Jottings from the Granite Studio

Liu Bang becomes Emperor Han Gaozu

On this date in 202 B.C.E., Liu Bang was named emperor of the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.E.-220 C.E.) following the defeat of his chief rival, Xiang Yu. Previously Liu had used the title “King of the Han,” but after consolidating control over all the territory of the fallen Qin dynasty (221 B.C.E.-206 B.C.E.), his vassels decided to give their leader a little title bump: Emperor Han Gaozu. Not bad considering Liu had been born to a peasant family, worked for a time at a postal relay station, and then rose to prominence in the rebellion against Qin rule. I believe he was one of only two commoners* to found a major dynasty in the Imperial Period, and he was certainly the only former postal worker to do so. (Be nice to the mailman, I’m just saying…)

Bai Juyi birthday

Today is the birthday of the Tang Dynasty poet, official, and scholar Bai Juyi (772-846). A member of the prestigious Hanlin Academy, Bai was also the author of over 2,800 poems including “The Pipa Player”《琵琶行》and “The Song of Eternal Sorrow”《长恨歌》which told the tragic story of Yang Guifei, the famous consort of the Xuanzong Emperor.

228 on Taiwan
Today marks the anniversary of 228 (二·二八) which broke out in Taiwan in 1947. An elderly tobacco-seller resisted officials checking for black-market cigarettes, who in retaliation reportedly beat the old woman. Local anger at the heavy-handed tactics by mainland ‘carpet-baggers’ erupted into full-scale riots. KMT troops responded with deadly force, killing many in the crowd. Over the next few weeks, the government carried out a brutal campaign to supress dissent and quell the uprising.

The Final Word

Two evocative poems by Bai Junyi, translated by William Byner (Though Brendan and anybody else for that matter is more than welcome to give us their version.)

绿蚁新醅酒
红泥小火炉
晚来天欲雪
能饮一杯无

There’s a gleam of green in an old bottle,
There’s a stir of red in the quiet stove,
There’s a feeling of snow in the dusk outside –
What about a cup of wine inside?

时难年荒世业空
弟兄羁旅各西东
田园寥落干戈后
骨肉流离道路中
吊影分为千里雁
辞根散作九秋蓬
共看明月应垂泪
一夜乡心五处同

My heritage lost through disorder and famine,
My brothers and sisters flung eastward and westward,
My fields and gardens wrecked by the war,
My own flesh and blood become scum of the street,
I moan to my shadow like a lone-wandering wildgoose,
I am torn from my root like a water-plant in autumn:
I gaze at the moon, and my tears run down
For hearts, in five places, all sick with one wish

——–
*Zhu Yuanzhang, founder of the Ming in 1368, was the other.