in the grove
in the grove
The Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove – celebrated mavericks who escaped the oppressive life of the court for wine, poetry and philosophy amidst the bamboo forest. But who were these sagely iconoclasts? What were their names and why are they worthy? And what about other mysterious lists we read about? The four books? The six schools? The nine tribes? Seven Worthies is dedicated to diving into Chinese history and culture, one list at a time.
worthy
reads
worthy
reads
musings
musings
A certain meretricious talent
I am very much enjoying the Penguin Classics version of the Hong Lou Meng, and in particular some delightful phrases courtesy of David Hawkes' excellent translation. One of these concerns the main character of Bao Yu in Chapter 17, during a set-piece scene that pits the enfant terrible entertainingly against his disapproving father. An imperial edict has made provision for an annual visit home for all palace concubines, provided they can be received in the manner to which they are accustomed. Cue a hasty scrambling to construct what amounts to a pleasure garden in the grounds of the family estate. Bao Yu is unfortunate enough to run into his father, who takes him round with a group of literati and demands that he thinks up names and couplets for the various beauty spots they encounter.
Latest Lists – April 2022
A year has passed since the previous written update to this website, which is cause to reflect on the work that has been done in the intervening months. Leaving aside improvements in the look of the site and working out how to make things work nicely, I have added six lists since the initial Seven Worthies. These run the gamut from "common knowledge" to "fairly obscure" [...]
