2018 學語集 31 - 35

Original Script

::: 學語集 :::

31. 木

植根于土枝幹漸長春則葉生秋則葉落

32. 花

東風吹白花乃發或白或紅又有黃紫蜂蝶時來尋其香

• 或: some, perhaps

• 時 (Adv.)

33. 竹

靑靑高節貫四時而不變君子愛之種于庭

• Adjective reduplication (AA): adverbial or intensified

34. 松

亭亭獨立蒼翠之色經歲寒不變君子愛之種于庭

• 經 N: passing through N

• 之: 3rd person pronoun (it/him/her/them)

35. 桃

仲春之月始生華夭夭灼灼但得片時韶光

• 始 V: begin to V, first V

• 但: but, nevertheless

Translation

Sentence 31 : (Kyrie)

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Trees plant roots in the soil. The branches and trunks grow gradually. If it is spring then the leaves grow, but if it is autumn then the leaves fall.

• Discussion Questions:

Sentence 32 : (Kyrie)

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The eastern wind blows and then all the flowers bloom. Some are white and some are red. There are also yellow and purple flowers. Bees and butterflies come frequently seeking the flowers' fragrance.

Sentence 33 : (Kyrie)

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Verdantly high and jointed, bamboo is constant throughout the four seasons and does not change. Gentlemen love it and plant it in the courtyard.

• Discussion Questions:

+節 can mean "joints" or "moral integrity." In class we translated 靑靑高節 as something along the lines of "Bamboo is green/blue with high integrity." Could we instead understand that line to be describing the physical appearance of the bamboo?
(YO) Yes, it would be ideal if we can seamlessly connect the physical trait of bamboo to a more anthropocentric trait for a gentleman to like. We considered "upright" as an option that might fit it—since "uprightness" is one of the quality represented by bamboo, although one may wonder if we can nuance the semantic association of "cut/notch/joint - regulated - controlled" (e.g., 《禮記‧文王世子》：『眾至，然後天子至，乃命有司行事，興秩節，祭先師先聖焉。』〈鄭玄〉注：『節，猶禮也。』， 《禮記‧樂記》：『好惡無節於內，知誘於外，不能反躬，天理滅矣。』〈鄭玄〉注：『節，法度也。』）. I wonder if "just" or "disciplined" can be considered?

Sentence 34 : Ewa

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The Pine Tree

Tall and erect it stands alone, its colours: blue and green, do not change during the coldest time of the year, a gentleman loves to plant it in his courtyard.

• Discussion Questions:

Sentence 35 : Ewa

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The Peach Tree

On the second month of spring it starts to grow flowers, fragile and pale, but then within a short moment of time, luminous and bright.

• Discussion Questions:

The eastern wind is associated with spring.

白 is a typo here. From double checking the original document we can see that it should be 百. The sentence literally translates as "100 flowers," but I have understood that to mean "all flowers."

Definitions for 紫 include purple, violet, and mauve. According to common English usage, purple is a term which encompasses any colour between red and blue, including violet and mauve, and so I have decided to just use the word "purple."

I tried to capture the sense of 靑靑 as an adverb.

Here "gentlemen" refers to men of virtue or noble character.