Good morning, afternoon, and evening,
Thank you all for your patience while I was traveling in Northern California. I've returned to the green forests of Middle Tennessee feeling deeply inspired.
That inspiration led to this solo improvisation, which I created while reconnecting to the memory of the incredible night sky I witnessed near the Shamrock Ranch. With very little light pollution, the view was breathtaking—my good friend even captured the Milky Way with his camera, and I was lucky enough to see meteors streak across the sky on several nights.
The experience vividly reminded me of the ancient Classic of Poetry from China. Dating from the 11th to 7th centuries BC, it's the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry and one of the Five Classics traditionally edited by Confucius. For millennia, its 305 works have been studied and memorized by scholars throughout East Asia.
Here is the translation of the poem from the Classic of Poetry:
“The dishes are filled with food,
But the thorn-handled spoons are curved.
The Zhou road is like a whetstone,
Straight as an arrow.
The nobles tread upon it,
While the commoners only gaze.
Looking back at it,
Tears fall in streams.
In the east, both great and small,
The looms are empty.
Tough sandals of grass,
Can tread on frost.
The dainty noblemen,
Walk on the Zhou road.
Coming and going,
They grieve my heart.
The cold spring bubbles,
But do not soak the firewood.
Sleepless, I sigh in sorrow,
Grieving for our toiling people.
If this firewood is to be burned,
It can still be carried away.
Alas for our toiling people,
Should they not also rest?
The children of the east,
Labor without reward.
The children of the west,
Wear splendid clothes.
The children of boatmen,
Are clad in bearskins and furs.
The children of servants,
Hold all offices.
Some offer them wine,
But not the common drink.
They wear long pendants,
But not as tokens of merit.
The Milky Way in heaven,
Shines as a mirror.
The triplet Weaving Maid,
Moves seven times a day.
Though she moves seven times,
She weaves no pattern.
The bright Ox,
Does not pull the cart.
In the east shines Venus at dawn,
In the west, Venus at dusk.
The long-net in heaven,
Is stretched across the sky.
In the south is the Winnower,
But it cannot sift grain.
In the north is the Dipper,
But it cannot hold wine.
The Winnower in the south,
Draws in its tongue.
The Dipper in the north,
Lifts its handle to the west. ”
《诗经·小雅·大东》
有饛簋飧， 有捄棘匕。
周道如砥， 其直如矢。
君子所履， 小人所视。
眷言顾之， 潸焉出涕。
小东大东， 杼柚其空。
纠纠葛屦， 可以履霜。
佻佻公子， 行彼周行。
既往既来， 使我心疚。
有冽氿泉， 无浸获薪。
契契寤叹， 哀我惮人。
薪是获薪， 尚可载也。
哀我惮人， 亦可息也。
东人之子， 职劳不来。
西人之子， 粲粲衣服。
舟人之子， 熊罴是裘。
私人之子， 百僚是试。
或以其酒， 不以其浆。
鞙鞙佩璲， 不以其长。
维天有汉， 监亦有光。
跂彼织女， 终日七襄。
虽则七襄， 不成报章。
彼牵牛， 不以服箱。
东有启明， 西有长庚。
有捄天毕， 载施之行。
维南有箕， 不可以簸扬。
维北有斗，不可以挹酒浆。
维南有箕， 载翕其舌。
维北有斗， 西柄之揭。
Wu Fei 吴非
Wufeimusic.com
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