Ts’ao CHih: Third Century Chinese Poet
He’s one of my favorite Chinese poets because I can relate to the emotionality in many of his poems. Here’s one that always makes me think of the life of a TCK:
Alas!
Alas–this whirling thirstlebush,
How alone it is in the world!
Long gone from its roots, to drift,
Morning and night without rest or leisure.
East and west along the seven highways,
South and north along the nine byways.
Suddenly meeting a rising whirlwind,
I am blown up into the clouds.
Thinking I would explore the pathways of heaven,
Then suddenly falling to sink into the abyss.
A fierce whirlwind wafts me up;
Will I be returned to the field from which I came?
To the south, and then again to the north,
I think to go east, then revert to the west.
Adrift, adrift, where can I take refuge?
I’m suddenly lost, and then saved again.
A whirlwind, twirlwind, covering the eight marshes,
In winged flight across the five mountains,
Drifting and whirling with no permanent place,
Who knows my bitter trouble?
Would that I were grass among the trees,
To be burned in an autumn grass fire.
To be destroyed, would that not be painful?
But I want to be with my roots.
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Ts’ao Chih was a Prince of Wei during the period of the Three Kingdoms. His older brother ascended the throne and because of sibling rivalry (though it was mostly jealousy on the part of his brother and Ts’ao Chih probably did not have ambitions to overthrow his brother), he was moved from province to province away from the capital and palace where he grew-up. The poem I believe was written during these years of constant moving.
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6 Comments to “Ts’ao CHih: Third Century Chinese Poet”
May 25th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Ayako,
I could feel the intense emotions of loneliness, sorrow, rootlessness, and no sense of belonging and powerlessness in the poem.
It is sad Ts’ao Chih had no control over where to live and was forced to move away from the capital and move quite a lot. What more to the abandonment from his family (where home could be and where one could find the sense of security due to relationships), he had to find himself in a strange place again and again. =(
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May 26th, 2008 at 12:29 am
Thanks for posting Miyon
Yes what amazes me about his poetry is that it was written in war torn 3rd century China when they had very different values about a lot of things, i.e. including cannibalism and human life in general.
Ts’ao Chih seems very ‘modern’ in that if you read a collection of his poetry he ‘whines’ about things people these days ‘whine’ about.
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May 26th, 2008 at 1:48 am
As a poetry aficianado, i really enjoy this it’s amazing,and i enjoy a number of poetries from the Cao(Ts’ao)clan but i most certainly favor Cao Zhi. Like his other pieces, the story just has much subtle emotion that comes out of it.
I think alot of Tcks will be able to relate to his later Poems, his losts, his Longings, perpetual change in his life, really amazing IMO.
Just goes to show just cause they put a name on it decades ago doesn’t mean the emotion felt and the lives being lived by a tck didn’t exist!
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May 26th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
I can’t remember the name of the poem, but there is one by (I think) Du Fu that I love. As I remember he’s far from home, it’s winter…It’s a simple reflection, but I do love it.
On an unrelated note, I heart this one:
“You are every image, and yet I’m homesick for you.”
-Rumi (not Chinese, I know, but still).
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May 27th, 2008 at 3:19 am
Since there isn’t much focus on the ‘personalities’ of ancient Chinese poets or anyone (lol)…I was pleasantly surprised to discover his poems
I mean the whole world focuses on the emotionality of Latins for example, but never the North Asians who have feelings just like everyone else. Just because they don’t run around hugging and kissing everyone does not mean they don’t feel. :p
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June 7th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
lol, I love your description of latins….very true…just because other people don’t express themselves so openly doesn’t mean they don’t have feelings
And yes, I related to the poem. It’s very nice btw.
It’s amazing how some feelings are so…human…that they are timeless. Thanks for posting
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