24/08/28: 2nd read, now that I’m no longer way out of my depth about 古文.
This is the transcript of a 101 class on classical Chinese poetry. I appreciate that this is truly an intro class. Yes, it’s a 走马观花 trip through literary history; yes, we didn’t delve too deeply into any poem, but I didn’t sign up for that. The first time I read the book, I knew zero guwen (and had barely started reading in Chinese, in fact), but I could follow just fine.
I really appreciate 骆老师’s approach to poetry interpretation. Too often East Asian lit classes are too prescriptive: here’s the standard way to interpret this passage, this line, this metaphor; recite them verbatim during exams or else. laoshi, however, insists that poetry interpretation is entirely up to the reader: “一首诗或一部小说,不管评论者怎么去解说它,也不管作者怎么去解释它,都没有用。你从这个文学作品里面直接感受到那种情感的状态,才是最真实的。”
And he sure had fun interpreting. He said that the venerated poems in 诗经 were essentially the pop songs of their time: quotidian, familiar, intimate. Through 2500 years of history, they had been analyzed to the moon and back, colored by whatever moral lenses society deemed in vogue. But it would be equally valid to think of them as, idk, Bruno Mars crooning about heartbreak. Classical poems could be the carry vessels for moral dogmas, but they could also be unironic odes to hedonism and that’s fine.
One thing that minorly bothers me is the gender stereotypes in the book. Laoshi made way too many generalizing statements: girls love A, boys love B, women are X, men are Y (qualified with “不能全然这么说”, but still). Nothing particularly atrocious tho, and no malice meant AFAICT, so… ============================================== 23/07/10. A very accessible introduction to the development of 古诗. 骆老师 interprets ancient poems with empathy and openness. There's beauty and comfort in knowing that parts of the human experience are universal, just as poignant 2000 years ago as they are now. Also these words are pretty indeed.