世新中文 ‧ 中國文學名著英譯選讀教室

Preface to the “Foolish Brook Poems”

Liu Tsung-yüan(773-819)

To the north of the Kuan River, there is a brook. It flows eastward into the Hsiao River. Some say that a Mr. Jan once lived there and hence named it Jan Brook. Some say that the water in the brook can be used for dye [ian] and that it was named “Dye Brook” because of this property. I have transgressed through my foolishness and consequently have been banished to the bank of the Hsiao River. I am fond of this brook. I went upstream one day for two or three tricents and came upon an especially exquisite place, and I made my home there. In ancient times, there was a Valley of the Foolish Old Man. Now, having made the brook the site of my home, I could not decide on a named for it. Every day, people passing by argued continually over its name, so capture all their forms and poses, letting nothing escape. I sing about Foolish Brook with my foolish verses; they go surprisingly well together in their common obscurity. Overtaking the undifferentiated state of the primordial world, and submerging myself in its insentience, vacuous and inane, I will thus be recognized by no one. Therefore, I have written eight foolish poems and have recorded the, on rocks by Foolish Brook.

Translated by Yu-shin Chen

This preface, written in 810, also functions as a landscape essay. The author, Liu Tsung-yüan (see selection 55), was one of the most brilliant practitioners of that genre. In this very peculiar landscape essay, Liu dwells on the theme of “foolishness” (yü) and express not so much his love of nature, but his obsession with the recent change in his fortunes and his own role in his disgrace. Because of his association with the Wang Shu-wen faction at court, he lost favor after Emperor Shun-tsung (reigned 805) was forced to abdicate on account of severe illness. It was during his banishment to a minor post in remote Yung-chou (Hunan province) that he wrote the “Foolish Brook Poems” and their preface.

The preface was an important place for a Chinese author to make a statement about the purpose of his own literary work or about the nature of literature in general. Beyond that, however, the prefaces themselves often have literary significance. Other prefaces collected in this anthology are found in selections 16,18 196, 245,and 250.