About my hometown

Rich Land

In December 1977, Diqin and I traveled from Taipei to Tokyo to Seattle and finally to Richland. Shu-Chien and Shu-Shih's new house is quite comfortable. Richland used to be an arid land but after the U.S. government hired lot of scientists and invested a lot of money for the development and research to build a nuclear industry, the area became prosperous. 

This barren land: how came it to be called Richland?
Clean wind, clear water, white sand flats.
Add nice houses, becomes a town.
New atomic nuclear reactor gives it a name. 

Beautiful Remembrances with Water

Washington D.C. Capital
No. 2 The Jefferson Memorial 

The Declaration of Independence hand-written, legacy:
"Born and* equal," what a concept!
Coming to this ascendant country, I behold a grand aspect:
Basin surface clear and smooth, water and building pleasant. 

*though my grandfather knew the word for 'created' he used these words because he was quoting the popular Chinese translation of the Declaration--which my mom and I assume was translated without a clear understanding of Judaeo-Christian concept of creation.

Missing River South by Bai Juyu

River south beauty
Scenery I used to know well
Sunrise river flowers redder than fire
Springtime river water green like blue
How can I not miss river south?

Noblemen

Mountain Dwelling Autumn Dusk by Tang dynasty poet Wang Wei

Serene mountain, just after the rain,
Evening air feels like autumn.
Moonlight shines through pines,
Clear spring flows over stones.
Bamboo chatter of homeward clothes-washing women,
Water-lilies shift below fishing boat.
Let the spring grass wither,
Those of noble birth may remain.

Washington D.C. Capital
No. 1 The Washington Monument

Founding nation's premiere--ethical, clean, and upright.
As a youth, honest; as a man, hard-working.
To honor his accomplishments, a new structure in the capitol:
Virtuous influence enduring, one high column. 

Spring liberty

Spring Dawn by Tang poet Mong Haoran (689-740)

Spring slumber, don't notice dawn.
Here, there, hear birds' song.
Night falls, sound of wind and rain.
How many flowers have fall'n?


United States Capitol

Like a mountain round dome built upon a high wall.
The symbols of democracy, congressional chambers.
Old military soldiers, lives cut short,
Civil rights activists, names made prominent.
"All men are created equal" declaration;
Liberty for all in the Constitution.
Fifty states divided into House and Senate,
In God we trust, washed in grace and light.

Old woods

Four Times (Seasons) by Jing dynasty poet Gu Kaizi (345-411 A.D.)

Spring water fills four heads.
Summer clouds form unique crests.
Autumn moon beams bright rays.
Winter peak grows lone pine.

Famous scholar and artist.
Qing qi su hua (music, chess, calligraphy, painting)


The House on Forest Street

The flowers and trees on Forest Street grow into a wood.
Birds on the branch, sing out good news.
The lawn around the house turns a new green.
Peaceful dwelling satisfies the old heart's garden.

When I visited Brookings, Sudong and Qingyu had already lived there more than ten years. The house is clean and neat, the big lawn, and in the morning the birds sing. This is a good place for peaceful living. 

My uncle Sudong, whose house this poem is the subject of, recently moved to Seattle and is having a hard time adjusting. My mom thought it so timely that we read this poem. She told him that when my grandpa moved to the States, he had a hard time adjusting too.

Landmarks

Picking Vegetables from the Zhou dynasty Books of Songs 

Long ago, going out,
Willow strands swaying swaying;
Now I return, la,
Rain and snow, falling falling.

Editor's note: the original poem is quite long. I chose four lines from it. Possibly sung by men deployed to the country borders to defend their inland homelands. 


No. 8 Mammoth Hotsprings

Gold colored hot springs, light flashes eyes bright.
Mammoth huge wall, sparkling crystal light.
Layered steps, a hundred acres of yellow stones:
From this Yellowstone park got its name. 

A fatalist and a believer

A poem inscribed on a painting of a Chrysanthemum
by Song dynasty poet Zhen Sixiao

Flower blooms not among a hundred flower crowds.
Growing alone by the sparse fence, pleasures unending.
Would rather whither and die on the branch,
Than be blown off in the middle of a northern wind.*

Editor's note: every line is a comparison the poet is making to himself. Northern wind symbolizes the Mongolians.


Ten Poems on Yellowstone Park

No. 2 "Old Faithful"

Crystal water and sparkling mist spout unique shapes.
In between eruption and stillness, regular intervals.
From the beginning of time, like this, faithfully,
Revealing God's power, the hidden agent.

Beauty unnoticed and noticed

Entitling the Pomegranate Flower by Song dynasty poet Zhu Xi 1130-1200

May pomegranate flowers shine eyes bright
Among branches often find newly formed fruit
What a pity this place lacks cars and horses
Bloom and whither green moss bright red drops

A famous scholar, he systematized all of Chinese philosophy together, and made a commentary.

Cars and horses symbolize visitors and popularity


San Francisco Chinatown

In San Francisco, a steep street,
Side by side, tea shops and bars.
Foreign language beginners, more borrowed phrases,
Hometown accents unchanged, loud and noisy.*
Tang Mountain grains, meal: homesick pangs,
Tai Sea flags, banners: rare sight.
Classic literature not forgotten** Ching Han words,
Posted notice ancient script Great Middle Beauty.

*Referencing a famous poem phrase: when you left your hometown in your youth, when you return an old person, your accent stays the same, but your hair became gray; little kids see you but didn't recognize you ask you where you came from.

**There's a phrase that people say wherein you've forgotten your origins.

Camellia + Golden Gate Bridge

Mountain Tea (Camellia) by Lu You

Eastern garden, few days, wind twice as strong,
Peach and plum, fallen down, swept away empty.
Only camellia, in contrast, lasts long,
Green bushes, again blooms, several branches of red.


Golden Gate Bridge

Gold gate beautiful scenery, the best of California.
Steel cables cross the sky, spanning green waters.
Extending to cultivated fields, open up developments.
Connecting cities, pressing high rise buildings.
Hazy fog, smoke, and rain, trees on high mountains.
Relentless waves, wind, and waves, ships on far sea.
Million car dust, racing wheel tires,
At the head of the bridge, stand remarkable statues.

My kind of town

The City of Chicago

Burning coal, steel factories, by the western side of the five lakes--
Smoky trees, wind on sails, scenery nearly overwhelming;
Lamps and lights, so bright, create a mirage.
High rise construction, a stairway to the sky;
Outside the country museum, cars like a river.
In front of restaurants and temples, waves smack the embankment;
Turn around stores and mall, competitors vie for marketshare--
Newly built skyscraper, as high as the clouds.

Chicago is located at west side of the Great Lakes.
There's a street with so many bright lights.
Inside the city there are museums that show the countryside.
Sears Tower newly built, the tallest building in the world.

More on Plum Flowers

Plum Flower Quatrain by Song dynasty poet Lu You

It's been said that plum flowers bloom in morning breeze.
Snow drifts spread everywhere, in the middle of four mountains.
How can I to transform into a hundred billion bodies?
For every plum tree, a free old man.

Known for being a patriotic poet, Lu You was called a Lover of Country. During the Song dynasty, northern China was occupied by foreigners, and he always wanted the north country to be recovered. It didn't happen during his lifetime but he expressed his wishes through his poetry.

The words for free old man is his other name, Fang Ong.

Quatrain is in place of the words Jueju which is a form of 4 lines of 7 characters each.

High speed train destinations

China's high speed trains are so fast we found ourselves asking "We're here already?" instead of the typical "Are we there yet?" Amazing. The first weekend I was in Shanghai, Tiffany and I went to Suzhou.

In response to the Scene at Suzhou Train Station

Suzhou city lively post noisy honking hubbub
Glass towers crowded streets smiling bustling people
Fresh visitors posing clothing bright cell phones abound
Curiosity and interests satisfied hair still mostly black
City tour guides sell Humble Garden tickets
Stall blenders cheaply mix mango jelly drinks
Lilting warm spring breeze windows rolled down
Corner bench easy resting sun sets west

A road less traveled

Hengshan Road (In response to Beidang Road)

Languishing luxury, one mile of former grandeur
Cement-paved wide standard street named Hengshang
Dropping sycamores, dusty air struggling bowling alley
Swept plane trees, hopeful placards novelty gospel house
Signs still sideways, pinyin words
People's language tic-toc sounds, cotton voice
This area truly was the French concession
But could it be that I am in New Jersey?

Old Cypress Apartment

I visited Gubuo Gongyu three times while in Shanghai for ten days. It's where my mom lived from birth to ten years of age with her parents and two brothers. She remembers the courtyard garden in the middle of the apartment complex. Gubuo means old cypress.

In response to My Humble House

Simple ordinary life more than seven-tens' years*
Affordable rent paid to gain vogue location**

Oleander tree dusty green, leans over pavilion
Wisteria vine fragrant purple, cover back days

Dotted playground toys, shaded, often chatting neighbors
Corner home door ajar, afternoon scribbling poems

River ocean travel around finally arrive at insight
Spared much wind and rain, inherit peaceful living


*my mom turns 80 this year
**my friend asked what they pay in rent now, it's in a hip neighborhood--see coffee shop photo from three storefronts down the street.

Fumi Coffee down the street

Responses to Shanghai Parks

I went to People's Park and am not entirely sure it's the renamed Zhaofong park--there are many large parks with water features in Shanghai.

In response to Zhaofong Park

The swirl and noise inside People's Park,
Paved paths for moving around.
Manicured selected trees laced with green,
Murky dribbling water dull with disuse.*
Dropping red leaf strewn sidewalks, littered.
Crowded brown occupied benches, smoky.
At sunset the gates will shut:
This visiting guest's expectations are left disappointed.

*There was a dried up waterfall structure in the park that made me think perhaps this was Zhaofong since in my grandfather's notes to his poem, there seemed to be a waterfall in it.





In response to Waitan Park, No 2.

High rise digital flashing showoff spectacular dazzle
Ferries and barges move steadily, wakes flatten crud.
Gray promenade, hand machines**, selfie spots.
Many people excitedly sit, listening to the chattering tourists.

**the literal translation for cell phone in Chinese is hand machine. I used the term to parallel 'handrail' used in my grandfather's poem.

LJZ, XTD, BZD and other Shanghai acronyms

I was pleased to see all the subway signs in English/pinyin. It makes getting around so much easier. Also, I started to understand everyone's pinyin abbreviations--LJZ for Lujiazui (the Pudong neighborhood with the skyscrapers that make up the skyline that is extensively photographed from the Bund), XTD for Xintiandi (an upscale neighborhood in the FCC--former French Concession), and my self-coined acronym BZD for "bu zhi dao", or "I don't know." Tiffany, my friend, was not supportive of BZD but I persist in using it anyway as a slangy Chinglish counterpoint to IDK.

Went to dinner with friends. After eating, I wrote this. (In response to this poem.)

Cross the river, traffic and pollutants announce the rise of power.
Holding a wine glass while eating, what decadence, ha!
Must be dreaming of some experience unattainable,
Ask the waiter, "How do you get here?"*

*One of our friends didn't know how to get to the restaurant and called for help, unfortunately, none of us were able to help and we finally resorted to handing the phone to the waiter for help. 

Double dare

First time from across the Pacific Ocean, early afternoon at Huangpu River


Over Huangpu river, the midday haze* hovers
Mystery draws heart to go leisurely thinking
Red flags flutter a warning that lingers
Blue pants pausing seat, tears spring up
One shoulder totes words a thousand moons past**
Ten-thousand phones shutter glint, two moving barges
At Waitan dare to turn and look back
My loving ancestors*** gone to the new city


*I was amused that my weather app called the polluted air "foggy"
**one thousand months is a bit over 83 years, about the time my grandfather would have written the poem I wrote this in response to (1932)
***I so appreciate that my grandpa had an emotional connection to my grandmother. I really wished we could have traveled together. I think it would have been so fun.

Seeing Wusong Again for the First Time

Shanghai was really great. I loved being there, it was so comfortable and surprisingly clean, and full of imagined memories.

First Seeing Wusong (In response to Seeing Wusong)


Wusong waters slink along, brown.
Riverbank trees unlike my hometown.
Shanghai fills all the air,
He lived here once, for a decade.
Felt strange across the Pacific Ocean--
People say I've traveled much,
Inside is full and longing.
Why did you come back?
Start down bone-flesh roads.

alternate last two lines:

When will he come back?
Gone up heaven-bound streets.

My view straight across from where I wrote this response.

Sentiments on sentiments

I finally went to Shanghai. Got back three days ago and it's 12:30am in Seattle and I am wide awake. While I was there, I went to visit Suzhou and Hangzhou just like the saying goes. 

Response to touring Xi Hu (West Lake)




No. 1 with Tiffany

Speaking of renowned beauty, riding police car,
Still remember singing praises with you in NYC.
Spanish tourist, Italian hotties, relishing dessert happiness.
Laughter, language, walk, play--both forget losses.

My friend Tiffany, whom I met at Times Square Church and who has been living in Shanghai for the past few months, and I tried to visit Hangzhou but I forgot my passport and she lost her wallet so we spent the day dealing with taxi drivers, taking the subway back and forth to the train station, and the police report. On one of the subway rides, we met a Spanish man traveling with an Italian man and chatted with them. The previous day, we had had lovely dessert. I had imagined myself on a boat snacking with her in honor of my grandma's poem, but it wasn't meant to be.

No. 2 with myself

Hearing of famous lake aboard crowded ferry.
Still remember pacing hallways, hands clasped behind your back.
Purple flowers, yellow pineapple, munching snack happiness.
Laughter, foreign mother's tongue, sit, think: remember what could have been.

The next day, Tiffany had to work but I really wanted to visit Hangzhou before I left, so I went by myself. Since I was by myself, no one would rent me a boat and I resorted to boarding a crowded boat with about forty other tourists. At one point, everyone was talking so loudly, I laughed because we couldn't hear the guide at all.

It was actually my maternal grandmother who paced the hallways but this is sort of an ode to all my grandparents since I never really got to know them while they were alive.

Past due

[found this in my draft posts from 2012...assume it's my grandmother's]

Last night, I woke from my dream thinking about the past.
From before time, there is sweetness among the bitterness.
Now, getting old, so sad and lonesome:
Waking up is not as sweet as dreaming.

1979 January one midnight I woke up and wrote this poem

Shanghai Parks

Because I'm going to Shanghai this week, I asked my mom to translate two more poems from my grandfather's Huangpu (Shanghai) chapter.

Prosperous Abundant Park 

The dust and noise inside the city,
Cleared land for roaming around.
Dense wooded trees thick with green,
Clear pooled water ripple with waves.
Dropping red* flower-lined path, winding.
Spreading green grassy lawn, wide.
At sun set the gates will shut:
And visiting guests' enthusiasm are left unsatisfied.  

Shanghai is heavily populated, everywhere there's a lot of people. So the government decided to build a series of parks, of all the parks, Zhaofong Park is the biggest. It's very pretty and whenever you go there, you don't want to leave.

*Hear the night wind,
how many flowers dropped

Waitan [Outside the banks (of the river)] Park

No. 2
High rise electric flashing showoff spectacular dazzle.
Vessels and ships move quick, wakes stirup foam.
Green lawns, handrails, resting spots.
Many people leisurely sit, listening to the lapping water. 

All the powerful institutions and centers of government were in the Waitan neighborhood. 

Snow aspects

Snow Plum by Song dynasty poet Lu Meipuo

No. 1

Plum and snow vie for spring, neither will submit.
Writers rest their pens, argue debate and critique:
"The plum should be by snow three parts less white."
"The snow compared to plum loses by one mark of fragrance."

No. 2

Plum without snow lacks vitality,
Snow without poetry makes everyone basic. 
Day darkens, poems written, the heavens snow again,
Together with plum, forms a ten-part* spring.

*ten-parts is perfect 


Some North Island (Hokkaido) Poems

I went to Hokkaido because I have a friend, Dong Haoyun,* who has a shipping company who had a new ship to be christened. We were invited to the ship christening at Hokkaido.

No. 1 - Hot Springs Hotel

Japan everywhere competing in beauty and color,
North Island hanging alone beside the setting sun.
Ice, snow, severe cold, nothing to fear:
Where there's a guest house, there's a hot spring.

*famous shipping magnate, my mom said, "Like Onassis."

Comparisons

Plum Flower by Song dynasty poet Wang Qi

Not worried by the dust, not at all, by pollutants,
Bamboo fence grass hut* self-satisfied.
Only by mistakenly befriending Ling He-jing**
Incited all these poets to talk until now.

*symbolic of the simple and poor life
**Ling He-jing (Ling Pu) also wrote a poem about the Plum Flower 


China's Little League Baseball Team

China's youth bat team--
Fifteen-year-olds: jade chimeras.
Offence, defense both without rival,
Pitching, catching as if divinely endowed.
Their reputation surpassing oceans,
Their fame rightly deserved.
Their service to our nation, commiserate to medals and awards,
There's no difference between them and government officials. 

In 1969, Taiwan won the Little League World Series in Pennsylvania. Many of my friends wrote poems to commemorate the event and I wrote this in response to Mr. Li's.

Moon work

Flower Shadow by Song dynasty poet Su Dongbuo (Shu Si) 1036-1102

Layers upon layers up the climbing steps,
Several times call the servant, cannot sweep away,
Merely by the setting sun, it is tidied up,
But then the moon light sends more.

Some people think Shu Dongbuo was talking about the nuisance people at court, just when they go away, more come. When he was 22, he went to test for national highest scholar. Legend has it that the proctor who read his anonymous essay thought it was so good and must have been written by his own student. He feared that people would think he was biased so he marked it second highest and not top marks. When he opened up the essay, he discovered Shu Dongbuo had written it instead.


American astronaut landing on the moon

No. 1

Spectral soul, lone bird doesn't care about passing time,
Today, an American ascended to the heavenly skies.
In the crowded country, hard to live;
By the tranquil sea, suited for rest.

In 1969, July 21, an American astronaut landed on the moon and stirred up the whole world. One of my friends wrote a poem about this event and I've used his form to write these two poems.