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Prefaces
- Hong Kong University Press, HKU
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Prefaces Prefaces [107.21.176.63] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 16:09 GMT) Author's Preface Scholars who follow the path of virtue1 will take pleasure in learning of the tender devotion which these Cantonese songs describe. Please accept this small book as an attempt to rescue from torment all who in this world are sunk deep in the sea of desire. Written in the ninth month of the sixth year [i.e. 1828] of the reign of Emperor Do Gwong [1821-51]/ in the 'Blue Sky' bookshop. The Second Preface The Preface of Sek, the Taoist In the autumn3 of 1828, Meng Saan [i.e. the non-de-plume of the author of these songs: Jiu Ji-yung], a retired official, kindly visited me. The crickets were chirping at my door and the cool wind was rustling my curtains. Meng Saan was quiet and seemed depressed as he remarked: 'These autumn sounds make me more gloomy and depressed. Is there anything you can do for me?' 'Yes, yes!' I replied. Meng Saan continued: 'My son, you see the Pearl River, its fragrance wafts for more than ten Ii [i.e. about 3.5 miles]. You see the fields covered in jasmine, the red-sandalwood houses. Out there, hundreds of 'Pearl boats' [i.e. Cantonese flower boats] hang up their red lanterns when the sun sets in the west. As the mist descends it sucks up the perfume of the flowers. 'Pearl young ladies' [i.e. who live on the flower boats] and 'Pearl young men [i.e. 'guests' who frequent the flower boats], whether they be plump or slender, appear in all their finery - the pendant ornaments at their girdle jingling and tinkling. They play most exquisitely on the Jiu [i.e. modern Saan Sai, wlZ:§] zither. Some time later, a little heated with wine, they change to Chun [i.e. modern Sim Sai, ~IZ:§] songs. Are you fond of these?' 'Oh, great! But they're not what I like to hear.' Meng Saan went on: 1 'The path of virtue': the 'Way' (m, Do) proposed by Lo Ji ( ~-T ) in the Do Dak Ging ( m{!~~ ). Scholarly opinion puts the composition of the Do Dak Ging somewhere between the 8th-3rd century Be, as the book contains no references to other writings, persons, events, or places that might provide a clue for the dating of this work. 2 See Introduction, p. 5. 3 Strictly speaking, the fifteenth day of the eighth moon. Author's Preface Scholars who follow the path of virtuel will take pleasure in learning of the tender devotion which these Cantonese songs describe. Please accept this small book as an attempt to rescue from torment all who in this world are sunk deep in the sea of desire. Written in the ninth month of the sixth year [i.e. 1828] of the reign of Emperor Do Gwong [1821-51]/ in the 'Blue Sky' bookshop. The Second Preface The Preface of Sek, the Taoist In the autumn3 of 1828, Meng Saan [i.e. the non-de-plume of the author of these songs: Jiu Ji-yung], a retired official, kindly visited me. The crickets were chirping at my door and the cool wind was rustling my curtains. Meng Saan was quiet and seemed depressed as he remarked: 'These autumn sounds make me more gloomy and depressed. Is there anything you can do for me?' 'Yes, yes!' I replied. Meng Saan continued: 'My son, you see the Pearl River, its fragrance wafts for more than ten Ii [i.e. about 3.5 miles]. You see the fields covered in jasmine, the red-sandalwood houses. Out there, hundreds of 'Pearl boats' [i.e. Cantonese flower boats] hang up their red lanterns when the sun sets in the west. As the mist descends it sucks up the perfume of the flowers. 'Pearl young ladies' [i.e. who live on the flower boats] and 'Pearl young men [i.e. 'guests' who frequent the flower boats], whether they be plump or slender, appear in all their finery - the pendant ornaments at their girdle jingling and tinkling. They play most exquisitely on the Jiu [i.e. modern Saan Sai, LlJIZ:§] zither. Some time later, a little heated with wine, they change to Chun [i.e. modern Sim Sai, ~IZ:§] songs. Are you fond of these?' 'Oh, great! But they're not what I like to hear.' Meng Saan went on: 1 'The path of virtue': the 'Way' (m, Do) proposed by Lo...