动六国现代化进程。Last October, the Communist Party of China successfully held its 20th National Congress, which laid out the central task of realizing the Second Centenary Goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects and advancing rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization. It is a grand blueprint for China's future development. We will strengthen theoretical and practical exchanges with Central Asian countries on modernization, synergize our development strategies, create more opportunities for cooperation, and jointly advance the modernization process of our six countries.各位同事！Colleagues,中国陕西有句农谚，“只要功夫深，土里出黄金”。中亚谚语也说，“付出就有回报，播种就能收获”。让我们携手并肩，团结奋斗，积极推进共同发展、共同富裕、共同繁荣，共同迎接六国更加美好的明天！There is a proverb popular among farmers in Shaanxi province, “If you work hard enough, gold will grow out of the land.” In the same vein, a Central Asian saying goes, “You get rewarded if you give, and you harvest if you sow.” Let us work closely together to pursue common development, common affluence, and common prosperity, and embrace a brighter future for our six countries!谢谢大家。Thank you.来源：新华社

Stephen Marche is the author of six books, has been a columnist at Esquire, has taught Shakespeare at the college level and has contributed to The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and many other publications. By any reasonable measure, his career is an unmitigated success. But seen through a different lens (for instance his own) it can also look a lot like failure. That's true of just about every writer who ever lived and Stephen grapples with this dichotomy in new book, On Writing And Failure, which is both a literary history and a reverse pep talk for aspiring artists. In this conversation, Stephen talks about how writers from James Baldwin to James Joyce to Li Bai (and many, many others) built legacies on the sands of constant rejection. He also shares stories of his own failures and offers some thoughts about how the contours of failure and rejection have changed in the new independent creator economy. For paying Substack subscribers, Stephen stays overtime to talk about failure outside of the literary arena, including the perils of marriage and childrearing. Meghan shares her story about getting rejected from a dream job because of a typo in her resumé and Stephen remembers what it was like when his first book, a novel, received a positive New York Times review from none other than . . . Meghan!   Guest Bio: Stephen Marche is a novelist and essayist. He is the author of half a dozen books, including The Next Civil War, The Unmade Bed: The Messy Truth About Men and Women in the Twenty-First Century (2016) and The Hunger of the Wolf (2015). He has written opinion pieces and essays for The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Atlantic, Esquire, The Walrus and many others. He is the host of the hit audio series How Not to F*ck Up Your Kids Too Bad, and its sequel How Not to F*ck Up Your Marriage Too Bad on Audible. His latest book is On Writing and Failure: Or, On the Peculiar Perseverance Required to Endure the Life of a Writer (Field Notes).

Deterrence theory is well known in political science and particularly popular during the Cold War.In the annals of Chinese history, we find examples of a specific type of deterrence: making your enemy refrain from attacking by being clever and displaying your intellect for your enemy to see.Let's look at the famous cases of the Su Brothers, Li Bai, and Lin Xiangru.

Can Li Bai, China's greatest poet, be translated into frat-boy-ese? Lee tried.  It is not as crazy as it sounds. Li Bai is an alcoholic poet. Though he has long been translated into a highfalutin English that sounds like a stuffy Shakespere. But Li Bai is just talking about getting drunk.  Does Lee's translation work? Stay tuned and decide for yourself. 

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss two of China's greatest poets, Li Bai and Du Fu, who wrote in the 8th century in the Tang Era. Li Bai (701-762AD) is known for personal poems, many of them about drinking wine, and for finding the enjoyment in life. Du Fu (712-770AD), a few years younger, is more of an everyman, writing in the upheaval of the An Lushan Rebellion (755-763AD). Together they have been a central part of Chinese culture for over a millennium, reflecting the balance between the individual and the public life, and one sign of their enduring appeal is that there is rarely agreement on which of them is the greater. The image above is intended to depict Du Fu. With Tim Barrett Professor Emeritus of East Asian History at SOAS, University of London Tian Yuan Tan Shaw Professor of Chinese at the University of Oxford and Professorial Fellow at University College And Frances Wood Former Curator of the Chinese Collections at the British Library Producer: Simon Tillotson

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss two of China's greatest poets, Li Bai and Du Fu, who wrote in the 8th century in the Tang Era. Li Bai (701-762AD) is known for personal poems, many of them about drinking wine, and for finding the enjoyment in life. Du Fu (712-770AD), a few years younger, is more of an everyman, writing in the upheaval of the An Lushan Rebellion (755-763AD). Together they have been a central part of Chinese culture for over a millennium, reflecting the balance between the individual and the public life, and one sign of their enduring appeal is that there is rarely agreement on which of them is the greater. The image above is intended to depict Du Fu. With Tim Barrett Professor Emeritus of East Asian History at SOAS, University of London Tian Yuan Tan Shaw Professor of Chinese at the University of Oxford and Professorial Fellow at University College And Frances Wood Former Curator of the Chinese Collections at the British Library Producer: Simon Tillotson

We welcome the mezzo Susan Platts, who has long been celebrated for her performances of Gustav Mahler's music. Toledo audiences will soon get the chance to hear Susan sing Mahler's monumental symphony in song, Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth). We hear Mahlerian tales as told by Susan, including about her "pandemic project" (hint: it's a cookbook), and the times she spent working with two legends no longer with us: Christa Ludwig and Jessye Norman. Also, taking our cue from Mahler's use of Chinese poems, we offer a Who Said It, Confucius or Li Bai? quiz!

Journey through ancient and modern China during a spectacular 14-minute Circle-Vision 360° film. Reflections of China located in the China Pavillion of Epcot's World Showcase. The show premiered in May 2003, replacing the opening day Wonders of China 360 movie. The show is narrated by an actor playing Li Bai, an ancient Chinese poet, who takes the viewer on a tour of the Chinese countryside and historical structures and buildings. As of this video, Reflections of China is scheduled to close in December 2021, replacing a new film, "Wondrous China" – Part of the Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary Celebration and the first Disney Circle-Vision file produced and projected in a seamless format. Some sites that are seen are The Great Wall of China, The Forbidden City in Beijing, the Terracotta Army in Xi'an, Hunan, Guilin, Suzhou, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.

Poems by Li Bai (701-762)Thoughts on a Still NightBefore my bed, the moon is shining bright,I think that it is frost upon the ground.I raise my head and look at the bright moon,I lower my head and think of home.Viewing Heaven's Gate MountainsThe River Chu cuts through the middle of heaven's gate,The green water flowing east reaches here then swirls.On either bank the blue hills face towards each other,The flatness of a lonely sail comes from by of the sun.Visiting the Taoist Priest Dai Tianshan But Not Finding HimA dog's bark amid the water's sound,Peach blossom that's made thicker by the rain.Deep in the trees, I sometimes see a deer,And at the stream I hear no noonday bell.Wild bamboo divides the green mist,A flying spring hangs from the jasper peak.No-one knows the place to which he's gone,Sadly, I lean on two or three pines. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit iwillreadtoyou.substack.com/subscribe

Poems by Li Bai (701-762)Sent to Du Fu below Shaqiu CityWhat is it that I've come to now?High before me: Shaqiu city.Beside the city, ancient trees;The sunset joins the autumn sounds.The Lu wine cannot make me drunk,Despite Qi's songs, my feelings return.My thoughts of you are like the Wen's waters,Mightily sent on their southern journey.Sitting Alone on Jingting Shan HillA flock of birds is flying high in the distance,A lonely cloud drifts idly on its own.We gaze at each other, neither growing tired,There is only Jingting Shan.Staying the Night at a Mountain TempleThe high tower is a hundred feet tall,From here one's hand could pluck the stars.I do not dare to speak in a loud voice,I fear to disturb the people in heaven. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit iwillreadtoyou.substack.com/subscribe

Poems by Li Bai (701-762)Question and Answer on the MountainYou ask for what reason I stay on the green mountain,I smile, but do not answer, my heart is at leisure.Peach blossom is carried far off by flowing water,Apart, I have heaven and earth in the human world.Seeing off a FriendGreen hills above the northern wall,White water winding east of the city.On this spot our single act of parting,The lonely tumbleweed journeys ten thousand li.Drifting clouds echo the traveller's thoughts,The setting sun reflects my old friend's feelings.You wave your hand and set off from this place,Your horse whinnies as it leaves.Seeing off Meng Haoran for Guangling at Yellow Crane TowerMy old friend's said goodbye to the west, here at Yellow Crane Tower,In the third month's cloud of willow blossoms, he's going down to Yangzhou.The lonely sail is a distant shadow, on the edge of a blue emptiness,All I see is the Yangtze River flow to the far horizon. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit iwillreadtoyou.substack.com/subscribe

Poems by Li Bai (701-762)Long YearningLong yearning,To be in Chang'an.The grasshoppers weave their autumn song by the golden railing of the well;Frost coalesces on my bamboo mat, changing its colour with cold.My lonely lamp is not bright, I'd like to end these thoughts;I roll back the hanging, gaze at the moon, and long sigh in vain.The beautiful person's like a flower beyond the edge of the clouds.Above is the black night of heaven's height;Below is the green water billowing on.The sky is long, the road is far, bitter flies my spirit;The spirit I dream can't get through, the mountain pass is hard.Long yearning,Breaks my heart.Long Yearning (Sent Far)When the beautiful woman was here, the hall was filled with flowers,Now the beautiful woman's gone, the bed is lying empty.On the bed, the embroidered quilt is rolled up: no-one sleeps,Though three years have now gone by, I think I smell that scent.The scent is finished but not destroyed,The woman's gone and does not come.Yearning yellows the falling leaf,White dew beads the green moss.Marble Steps ComplaintWhite dew grows on the marble steps,And in the long night, soaks into my stockings.But now I let the crystal curtain down,And gaze through it at the autumn moon.Midnight Song of WuIn Chang'an city is the disk of the moon,The sound of pounding clothes in ten thousand households.The autumn wind is blowing without cease,All the time I think of Yuguan pass.When will we pacify the pillaging Hu,So my husband can end his long journey? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit iwillreadtoyou.substack.com/subscribe

Poems by Li Bai (701-762)Crows Calling at NightYellow clouds beside the walls; crows near the tower.Flying back, they caw, caw; calling in the boughs.In the loom she weaves brocade, the Qin river girl.Made of emerald yarn like mist, the window hides her words.She stops the shuttle, sorrowful, and thinks of the distant man.She stays alone in the lonely room, her tears just like the rain.For Wang LunLi Bai is already on the boat, preparing to depart,I suddenly hear the sound of stamping and singing on the shore.The water of Taohua pond reaches a thousand feet in depth,But still it's not as deep as Wang Lun's feelings seeing me off.Hearing a Flute on a Spring Night in LuoyangFrom whose home secretly flies the sound of a jade flute?It's lost amid the spring wind which fills Luoyang city.In the middle of this nocturne I remember the snapped willow,What person would not start to think of home!Laolao Ting PavilionWhat place under heaven most hurts the heart?Laolao Ting, for seeing visitors off.The spring wind knows how bitter it is to part,The willow twig will never again be green. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit iwillreadtoyou.substack.com/subscribe

Religion in Chinese culture contrasts sharply with religions in other civilizations. For one thing, many Chinese gods were flesh-and-blood human beings who came to be deified, unlike most ancient gods of Europe or the Middle East or Egypt. Mazu, the Goddess of the Sea, is one example. And today she is becoming the patron goddess of Taiwan. Alice tells us about the reporting she did this year on the annual Mazu Festival, which 300,000 Taiwanese attended.Another notable phenomenon is the historical belief that certain personalities, such as the poet Li Bai, might have been avatars of gods.But do people genuinely believe? We discuss the use of religion in politics. In contemporary Taiwan, politicians still sometimes claim to receive signs from Mazu. Historically, a general in the Song Dynasty who was thought to be a god's avatar happily exploited his troops' faith for his own purpose.

A huge thanks to Joseph McDade for his generous permission to use his music: https://josephmcdade.com/ Thanks to Palmtoptiger17 for the beautiful logo: https://www.instagram.com/palmtoptiger17/ Discord Discussion Board: https://disboard.org/server/474580298630430751  The Historic Faith Courses: https://thehistoricfaith.com/ My Sonnet Compilation: https://www.amazon.com/My-First-Sonnets-J-G-Elliot-ebook/dp/B01LXXIIQN/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=my+first+sonnets&qid=1585870352&sr=8-2 Richard Rohr's "Sermon on the Mount": https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003A0IASQ/ref=cm_sw_r_em_api_uOXEFbGCN7ASQ Dallas Willard's "The Divine Conspiracy": https://www.amazon.com/Divine-Conspiracy-Rediscovering-Hidden-Life/dp/0007596545/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=dallas+willard+divine+conspiracy&qid=1601907374&sr=8-1 Jade In life the only certainty we getIs that death for each of us is assuredWe, like the gods, insure through jade rabbitOur destiny's sufficiently ensured But pestle and mortar cannot concoctA cure for pestilence which mortifiesImpending doom, our sacred lives, defrocksAnd minds, in time, to lunacy it drives What can we prize in life's vap'rous glory?Truth - a lowly and humble parapetOur choice, to bay as beasts in furoreOr put truth into our pipes and smoke it Worry not for tomorrow is its ownAnd emperor is seated on his throne [Mt. 6:25-34, 7:7-11]. While jade can have a number of colors, green is the most well known (along with white). Especially in Asia (particularly China), jade was thought of as scholarly and imperial. It could supposedly increase the longevity of your life and heal. The “Jade Rabbit” (or hare) is a shape ancients in the East saw in the moon. If you look it up, you can find the shape of a rabbit who appears to be grinding up substances with a mortar and pestle. This rabbit supposedly mixed the elixir of life for the gods. I reference it here because of the reference to “jade,” but also because jade has an association with nobility and status – which the gods certainly had. We set ourselves up as gods as we seek to immortality the same. The last line with “Destiny” also makes this stanza a nerd reference, as the “jade rabbit” is an exotic weapon in the Destiny franchise of video games. There is a wordplay going on here, as the “pestle” and “mortar” the jade rabbit uses has as its roots “pest” and “mort.” We see these roots come back in “pestilence” and “mortifies.” This isn't a mere repetition of root words, but rather a juxtaposition of ideas. Whereas the rabbit uses his “pest” and “mort' to perpetuate life, we see that “pest” and “mort” are the ultimate takers of life. This doesn't mean that it is the rabbit in the moon that kills us, but rather that placing our hope in such things is the opposite of true life. There are also a lot of things going on just with the word “mortifies” here, as there are a number of definitions coming into play here. In short, it means that it brings about fear (I'm mortified), it brings about decay, and it is death (mortem in Latin is death) to us mortals.  The knowledge of our demise, in time, disrobes our vain and lofty beliefs about ourselves. No matter how great someone is in life, they are made equal in death. We stand naked in front of the world with this truth, and it hurts. To dwell on this truth and acknowledge it, in time, can drive us mad. “Lunacy” here is yet another tie-in to the moon which was introduced as our jade rabbit's home.  This is nearly a direct quote from an ancient Chinese poem called “The Old Dust” by Li Bai (or Li Po, or Li Bo). The line referenced is the final line of the poem: “What is there to prize in the life's vaporous glory?” I only changed it to fit the iambic pentameter of the sonnet format. Bai's poem is largely about how short our lives are and how the finitude of our lives seems to make them purposeless.  So what can we prize in life if everything about our lives is fleeting? Well, it seems the one thing that is not fleeting is truth. What is true now is always true. If it is 10:12 right now, while it won't always be 10:12, it will always be true that it was 10:12 at the point at which I said it was 10:12. Truth is immutable, though truths about mutable things change as those things grow, age, learn, etc. I could truthfully say that I will be 33 tomorrow, and I could say that each day for about another month. But one day, I must stop saying that because it will no longer be true. The truthfulness of my statements haven't changed, but my position changes the need for me to recognize a new truth which corresponds to my situation. But as I discussed in line 8, the acceptance of truth, particularly the truth that death is inevitable (and according to Bai, the vanity which comes from this truth), drives us to lunacy. That's why here I refer to truth as being a low “parapet.” In my mind I'm imagining our lives as like traversing a high, narrow bridge. If truth is our guiding purpose, it's an awfully low parapet to protect us from either falling over or choosing to jump over the edge. Hedonists and suicidal nihilists aren't anywhere different on the spectrum of their understanding of truth, they simply differ as to how they live in light of that truth. Truth in and of itself isn't helpful. Alvin Planginga's evolutionary argument against naturalism raises this same problem as he shows how truth is irrelevant for (and it can also be logically followed that it is sometimes even harmful to) survival.  There are three meanings in here. First, to “bay” should once again bring ideas of the moon back into play, as wolves bay at the moon. Second, English readers commonly read “Bai” (as in Li Bai) as BAY, though I believe it's actually pronounced BY E. So this is a reference back to Li Bai. Finally, I unpack the first option we have living in meaninglessness. First, we can become like beasts and throw off rationality. We can choose to believe that love, free will, and purpose exist in a physical world though we know they can't. We can absolutely ignore the implications of the truth and suppress it. See Appendix 13 for discussions on truth and love on a naturalistic system.  There is a ton going on in this line. 1) This line references two other options we have at our disposable to deal with purposelessness of a finite life. One is that we can turn to drugs (represented in the pipe), which is simply a reference for turning to pleasure and substances to numb or ignore the truth. Rather than act like irrational beasts who don't seem to know the truth, these individuals know the truth but defy it. They seize the day and try to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. The second option  is that you can simply deal with it, whether you like it or not, making sense of the idiomatic line: “you can put it in your pipe and smoke it.”  2) Jade was particularly thought to add longevity to life if smoked through jade pipes. This reference to putting it (truth implied) in your pipe and smoking it is that the acceptance of truth will actually add longevity to your life. Since I believe the truth is the Christian truth, I don't think it is a low parapet. I think it is our sustaining hope. I answer how this is the case in the final couplet.  The ultimate truth above all truths is that God is on his throne and reigns in power. This life is a vapor, as James and Bai say, but Christians also know that there is resurrection. The truth that God is in control, that God is love, and that God provides in that he will ultimately preserve us, then we don't have to look to the past or the future, like Bai, and be depressed. The truth gives us hope, and hope allows us to live today in security. In this sense, we are the most free. Whereas the hedonist is controlled by her fate, being forced to cram as much pleasure into their lives, we Christians are not controlled by our future. We are freed by it to live today as today, and not shackled to tomorrow. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★