Su Shi, one of the most accomplished figures in classical Chinese literature, takes us on a journey to watch white cranes and overhears a game of weiqi - the Chinese name for the ancient board game Go. One of my favourite couplets comes at the end of this poem, a vivid imagining of living the good life.
觀棋
予素不解棋，嘗獨游廬山白鶴觀，觀中人皆闔戶晝寢，獨聞棋聲於古松流水之間，意欣然喜之，自爾欲學，然終不解也。兒子過乃粗能者，儋守張中日從之戲，予亦隅坐，竟日不以為厭也。
五老峰前，白鶴遺址。
長松蔭庭，風日清美。
我時獨游，不逢一士。
誰歟棋者，戶外屨二。
不聞人聲，時聞落子。
紋枰坐對，誰究此味。
空鈎意釣，豈在魴鯉。
小兒近道，剝啄信指。
勝固欣然，敗亦可喜。
優哉游哉，聊復爾耳。
Contemplating A Game of Weiqi
I’m a simple person and don’t understand the game of weiqi. I once travelled alone to the Lu mountains to see white cranes. Everyone who goes to watch the cranes tends to nap during the day behind closed doors. I could only hear the sound of weiqi stones amid the old pine trees and flowing water. I rejoiced at the thought and took delight in it. That which I wanted to learn, I never ultimately understood.
After my son passed away I made an effort to learn weiqi, in order to take the responsibility to preserve a game followed by many in the Middle Kingdom and Japan. I found a nook to sit in, but the whole day I didn’t find any satisfaction.
In front of Wulao peak, a place vacated by white cranes.
Tall pines shade the courtyard, beautiful sunlight and a cool breeze.
When I was travelling alone, I didn’t meet a soul.
But who are these players? By the door two straw sandals.
No voice to be heard, the occasional sound of falling stones.
Sat opposite the patterned board, who can comprehend the essence of this scene?
When fishing with an empty hook, does one really expect to land bream and carp?
A small boy is close to the Way of things, as stones tap the board he trusts his fingers.
To win is certainly pleasurable, even defeat can be joyful.
Drifting along unhurried and easy! For a while like this and nothing more.
Translation notes
There are a few tricky phrases, particularly in the preamble. It took me a while to figure out that guo 过 (to pass) in this context might be a euphemism for his son passing away, much like the English usage of the word. Another tricky phrase is bozhuo 剝啄 (purely onomatopoeic, used to convey a pecking sound or in modern usage the sound of tapping a window). I couldn’t come up with an English equivalent, so I had to insert the subject/object, ‘stones tap the board’.
The real action comes in the last line, with two phrases so famous that they have both entered the dictionary. However, as their usage has become more common, the dictionary definition doesn’t quite do justice to their poetic impact. The character zai 哉 is an exclamation, and here we see it recur twice. So, a huge amount of emphasis is being placed here. Literally: Leisurely! Carefree! Finally, we have liao 聊 (for a while) fu 復 (a conjunction) er 爾 (‘like this’ similar in meaning to ran 然), and er 耳 (eryi 而已 in Modern Chinese, ‘and nothing else’).