Ode To Red Cliff 念奴嬌 赤壁懷古

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In that car journey from Dongguan (see last post), my friend narrated his last meeting with his friend who questioned the life he had been living. What has it all being for? For money? Security? Status? The good things in Life? Are they worth the sacrifices? Isn’t it in the end, no matter what one achieved; they are just like 浪淘沙 (làngtáoshā), sands that are washed away by the relentless tides of time.

Or is Life just an illusion as suggested by 苏轼 Sū Shì’s Ode to Red Cliff 念奴娇 - 赤壁怀古 (niàn nú jiāo - Chìbì huáigǔ). Even if one is as kingly as Li Yu 李煜 lǐyù or as heroic as Zhou Yu 周瑜 Zhōu Yú, in the end we will still be swept away by the Great River to the East. Maybe he sensed his end was near. He was not feeling well and intended to visit the hospital for a thorough check-up. He did not do so immediately because he was busy and needed to go for another outstation trip. He never made it back.

Ode to Red Cliff was the second poem he quoted in this reminiscence just before his demise. I did not know this friend of his but I was sad when I heard his story.

念奴娇 - 赤壁怀古 niàn nú jiāo - Chìbì huáigǔ

苏轼 Sū Shì

大江东去, 浪淘尽、千古风流人物。
故垒西边, 人道是、三国周郎赤壁。
乱石崩云, 惊涛裂岸, 卷起千堆雪。
江山如画, 一时多少豪杰!

遥想公瑾当年, 小乔初嫁了, 雄姿英发。
羽扇纶巾, 谈笑间、樯橹灰飞烟灭。
故国神游, 多情应笑我, 早生华发。
人生如梦, 一樽还酹江月。


dàjiāng dōngqù, làngtáojìn, qiāngǔ fēngliú rénwù.
gùlěi xībian, réndào shì, Sānguó Zhōuláng Chìbì.
luànshí bēngyún, jīngtāo liè àn, juǎnqǐ qiān duīxuě,
jiāngshān-rúhuà, yīshí duōshao háojié!

yáoxiǎng gōngjǐn dāngnián, xiǎoqiáo chūjià le, xióngzī yīngfā.
yǔshàn-guānjīn, tánxiào jiān, qiánglǔ huīfēi yānmiè.
gùguó shényóu, duōqíng yīngxiào wǒ, zǎoshēng huáfà.
rénshēng rúmèng, yīzūn huánlèi jiāngyuè.

Nian Nu Jiao (Graceful Nian Nu) - Ode To Red Cliff

The Great River flows east, its waves sweeping away, all distinguished figures.
The fortress in the west of Red Cliff, it is said, stood Zhou Yu of the Three Kingdoms.
Scraggy rocks piercing clouds, sudden waves smashing the shores, into a thousand snow flakes.
The scene is like a painting, for a while, full of heroes!

Recalled Zhou Yu in his prime, Xiao Qiao by his side, in full majestic splendour.
The composed master strategist; talked and laughed, while the enemy's ships went up in flames.
A romantic journey to the past, I laughed at the sentimental me, prematurely turning gray.
Life is like a passing dream, a toast to the moon's reflection.

A Dish Named After A Poet. 东坡肉

The first night in Hángzhōu 杭州, we went to its most famous restaurant serving not only authentic Hangzhou dishes but also cooked in the 正宗 zhèngzōng orthodox way. 楼外楼 lóu wài lóu is a 150 plus years old establisment sited in an grand mansion refurbished into a beautifully decorated restaurant. Many felt that it fully deserved its reputation of being the best restaurant south of the Yangtse “江南第一楼” Jiāngnán dì-yī lóu. It was unfortunate that the rooms facing West Lake 西湖 Xī Hú were under renovation or we could be having dinner taking in the lovely lake scene. Still, I was glad to be there that night and was treated to many famous Hangzhou dishes. As promised, below is the most famous dish of them all.

During the reign of the Song 宋 Sòng dynasty 苏东坡 Sū Dōngpō became the regional official of 杭州 Hángzhōu (capital of 浙江 Zhèjiāng province). He organized the people to dredge the West Lake 西湖 Xī Hú and to build dykes to irrigate the field. In the spring of that year, some of the citizens knowing how Sū Dōngpō loved meat, sent him pork and wine. Receiving so much, he felt that he should share it and instructed his household to cook the meat for the labourer working on the dyke.

By accident, his servants added the wine to the meat while they were cooking it resulting in the pork having a most fragrant and appetizing taste. The people copied this distinctive method of cooking and named it after him. Hence, this dish became known as “东坡肉” dōngpōròu and Hangzhou's most famous traditional dish.

I stared at the thick slice of pork, two third of which is fat and hesitated to take a bite though it looked and smell so appetizing. It has a rich reddish brown lustre and an aromatic wine fragrance. My dining companion said that “this is a most sinful dish” and I have to agree. But one bite and I’m in gastronomic heaven. The rich full meaty taste was greatly enhanced by the fragrant wine and yes, the tender succulent fat. To say it was lovely was an understatement… It was more like love…

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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