Sonic poetry
Li Qi's music poetry explores new kinds of sonic expression
Listening to An Wanshan Play the Bili Flute Li Qi The bamboo for the bili flute came from the southern hills, The tune came down from Kuche in the north. It’s popular in Tang, and with the Liangzhou Turk on hand, I had him play. And those whose homes were far away all wept a tear, and every listener sighed. Our mortal ears can hear but we can’t know How notes can flow between the bars that blow From places so remote. The mulberry And cypress tree are singing in the wind, But suddenly the rustling of their leaves Becomes the hiss of new-hatched phoenixes, And morphs into a tiger-dragon’s roar, A thousand streams of water rush to autumn And the countless sounds of nature with them. The music turns into a Yuyang dirge With yellow clouds that lour and dim the day, Till palace parks flower, bloom, and jig To the tune of Snapping Willow Sprigs. On New Year’s Eve, in this great hall, We’ll light the candles, take a drink, And hear this glorious song.
Because we don’t know what Middle Chinese sounded like, and we don’t really have a clear understanding of how regulated verse worked on a sonic level, the sounds of Tang poetry are often a bit of a mystery. It seems fairly clear that Tang poets were experimenting with sound, using new rhythms and rhyme patterns, new onomatopoeias and assonances, colloquial and classical cadences… but what exactly they sounded like and what effects they created is in many cases not well-known.
This poem by Li Qi (690–751) is an exception. The excellent Baidu Encyclopedia entry on this poem goes into great detail about the different rhymes and sounds. In the translation, I attempt to reflect the intensity of the middle section with heavy assonance and alliteration.
The bili flute is a recorder-like instrument.
Kuche was an ancient kingdom in what is now Xinjiang.
The Liangzhou Turk is An Wanshan. Liangzhou is in Sichuan.
Yuyang is in the area of Beijing. The music from this area was known to be particularly mournful.
Snapping Willow Sprigs was a well-known lovesong. The word for willow sounds the same as the word for "stay," so the tree represents the longing of lovers when they part. Friends, relatives, and lovers would sometimes break off willow sprigs as forget-me-not gifts when someone left on a trip.
李颀 听安万善吹觱篥歌
南山截竹为觱篥，此乐本自龟兹出。
流传汉地曲转奇，凉州胡人为我吹。
傍邻闻者多叹息，远客思乡皆泪垂。
世人解听不解赏，长飙风中自来往。
枯桑老柏寒飕飗，九雏鸣凤乱啾啾。
龙吟虎啸一时发，万籁百泉相与秋。
忽然更作渔阳掺，黄云萧条白日暗。
变调如闻杨柳春，上林繁花照眼新。
岁夜高堂列明烛，美酒一杯声一曲。