Poetic Yunnan 8: Three poems on Torch Festival

The Torch Festival is celebrated at the ethnic village in central Yunnan's Kunming city on July 29.

I

huǒ bǎ jié
火把节

wén zhāng fǔ
文璋甫

yún pī hóng rì qià xián shān
云披红日恰衔山，

liè jù cēn cī jìng wǎng huán
列炬参差竟往还。
wàn duǒ lián huā kāi hǎi shì
万朵莲花开海市，
yì tiān xīng dǒu xià rén jiān
一天星斗下人间。
zhī yí dēng huǒ shāo yuán yè
只疑灯火烧元夜，
shuí liào xiāng nuó dào bǎi mán
谁料乡傩到百蛮。
cǐ rì wú huáng tiáo yù zhú
此日吾皇调玉烛，
gèng yú hé chǔ mì shén jiān
更于何处觅神奸。

The Torch Festival is celebrated in Shilin county, central Yunnan's Kunming city, on July 29.

Torch Festival
By Wen Zhangfu

Red sun sets to the mountains in dusk glow;
Torch bearers race in uneven rows to and fro.
It’s like countless lotuses in a mirage blooming,
Or a skyful of stars onto the world falling.
I doubted the torches are for the Lantern Festival;
It turned out they’re for locals to dispel the devil.
Now that my majesty is ruling the country in peace,
Where on earth you folks could find a spirit or evil.

Culture ABCs:
a.The poet Wen Zhangfu was a Yunnan physician trained in herbal medicine. He lived in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).

b.乡傩/xiāng nuó in Line 6 refers to the ancient Chinese rituals held in the 12th lunar month (year end) to dispel evils and usher in gods, but the ethnic groups of Yi, Bai, Hani and others take the sixth lunar month as the year end.

c.Literally the Jade Candle, 玉烛/yù zhú in Line 7 is an allusion of nationwide peace and prosperity in classic Chinese literature, as it represents light, warmth and harmony in the four seasons all year round.

The Torch Festival is marked by a grand performance in Shilin county, central Yunnan's Kunming city, on July 29.

II
sù lú shān
宿泸山
yáng shèn
杨慎

lǎo fū jīn yè sù lú shān
老夫今夜宿泸山，
jīng pò tiān mén yè wèi guān
惊破天门夜未关。
shuí bǎ tài kōng qiāo fěn suì
谁把太空敲粉碎，
mǎn tiān xīng dǒu là rén jiān 。
满天星斗落人间。

The Torch Festival is marked by a mass parade in southwest Sichuan’s Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture on July 29.

Overnight at Lushan
By Yang Shen

Aged, I stay at the Lushan Mountain tonight;
Voices break the heaven gate, not closed tight.
Who has the sky into tiny pieces shattered?
Across the secular world stars are scattered.

Culture ABCs:
a. The poet Yang Shen (1488-1559) is a Number One Scholar of the Ming Dynasty, who was banished to Yunnan province for over 30 years. Yang encountered upon a Torch Festival of the local Yi ethnic group in 1539, when he was on the way back to Yunnan after visiting his families in Sichuan. Rich in imagination, this quatrain reads like the description of a fairyland on earth rather than that of the spectacular event itself.

b. The 泸山/Lushan Mountain in Line 1 is located in today's Xichang city, southwest Sichuan’s Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture. Back then, Yang stayed overnight at the Guangfu Temple in the mountain.

The Torch Festival is celebrated in central Yunnan's Chuxiong Yi autonomous prefecture on July 27.

III
huǒ bǎ jié
火把节
zhū dà sēn
朱大森

liù yuè fēi liú huǒ ,
六月飞流火,
yuè qín nào mèng qiū
月琴闹孟秋。
huān gē tiān pò xiǎo
欢歌天破晓,
tiào jiǎo jìng fēng liú
跳脚竞风流。

The Torch Festival is celebrated via a left-footed dance in central Yunnan's Chuxiong Yi autonomous prefecture on July 27.

Torch Festival
By Zhu Dasen

Fiery flames fly in sixth moon;
Moon lutes resound in early fall.
Merry songs linger on till morn,
Left-foot dances staged for all.

Culture ABCs:
a.The poet Zhu Dasen is a contemporary native of Nanhua county in central Yunnan’s Chuxiong Yi autonomous prefecture.

b. 孟秋/mèng qiū in Line 4 refers to the seventh lunar month, or early autumn, on traditional Chinese calendar.

Chinese sources: The books of Selected Yunnan Poems and Lyrics in Past Dynasties, Selected Poems and Essays by Yang Sheng’an, and Selected Poems and Couplets of Chuxiong Scenic Areas in the Dynasties; Photo sources: Yunnan Daily and Liangshan Radio 958; Trans-editing by Wang Shixue