Passages: Three Poems at Thorn Portal

T'ang Studies 14 (1996) P a s s a g e s : T h re e P o e m s a t T h o rn P o rta l J. MICHAEL FARMER UNNERSITY OF WISCONSIN Just below the famous Three Gorges on the Yangzi River (Chang jiang :l5tiI) lies another river pass. Anciently, it linked the states of Ba eJ and Shu go in the west with Chu ~ in the east. Historically, the pass is relatively insignificant. Culturally, however, it is an important focal point of Ba-Shu identity. The pass is known as Thorn Portal Oingmen ~r,).lThree poems by the native Shu poets Chen Zi'ang ~Tm (ca. 658-699?) and Li Bai *8 (701-762?) illustrate the cultural importance of Thorn Portal. Chen's IIPassing Thorn Portal: Gazing at Chu" (J!t¥fUr~m~).Li Bai's "Passing Thorn Portal: A Farewell " (13tmP'HiS5H) and "Gazing at Shu's River from a Floating Boat at Thorn Portal" (*U r'J~-¥ mJ~ mrr) recount the passages, literal and figurative , of the young Shu natives from their home province through Thorn Portal to the world outside the Sichuan basin. Written at similar junctures in the respective lives of the two poets, these poems reveal considerable details about the early Chen Zi' ang and Li Bai, and about Shu cultural identity. Since these three poems describe the passage through a geographic space, a basic understanding of this space is necessary. Isolated from the Chinese heartland, the Sichuan basin is surrounded by the Kunlun mountains to the north, the Nanling mountains to the south, the Himalayas to the west, and the Wu range to the east. The western portion of the basin was occupied by the state of Shu, the eastern by the state of Ba. While each had originally been separate states with unique cultural traits, by the later Zhou period the two had been forced into closer contact by the western advances of Chu from the east. By Qin and Han times, the two areas were administratively separate entities, but were generally spoken of as a unified geographical area known as Ba-Shu.2 The primary river artery, the 1 Thorn Portal is located in present-day Hubei province, Yichang £r~ county. 2 For a concise history of this region, see Steven F. Sage, Ancient Sichuan and the 125 Farmer: Poems at Thorn Portal Yangzi, flowed through Ba-Shu on its way eastward, cutting through the Wu range at Thorn Portal. Li Daoyuan's Bm7G (d. 527) Commentary on the Classic of the Waterways (Shui jing zhu 7J<::{! was glamorously treated in his biography and in Xijing zaji. In these accounts, Xiangru elopes with the young widow, who enrages her father by her lack of propriety . Xiangru and Wenjun then set up a wine shop in Chengdu, with Xiangru tending bar and Wenjun working in the kitchen, further humiliating her wealthy father to the point that in order to save face, he gives the couple a huge inheritance which allows them to live comfortably ever after.6 These actions endeared Sima Xiangru to later generations of aspiring Shu literati. 5 Shi ji (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1959) 117.2999. 6 Shi ii, 117.3000-3001;also Xijing zaji (SBCK)2.2b. The Miscellanies anecdote is especially colorful, stating, "When Sima Xiangru and Zhuo Wenjun first returned to Chengdu, they lived in poverty and were troubled by grief. Taking the greengeese furs they wore, he bought wine from the merchant, Yang Chang, to enjoy with Wenjun. Then Wenjun threw her arms around his neck and said tearfully. ,All my life I have had ample wealth, but now I must buy wine with my clothing.' Thereafter, they devised a plan to sell wine in Changdu. Xiangru himself wore an apron and washed dishes, to shame Wangsun. Wangsun then felt distressed and so lavishly endowed Wenjun that she again became a wealthy woman." See William H. Nienhauser, Jr., "An Interpretation of the Literary and Historical Aspects of Hsi-ching tsa-chi (Miscellanies of the Western Capital)," Diss., Univ. of Indiana, 1972,p. 7. 127 Farmer: Poems at Thorn Portal In addition to playing up his eccentricity, these anecdotal accounts of Sima Xiangru also belabored his literary genius. An entry in Xijing zaji, entitled "In Changqing's Rhapsodies there is Genius," claimed, Sima Xiangru's rhapsodies were acclaimed by his contemporaries as classical yet beautiful. Even the work of a poet could not add to them. Yang Xiong said, "Xiangru's rhapsodies do not seem to be the works of a mortal. Can his transformation of material things into spiritual be matched?" Xiong imitated Xiangru in writing rhapsodies, but he was not able to reach his standard. Therefore, he developed such a respect for him.7 Even the second-most famous Han dynasty writer from Shu, Yang Xiong m:lLt (53 B.C.-A.D. 18), attributed Xiangru's talent to an inimitable other-worldly origin, adding to his mystique. That later Shu writers like Chen Zi'ang and Li Bai were influenced by the legacy of Sima Xiangru is without question. A quick reading of their respective biographies in the Jiu Tang shu .J~f~ and Xin Tang shu ~m.reveals striking similarities to the biography of Sima Xiangru. In the case of Chen Zi' ang, his Xin Tang shu biography boasts of his late interest in literature, claiming, "Zi'ang did not know books until the age of eighteen."s Lu Cangyong's •• m "Unofficial Biography of Mr. Chen" also relates Chen's early antics: "His heroics were rare and unsurpassed, his appearance lofty. He began as a knight-errant, swift and courageous. Until he was seventeen or eighteen, he did not know books."9 Apparently Chen was a quick stud y of the literary arts. His Jiu Tang shu biography records the praise of his early works offered by the noted recluse Wang Shi .3:.~: 7 Xijing zaji, 3.5aj Nienhauser, 76. 8 Xin Tang shu (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1975j hereafter XTS) 107.4067.The liu Tang shu makes no mention of this aspect of Chen's youth. 9 liChenshi biezhuan" ~~.51ti{1lJ, in Chen Zi'ang ji IN!T~m(rpt., Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1960),252. 128 T'ang Studies 14 (1996) "Previously, Wang Shi saw his thirty-poem 'Ganyu' (~ll§) series and exclaimed, 'This young man will become a literary master under heaven.' From this time on, his name was well known."tO While the Xin Tang shu makes no mention of this blessing, Lu's "Unofficial Biography " does. Lu writes, "He was especially talented in literature. His elegance had the spirit and framework of [Sima] Xiangru and [Yang] Ziyun. Earlier, he had written some shi [poetry]. The recluse Wang Shi saw the poems and exclaimed, 'This young man will become a literary master.' ,,11 Li Bai's official biographies recount similar details on his youthful nature and early literary talent. The Jiu Tang shu claims, "As a youth he had exceptional talent; his ambitions were vast and broad, drifting about with an other-worldly mind."t2 The Xin Tang shu goes even further, stating, "He enjoyed the strategic arts, sword-play, and acting as a knight-errant, disesteeming wealth and valuing adventure ."t3 Regarding his literary abilities, three anecdotes record the supposed blessings of recognition of Li's early talent. Both the Tang Histories note the words of praise bestowed by He Zhizhang ~~jfi: "You are a banished immortal. ,,14 Perhaps the most influential praise given to the young Li Bai was Su Ting's .mi comparison of Li to Sima Xiangru. The Xin Tang shu notes, "Su Ting, who was serving as 10 Jiu Tang shu (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1975; hereafter JTS), 190.5018. While many critics believe the "Ganyu" poems to be Chen's early work, Richard M. Ho argues that they were actually later works, and that the poems seen and praised by Wang Shi could not have been from this sequence. Ho cites Lu's IIUnofficial Biography of Mister Chen's" simple statement of Wang's having seen Chen's poems as evidence of corruption of the official biographies' accounts. Richard M. Ho, Ch'en Tzu-ang: Innovator in T'ang Poetry (Hong Kong: Chinese Univ. Press, 1993),81-2. 11 Chen Zi' ang ji, 252. 12 ITS, 190B.5053. 13 HTS, 202.5762. 14 ITS, 190B.5053:"Earlier, He Zhizhang saw Bai, and praising him, said, 'This is a banished immortal.' "202/5762-63: ",Hewent to visit He Zhizhang. Zhizhang saw his writings, sighed, and said, 'You are a banished irnmorta1!' " 129 Farmer: Poems at Thorn Portal an aide at Yizhou, saw Bai and thought him unique, saying, 'His talent is special, and with a little learning, he can be compared to [Sima] Xiangru.' ,,15 Perhaps this judgment of the young Li Bai's work pushed him further in the development of a persona based on distinct Shu cultural models. In this brief comparison of the biographies of three of Shu's greatest writers, we see many similarities. Obviously these biographies contain numerous tropes found in many biographies of Tang literati, such as those of youthful genius and the failure to reach a top position in the bureaucracy. However, certain elements of Chen's and Li's biographies differ sharply from the Tang model, and as such, may indicate a Shu variant on the standard biography. For example, the two young poets as swordsmen is at odds with the stereotypical image of a young scholar as bookish.16 Whether these biographical accounts accurately reflect traits and tendencies in the lives of the young Chen Zi' ang and Li Bai is uncertain. We do know, however, that both poets cultivated their images as eccentrics, and from their official and unofficial biographies we can see that this image was accepted and recorded for posterity .. It may have been in some measure the results of the efforts of the two poets to portray themselves as eccentrics from Shu that gained them attention outside of their homelands. As young writers from a provincial backwater, in addition to raw talent, a gimmick was needed in order to make a name for oneself in the Tang imperial and provincial courts. Constructing a persona based on Shu's greatest writer Sima Xiangru, and couching one's talent in eccentricity, was certainly one way to get attention. As it becomes clear from their later works and histories, Chen Zi' ang eventually mellowed and found a niche in the Tang court, while Li Bai continued to build on his image, eventually far surpassing the eccentricity of either of his two fellow Shu natives and role models. 15 Xin Tang shu, 202.5762. 16 See Hans·H. Frankel, "T'ang Literati: A Composite Biography" in Confucian Personalities , ed. Wright and Twitchett (Stanford: Stanford Univ. Press, 1962), 65-83. 130 T'ang Studies 14 (1996) THE TEXTS The earliest of the three poems at Thorn Portal, Chen Zi'ang's "Passing Thorn Portal: Gazing at Chu," was likely written in A.D. 679 as the author was leaving Shu for the provincial capital at }iangling i[~.I7 Chen was twenty-one years old, and his poem demonstrates a bravado and vigor that belies his literary inexperience.I8 Quickly departing Shamanka Gorge Gazing downstream towards the Manifest Terrace The mountains and rivers of Ba come to an end The mist and fog of Thorn Portal parts Cities scattered on the borders of the green wilds White clouds sever trees on the nooks of the mountain A latter-day madman Who knows I have entered Chu? This poem is a travelogue, describing the sights as Chen passes from Shu into Chu from his boat on the Yangzi. While the title sets the location of the poem at Thorn Portal, the opening line calls on the image of Shamanka Gorge, some 250 kilometers west of Thorn Portal, deep in the heart of Ba-Shu. From his boat, Chen is gazing downstream toward his destination: the Terrace of Manifest Splendor , a metonym for Jiangling.19 In lines 3-4, Chen notes the gradual 17 Chen Zi'ang ji, 1.17. 18 If we believe the chronologies in the histories, Chen did not begin to study the art of letters until age eighteen, some three years prior to the composition of this pIece. 19 The name Manifest Terrace (Zhangtai .:If) originally referred to a terrace built inside a Qin palace during the Warring States period. However, in this instance, Chen is referring to a palace known as the Terrace of Manifest Splendor (Zhanghua tai .~;E), built by King ling m3:: of Chu near Jiangling. Chen's IIGanyu" number 27 also refers to the Terrace of Manifest Splendor as a place where the king of Jing llrevelled in excess." See Chen Zi'ang ji, 10: IIIndays past, they feasted at Manifest Splendor, The King ofJing revelling in excess."Also see Bian Rang's jfJl (d. 208) "Rhapsody on the Terrace of Manifest Splendor," Hou Han shu ~~. 131 Farmer: Poems at Thorn Portal change in the terrain, as the familiar mountains of Sichuan, here designated as "mountains of Ba," give way to the mid-Yangzi plain. Line 4 follows this motion as the mountain peak of Thorn Portal looms ahead, parting the mist and fog of the river valley. The change and motion of this couplet is gentle and gradual. In line 5, Chen describes the Chu frontier landscape, dotted with cities. Line 6 is violent and abrupt, clouds appearing to snap off trees growing on the side of the mountains at the pass. This line alters the pace of the poem and sets up the final couplet. Like the trees disappearing into the cloudy barrier, Chen passes through Thorn Portal, entering Chu. Here in the final couplet, Chen labels himself a "latter-day madman," an obvious allusion to Jie Yu ~~, the infamous "madman of Chu" from Lun yu.20 Why, we may ask, would a young man, leaving home to fulfill his ambition of attaining recognition and office, seek to link himself with such a famous recluse? Jie Yu declined office on the basis of his virtue. By claiming an affinity with Jie Yu, Chen is also claiming a virtue worthy of courtship. Yet the virtue and talent are masked to the unperceptive by madness in the case of Jie Yu and, in Chen Zi'ang's case, by bravado. What is perplexing, however, is why a young man who was actively cultivating a strong persona based on Shu cultural traditions would adopt the identity of one of Chu's most famous cultural icons. Perhaps the nativity of Jie Yu is less important than the meaning of his pose, and Chen's purpose in adopting the madman person is merely to draw attention to the talent hidden behind his eccentricity. However, the linkage between Jie Yu and Chu is too strong to (Beijing:Zhonghua shuju, 1965),878.2640-43. Bian's rhapsody describes in great detail the revelry that occurred at the terrace. 20 According to the Lun yu, Confucius happened upon TieYu, who taunted the master for his failure to retire. In the Chinese intellectual tradition, Jie Yu was viewed as a virtuous scholar, who upon being summoned to serve, feigned madness and retired into obscurity. See Lun yu 18.5;James Legge, The Chinese Classics, vol. 1 (rpt., Hong Kong: Chinese Univ. Press, 1982),332-33. 132 Tang Studies 14 (1996) ignore, and the thought of a Shu native seeking an identity based on a Chu character is too unsettling to allow to pass unnoted.21 What is most important to note in "Passing Thorn Portal: Gazing at Chu" is the forward movement in the poem. Shamanka Gorge and Shu have been left far behind. Thorn Portal is immediately ahead, and beyond is the "outside" world, symbolized by the Terrace of Manifest Splendor in Chu. The gradual movements of the opening and middle couplets give way to swift and energetic motions as clouds break off the trees and Chen bursts through the pass at Thorn Portal, announcing his arrival under the name of Jie Yu. Chen Zi' ang, in coming out into the world, does not passively knock at the door, but kicks it down and barges in uninvited. The second of the three Thorn Portal poems under examination, Li Bai's "Passing Thorn Portal: A Farewell," was written in A.D. 724.22 Like Chen Zi'ang's "Passing Thorn Portal," it was written as Li Bai left Shu in search of a position and a name. Passing far beyond Thorn Portal I reach the state of Chu, travelling Mountains following the plain, come to an end The river enters the vast wilds, flowing The moon sinks like a flying celestial mirror Clouds form and gather into ocean towers I still love the waters of my home Seeing my boat off for the myriad Ii The first couplet appears simply to state the poet's origin and his present location. Lines 3-4 continue the description of the surrounding landscape. Turning his attention to the mountains and rivers that have accompanied him on his journey from Shu, Li Bai borrows from line 3 of Chen's poem: "The mountains and rivers of Ba come 21 Li Bai also links himself with Jie Yu in his poem IILushan yan ji Lu shi yu xuzhou ," claiming, IIIam originally a madman of Chu, Singing the 'Song of the Phoenix ' and laughing at Kong Qiu (Confucius)." 22 Li Baiji jiaozhu *Er~~~, ed. Qu Tuiyuan and Zhu Jincheng (Shanghai: Shanghai guji, 1980), 15.941. 133 Farmer: Poems at Thorn Portal to an end." In Li Bai's poem, however, causality is introduced. By "following the plain," the mountains come to an end; and by "entering the vast wilds," the river does not end (as in Chen's line) but flows. Li Bai's choice of verbs in line 4 is also worth noting. After passing Thorn Portal, the river's pace slows-"flows," as opposed to more active verbs that could be used to describe the river's movement through the gorges. The use of the verb liu slows the pace of the poem. In the third couplet, Li Bai describes the moon travelling across the sky as a mirror flying through the heavens.23 Shining over the river water, it illuminates the reflections of clouds, which appear to pile up like a tower-an evocative description of the moon over the river at night.24 Once again, Li Bai's feelings towards his home and destination are revealed by his choice of words used to describe Chu. Line 4 had described Chu as "the vast wilds," terminology usually applied to Shu. The direction of motion in these two couplets is interesting and important. Line 3 has the poet gazing westward at the mountains of Ba, while in line 4 his focus has shifted to the east and the wilds of Chu. Yet again in line 4, Li Bai is looking backwards to view the sight of the "sinking moon." The end result of these directional changes is that Li Bai's gaze is finally fixed not on his destination, but on his point of departure-his native Shu. The sentimental essence of the poem is fixed in the final couplet, where Li directly expresses his fondness for the Yangzi. Originating in his home province of Shu, the river has seen Li's boat through his native land, and even still carries him beyond the threshold into the outside country of Chu. Some commentators argue that the farewell of the poem is a travelling companion who leaves Li's company at Thorn Portal. This is unlikely. Li is clearly bidding farewell to his 23 This couplet has received the most attention from traditional commentators, primarily because of its borrowing by Du Fu tf:li (712-770)in lines 3 and 4 of his poem "Thoughts Written while Travelling at Night." See David Hawkes, A Little Primer ofTu Fu (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1967),200-202. 24 The term hai lou ffliW refers to a mirage. See Shi ji, 27.1338for the locus classicus of this term. 134 T'ang Studies 14 (1996) home as he strikes off to create a name for himself on the outside through the persona of the river who is sending off its native son. In addition to "Passing Thorn Portal: A Farewell," Li Bai wrote another poem as he reached this point of his journey out of Shu.25 This longer poem, entitled "Gazing at Shu's River from a Floating Boat at Thorn Portal," takes a slightly different perspective on the crossing. Spring water comes from Moon Gorge On a floating boat, where is the limit of my gaze? Truly the Peach Blossom Spring Or still the Brocade River scene The river color is green and bright Vast as the Heavenly plain Winding a path, the mountains of Ba come to an end Pulled from a distance, the clouds of Chu set in motion Snow-like waves reflect, the sand-geese gather Flowers fly, orioles leave the valley At the pleasant islet, the river turns The green trees,luxuriant welcome Gaze drifting towards the misty evening riverbank Spreading the sail, the sea moon rises I can see the distant fires in Jiangling I should arrive soon at the Zhu palace Like Chen Zi'ang's earlier piece, Li Bai begins his poem with reference to a location farther upstream from his current position. Bright Moon Gorge (Mingyu xia ~.F.J~) is located east of the Three Gorges (including Wu Gorge in Chen Zi'ang's poem), approximately 300 kilometers west of Jiangling. In this couplet, the spring thaw has caused the river level to rise, hence the term "spring waters." This seasonal increase in water volume is evident in several places in the poem. The couplet concludes with a question: "How far can I see from here?" 25 Li Bai ji jiaozhu, 22.1276-78. 135 Farmer: Poems at Tlwrn Portal In lines 3-4, Li answers his question with references to two idyllic views of his home. Line 3 alludes to Tao Qian's WJM (365-427) ((PeachBlossom Spring," where he draws out both the spring season and the idealist view he holds towards his home province, Line 4 refers to the practice in Chengdu of washing freshly woven brocade fabric in the Yangzi to enhance its color. This practice is described in Zuo Si's ;5:J~ (c. 253-307) "Rhapsody on the Shu Capital" (WtBM): "Shell-brocade is elegantly fashioned, its colors rinsed in the river's waves."26Qiao Zhou's ~mJ (199-270) Yizhou zhi ~1tl;!; also claims, 'lIn Chengdu, after the weaving brocade is complete, it is washed in the Yangzi, and its pattern is more distinct than when it was first completed . If it is washed in another river, it does not compare to that washed in the Yangzi."27In this couplet, Li Bai's attachment to the Yangzi and to Shu is expressed by comparing the alleged source of the beauty of Shu brocade-the river-with that of Tao Qian's utopia. The middle four couplets are an enumeration of the sights along the route of Li's journey and illustrate the shifting focus of the poet's attention. Lines 5-6 again express the magnitude of the spring waters, comparing them to the vast expanse of heaven. Looking westward, line 7borrows again from Chen Zi'ang, in describing the mountains of Shu melting into the plains (note the use of jin 31t again). To the east, the clouds of Chu ahead are in motion like the poet's boat (line 8). Line 9 focuses on sand-geese amidst the islets and sandbars of the Yangzi. Line 10 notes flowers in blossom and orioles in flight. This scene is drawn from the east, where spring has come earlier to the lower altitudes of the plain. The effect of this constant shifting of focus from upstream to downstream is one of motion and emotion. The recurrent thoughts of home slow the pace of the forward journey. However, in lines 11-12, the pace of the 26 Wenxuan, 4.185. 27 Cited in Liu chen zhu Wenxuan (Taipei: Guangwen shuju, 1964),4.95. Sources disagree as to which river the cloth was washed in. The Huayang guo zhi (Taipei: Shijieshuju, 1962),3.76) claims the brocade was washed in the Jin River ~rr.This was a branch of the Min River mil: that flowed through the Chengdu plain. Also see Knechtges, Wen xuan vol. 1 (Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1982),36On.271. 136 T'ang Studies 14 (1996) poem begins to quicken. The current takes the poet's boat away from the islet and the aforementioned flora and fauna.28 From this point onward, Li Bai does not look back, but focuses on his destination and his future. In lines 13-14, Li Bai sets the time of the poem as early evening. This places the previous scenes in the context of late afternoon, or perhaps even over the course of an entire day's sailing. Line 14 is critical in setting both the pace and direction of the rest of the poem. In spreading the sail, the pace of the journey and the poem accelerates . The boat moves forward, leaving Shu. As this change in speed occurs, so does a shift in focus. The poet's gaze moves from things behind (i.e., Shu) to things close at hand (i.e., the islet and the mistcovered shore), eventually settling on his destination: Jiangling. The sight of "distant fires in Jiangling" (line 15) expresses Li's desire to speed the journey, as evinced by the final line. Like Chen Zi' ang, Li Bai uses the name of an ancient site at Jiangling to represent the present-day administrative seat. Jiangling was a former capital of the state of Chu, and the Zhu palace a former residence in the Chu capital. During the Tang, Jiangling served as the provincial capital of Jingzhou. It is likely that Li Bai was hoping to find patronage at the capital in Jiangling. Like his other poem on Thorn Portal, this one focuses on the past. However, the homeward sentiment is paired with anticipation of the future. In the middle couplets of the poem, each mention of Shu is balanced by a reference to Chu. The direction of gaze is for a time both backward and forward. But by the final two couplets, Li Bai is intently focused on the future, his early expressions of ambivalence replaced by those of impatience over still being some distance from his destination. 28 Line 11calls to mind a similar description of this portion of the river by Xie Tiao 1MJYt (464-499). A line from Xie's "In Response to Right Commander Shen's and the Other Gentlemen's Farewell Celebration for Litterateur Xie" reads: "The fragrant isles tum like mounds." See Xie Xuancheng ji jiaozhu ~~:I1t(~:t5ttl:. (Taipei: Zhonghua shuju, 1969),4.340; translated in .Richard B. Mather, The Poet Shen Yueh (441513 ): The Reticent Marquis (Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1988), 73-75. 137 Farmer: Poems at Thorn Portal CONCLUSIONS These three poems at Thorn Portal all depict the physical crossing of the boundary between Ba-Shu and Chu. Additionally, they mark the passage from youth to adulthood, and from obscurity to hoped -for fame for the poets. Rich in emotional content, they reveal the bravado of one poet and the sentimentality of the other. These elements are illustrated in the respective treatments of the physical crossing at Thorn Portal. Three geographic locations figure in the Thorn Portal poems: Shu, Thorn Portal, and Chu. In large measure, depictions of Shu in these poems feature natural imagery. This tactic is described by modern scholar Pu Youjun as "Shu naturalistic temperment" (Shu ziran gexing JUI3f&1mtt).29 Chen Zi'ang uses the metonym of Shamanka Gorge to represent Shu. Additional references to Shu point to "the mountains and rivers of Ba."Li Bai takes a similar approach, using Bright Moon Gorge as a metonym for Shu. Like Chen, Li also uses the phrase Umountains of Ba" to point to his native province. Li Bai also draws on a literary geographical metonymic image, that of Tao Yuanming's idyllic Peach Blossom Spring, revealing a touch of his sentimentality towards Shu. As the focal point of the three poems, the river pass at Thorn Portal receives interesting treatment at the hands of Chen and Li. Only Chen's poem directly describes Thorn Portal. He animates the mountain, showing the peak parting mist and fog. This misty setting is also covered by Li Bai: in his second poem he describes the riverbank at night as misty. Thorn Portal functioned as a distinct gateway between Ba-Shu and Chu. However, the poetic description of the site is indistinct, evinced by the doudy adjectives used in these passages. Perhaps this is indicative of the uncertainty the two young poets felt at leaving their homes and entering the lands beyond Shu. 29 Pu Youjun mHt~,"Lun Chen Zi'ang Shu zhong shi," in Chen Zi'ang yanjiu lunji (Beijing:Zhongguo qingnian chubanshe, 1989),230-33. 138 T'ang Studies 14 (1996) References to the destination of Chu also make use of metonymy . Chen looks toward the Terrace of Manifest Splendor as his objective, while Li Bai gazes at the Zhu Palace as his goal. As noted above, both palaces were built in the ancient Chu capital city of Jiangling, now serving as a provincial capital, and held connotations of luxury and extravagant living. The contrast between the metonymic treatments of Shu and Chu is worth noting. References to Shu feature rugged natural images, while those pointing to Chu involve elaborate and ornate man-made constructions. This illustrates an aspect of the Shu cultural persona: that of the rough-and-tumble knight-errant, standing in direct contrast to the delicate and refined court literati. The only references to natural images in connection with Chu are more closely linked to the river than to Chu itself. From various biographical sources, we know that both Chen Zi' ang and Li Bai left Shu at similar early ages to seek appointments at the provincial capital at Jiangling. The Thorn Portal poems were written during the course of these departures. Clearly, Li Bai based his first piece on the earlier "Crossing Thorn Portal" poem of Chen Zi'ang. We have already examined a number of lines and images shared between the two works. Li's second poem also borrows from Chen's piece in terms of language and focus. The focus and direction of the three Thorn Portal poems may be the most revealing facet of these works. Chen's poem is progressive and full of bravado, while Li's two poems show considerable ambivalence towards leaving Shu. Evidence of this ambivalence is found in the shifting direction of the second poem. As shown above, Li's gaze is fixed on the landscape close at hand as he passes through Shu into Chu. Only late in the poem does he look downstream towards his destination. This is similar to his first poem, whose focus shifts from Shu to Chu and finally settles on his point of departure. Further manifestations of Li's ambivalence can be seen in his treatment of the Yangzi as a link connecting Li to Shu. While in Chen Zi' ang' s poem, lithe mountains and rivers of Ba come to an end," for Li Bai, the river continues: "The mountains following the plain come to an end / The river enters the 139 Farmer: Poems at Tlwrn Portal vast wilds flowing." Li's attachment to the Yangzi is strong. The most emotional statement of this attachment is found in the ultimate couplet of his first poem, where, even having crossed the threshold into Chu, Li is connected to Shu via the river.30 This level of sentimentality is missing in large measure in Chen Zi'ang's piece. We may read this as evidence of Chen's confidence being greater, or his bravo persona being more developed. Certainly, his declaration of being a Ulatter-day Jie Yu" creates a more brash and dramatic entrance than either of Li Bai's poems. However, viewing these three poems from our vantage point in the late twentieth century, we know that the situations seen here changed dramatically. Chen Zi'ang found success in serving the Tang court under Empress Wu Zetian, while Li Bai enjoyed only a brief period of success in Chang'an. We know that Chen largely abandoned the bravo persona expressed so forcefully in his uCrossing Thorn Portal" poem, while Li Bai added to the sentiments seen in his two Thorn Portal poems a degree of eccentricity not seen in the Chinese literary world before or after. Thus, while revealing the importance of Shu cultural identity to the young Chen Zi'ang and Li Bai, the Thom Portal poems do not predict the future development of this identity within the poets. These three poems effective illustrate the passages of the young Chen Zi' ang and Li Bai from their isolated home province into the cosmopolitan world of the Tang, from their reckless youth to adulthood, and from obscurity to fame. As the gateway for these three passages, the river pass Thorn Portal should take its place as a significant locale in the history of Chinese literature. 30 I am grateful to Tim Wai-keung Chan of the University of Colorado for sharing with me some of his insights on this topic. 140 ...