Li Shangyin: Magistral Judge Du Mu

　　Magistral Judge DU Mu
　　　　　　　　　　　　　Li Shangyin (Tang Dynasty 812 ?-858 ?)
On a tower amid winds and rains, I am touched by your writings;
My wings are short and uneven that I cannot reach your height or the crowd’s.
Who in this world but the one and only Masistral Judge Du is able to
Make a lot out of the hurt at spring and further from the hurt at farewells?

　　　　　杜司勋
　　　　　　　　　　李商隐（约812-约858）
　　高楼风雨感斯文，短翼差池不及群
　　刻意伤春复伤别，人间惟有杜司勋

Word-by-word annotation:

　　　杜DU司勋magistral judge

高high楼building风wind雨rain感be moved斯this文composition
短short翼wings差池not even不no及reach群pair/crowd
刻意emphasize/ on purpose伤hurt春spring复again伤hurt别parting
人间human world惟only有have杜DU司勋sixun- name of an official rank

　　The title of this poem comprises two parts, the surname and the official rank of DU Mu (803-853?), which makes the poem both a dedication and an appraisal. Of course, in the ancient time, there is no email for instant communication and even if the author wanted the dedicatee to learn the poem, most probably it would have to be spread first in the poetic or literati circle (which of course was usually consisted of many officers and officials). The official rank of sixun (si-shuen), according to Zhou Ritual 周礼, is the magistral judge who takes charge of the rewarding land for meritorious services within six communes (under a county).
　　The two greatest Late Tang poets Li Shangyin and Du Mu were praised as the Li-Du Junior, compared with High Tang poets Li Bai and Du Fu. Both pairs of the Li and the Du were close friends, and they wrote to each other. They presented an interesting comparison. Li Shangyin was very passionate, while Du Mu was a proud guy. Du Fu was very affectionate, while Li Bai was very proud. Li Shangyin greatly admired Du Mu and wrote two poems for Du Mu, while Du Mu wrote none for return. DU Fu wrote more poems for Li Bai that Li’s returns.
　　This poem by Li Shangyin deserves attention and praise. Du Mu always complained that his talent was wasted, and he was famous for writing “For ten years I did nothing but dream in Yangzhou / Before I won an insignificant fame in the Green Quarters (brothels).” Li Shangyin wrote this poem to encourage him, and at the same time expressed an ambition that could only share with him. The recognition and the singling out of one person from one’s age are definitely a way to praise and self-praise.
　　The tower (high building) is a traditional image for a noble-minded man with a high aspiration who cannot be understood by ordinary people and therefore feel lonely. Wind and rain usually refers to the turbulence of the time, but here the phrase implies the socio-cultural decadence. The second line is a self-effacing lamentation. The phrase “short wings” stands for the lack of ability. The last word 群 may have two interpretations here. If it means crowd, the line may be read as mockery. It means that I will not be part of the crowd as I lack ability. If the word means a pair, the line may mean that I am no pair to you as I am short-winged. The third line refers to DU Mu’s poetic themes. Since the first line has already pointed to the whole society, the third line not merely summarizes the sentimental themes but generalizes the hurt. That is, Du Mu’s lament is rendered not about personal grievances but about generally-felt grief.
　　Here, I’d like to talk a little more about the word 伤hurt in Chinese. This is a highly culture-loaded concept. We have many phrases carrying the word, such as 伤春 hurt at/by the spring, 伤怀 hurt within the bosom (not 伤心 heart-hurting or 心碎 heart-breaking), 伤感 hurt by feeling something (sentimental) etc. Since the spring is the season for flowers, and the flowers may stand for transient beauty, being hurt at seeing the spring is to be hurt by the spring, and one is reminded of the fleeting life itself. Then, the sickness upon seeing the spring flowers may become internalized into a sickness within the heart, therefore it becomes伤怀a hurt within one’s bosom. The generalization and internalization from the hurt at/by the spring to the hurt within the bosom is important in Chinese culture (and this may also imply to other eastern cultural concepts such as the lamenting on the falling cherry blossom Japanese and han 恨 hate in Korean). The hurt in Chinese appears to be not directly related to the body, although it may compass the possible disembodiment in the imagery of falling flowers, which may further evoke the association of the withering of the beauty of a woman.
　　This hurt reminds me of Sylvia Plath’s line “Your body/ Hurts me as the world hurts God.” In Plath’s poem, the hurt also undergoes the generalizing process from the individual to the whole world, and at the same time, the comparison between me and God heightens the scale and nature of the hurt.

　　此诗标题由两部分组成，一个是杜牧的姓，一个是杜牧的职位。这样的标题可以说是暗示了两种可能，其一是这是一首赠诗，其二是这是一首颂诗。司勋这个职位，按照《周礼》，是“司勋掌六乡赏地之法，以等其功”；按照唐宋行政官制，乡属于县下的一个单位，和如今的乡差不多，因此杜牧的官职还不到一个县令。
　　晚唐小李杜和盛唐李杜的对比很是有趣。杜甫情深，李白才高；李商隐情深，杜牧才高（或者起码他很是自恃才高，而实际上李商隐肯定比杜牧更加多面手）。杜甫送给李白的诗比李白回诗多许多，而李商隐有两首写给杜牧的诗，却不见杜牧有回诗。
　　这首诗的大气和豁达在李商隐的诗中并不多见。杜牧一贯抱怨自己不被重用，还留下著名的“十年一觉扬州梦，赢得青楼薄幸名”这样玩世不恭的句子。李商隐对他很是推崇，当然，任何人对另一个人的推崇必然是一种惺惺惜惺惺的心态。这也是阅读这首诗的一个关键。高楼从来都是孤傲人格的标志，而风雨如晦自然就是对于社会风尚日趋腐败的一个哀叹。因此，这首诗的起句就已经定了一个基调，这是一个令人失望的时代。有人说，李商隐的这句“高楼风雨感斯文”的力度与厚重足以敌得过杜甫的“花近高楼伤客心，万方多难此登临”。此句可说是写实，也可以是象征，说的是晚唐文坛凋零。那么，这里的“感斯文”实际上是就是一种激励与自励，大有要振兴诗坛得靠你我二人的意味。第二句是一个自谦的说法，说的是，我很看重你，但是我只恨自己没你的能力啊；这里的群，可以理解为与你为群，但是如果将群理解为大众，则是一种以退为进的说法或者讥讽了，就是说：本人不才，不能向普罗大众看齐呢。
　　第三行指出了杜牧诗歌的主题，但是由于有了第一行的基调，这里的伤春伤别就不仅仅是个人小悲戚的慨叹，而是普遍感到的悲哀了。这里的伤字是一个特别具有文化意义上的概念。中文中有许多以伤构成的词组，例如伤春、伤怀、伤感。伤春可说是对着春天的花或者因为春天的花而受伤，这种受伤可能是由于看着花儿的旺盛生命是如此短暂，继而想到美人的华年，继而想到人生的欢乐以及人生的功业等等。于是，伤春就上升到了一个总体化的内化的层次，成了伤怀。这一过程对于理解中国甚至东方受汉语文化影响的日本或韩国文化都是很重要的。例如，日本对于花期甚短的樱花的狂热感动，或者韩国“恨”（有点像“恨别鸟惊心”中的恨的意思）的概念。
　　虽说这里的伤并没有直接和身体相联系，但是我们还是可以在伤春所暗示的落花中看出身体衰老颓萎的含义。这令我想到普拉斯的一个名句：你的身体/伤害我，犹如世界伤害上帝。这里同样具有一个普遍化的过程，将具体的你普遍化为整个世界，而我与上帝的对比将这个说话人放到了一个很高的位置上。我们知道，普拉斯在16岁的时候就说自己是一个想成为上帝的女孩子。这里的你却又是说话者面对的自我，因此这种对比简直令人分裂。是否也可以用李商隐的话来说呢：本人不才，无法向芸芸众生看齐。