Going to Hangzhou’s West Lake 苏东坡的西湖

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I’ll be going to Hangzhou 杭州 Hángzhōu tonight and spent a couple of days there before going to Suzhou and Shanghai. It is on company business, unfortunately. But I never fail to pause and smell the flowers along any path I travel. And I’m sure there will be stories to share when I get back.

I’ll of course find my way to the famed West Lake, where the weeping willows framed its bank. It was said that it was governor and poet Sū Dōngpō 苏东坡 who introduced these graceful weeping willows that really bring out its character. And he wrote a famous poem that compared West Lake 西湖 Xī Hú to 西施 Xishi, one of the four most beautiful woman in historical China.

West Lake in Sunshine and Rain.

饮湖上初晴后雨
yǐn hú shàng chū qíng hòu yǔ

水光潋滟晴方好,
shuǐ guāng liànyàn qíng fāng hǎo
山色空蒙雨亦奇。
shānsè kōng méng yǔ yì qí
欲把西湖比西子,
yù bǎ Xī Hú bǐ Xishi
淡妆浓抹总相宜。
dàn zhuāng mā zǒng xiāngyí

Shimmering water on a bright sunny day. or the
marvellous sight of distant rain veiled hills
West Lake is as Xishi, beautiful -
whether plainly dressed or richly adorned.

I will be writing more about Sū Dōngpō 苏东坡 when I get back. Not only is he a good 官 guān official and calligrapher but he also has a famous dish 东坡肉 dōngpōròu named after him. How many poets do you know who can lay claim to that?

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