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Heady wine and tipsy poets
By Lin Jieyu and Wang Jie |
September 27, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
IN Hangzhou, beside the famed Linyin Temple, there is a small hill called Yueguifeng, a name drawn from the famous book "Record of a West Lake Tour," written by Tian Ruchen during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
Tian said that long ago shining granules dropped from the moon and fell on this hill. Some say the granules were actually the flowers of osmanthus trees planted on the moon. So the hill was named Yueguifeng, meaning "the hill that received osmanthus flowers from the moon."
In subsequent centuries, many people believed that those who held "the flowers from the moon" would achieve good marks in imperial examinations. Therefore, in ancient China, ambitious men gathered together on Mid-Autumn Festival to drink wine and compose verse, hoping to be blessed by the moon.
That was not exactly the case in Jiading, where writers traditionally assembled during the festival seeking something other than fame and honor.
On the Mid-Autumn Festival in 1587, Xu Xuemo, a former high government official turned hermit, came out of solitude to organize a gathering of friends, including what were known at the time as "the Four Gentlemen in Jiading," including Lou Jian, Tang Shishen and Chen Jiasui.
He invited seven poet friends to join him on a river boat to gaze at the moon and compose verse.
The eight poets drank and laughed and composed poems that suggest to us today that a very good time was had by all. Revelry like that was unusual at the time. Perhaps it was the magic of the moonlit night, or the headiness of the wine. But tradition holds that scholars and poets feel free to release their inhibitions during the Mid-Autumn Festival and plumb the depths of their hearts.
Tian said that long ago shining granules dropped from the moon and fell on this hill. Some say the granules were actually the flowers of osmanthus trees planted on the moon. So the hill was named Yueguifeng, meaning "the hill that received osmanthus flowers from the moon."
In subsequent centuries, many people believed that those who held "the flowers from the moon" would achieve good marks in imperial examinations. Therefore, in ancient China, ambitious men gathered together on Mid-Autumn Festival to drink wine and compose verse, hoping to be blessed by the moon.
That was not exactly the case in Jiading, where writers traditionally assembled during the festival seeking something other than fame and honor.
On the Mid-Autumn Festival in 1587, Xu Xuemo, a former high government official turned hermit, came out of solitude to organize a gathering of friends, including what were known at the time as "the Four Gentlemen in Jiading," including Lou Jian, Tang Shishen and Chen Jiasui.
He invited seven poet friends to join him on a river boat to gaze at the moon and compose verse.
The eight poets drank and laughed and composed poems that suggest to us today that a very good time was had by all. Revelry like that was unusual at the time. Perhaps it was the magic of the moonlit night, or the headiness of the wine. But tradition holds that scholars and poets feel free to release their inhibitions during the Mid-Autumn Festival and plumb the depths of their hearts.
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