（中英字幕）舉杯邀李白，對月成三人：美國音樂家演唱唐詩？！

Hello, everyone. Welcome to How to Read Chinese Poetry podcast video number 8. And to those who join us on podcast platform, How to Read Chinese Poetry podcast episode 42. It is my great pleasure to introduce our guest host, Dr. Andrew Merritt, a writer, performer of American country and folk music. I'm sure you are all fascinated by the title of his presentation, Li Bai in Nashville, Transforming Tang Poems into American Songs. Dr. Merritt will share with us how his love of Tang poetry opens up a new window to his songwriting, and he will play for us three songs from his album, Tang Dynasty Songs. Without further ado, let us welcome Dr. Andrew Merritt. Welcome to my home recording studio. Farrah the Studio Cat welcomes you too. I want to share with you the joy that I find transforming Chinese poetry from a thousand years ago into my own original songs. Now I have performed American country and folk music since my teenage years. And I've become fascinated with poems from China's Tang and Song dynasties. So I take classic Chinese poems as inspirations from which to create my own original songs in the musical style that's familiar to me. I see my writing as a bridge between cultures. I released 16 songs in this style, which I call my Twang Dynasty album. In this presentation, I'll give you a taste of that album and discuss my approach to growing new songs out of old poems. First, a word on the poems. To my regret, I do not read Chinese. A wide variety of English translations opened my eyes to the poems. And a word about the album. I planned to record it in a pro studio with other musicians. But the COVID pandemic closed the studios. Well, I play many instruments. Fiddle, guitar, mandolin. And I can create music for other parts. Bass, piano, drums through virtual instrument programs. I hired a pedal steel guitar player in Texas to provide some tracks remotely. In the end, I worked here in my home studio, layering each track over others, performing as my own band. Chinese poetry and American country music do make a very unusual pairing. The Chinese poems are classics of world literature, written by refined scholars for educated peers. American country music has a more earthy, blue-collar audience. But there are sometimes common themes. The ancient poets and the American singers write about life's joys and troubles, missing a distant home or loved one, enjoying a simple, rustic living, and drinking. Everyone sighs under the moon. I thought it would be fun to select some poems as the basis for my own songs, not setting translations literally to music, but taking moods and images from the poems and reshaping them in my own voice. The Tang poems amaze me on an intellectual level, and they touch me on an emotional level. Writing songs is my way of engaging those poems more deeply. I seek points of connection between the poet's world and my own modern experience. So let me read you a few poems and sing a few songs. First, the poem that inspired this project, Li Bai's Drinking Alone Under the Moon. Li Bai was the Tang Dynasty's rock star poet. And he certainly embraced a wild image, a swordsman in his youth, a passionate poet in his prime, an unconventional character who found inspiration in a cup of wine, or in several cups of wine. In this poem, Li Bai walks in the night with his wine jug, and he's alone and a bit melancholy. But he makes the best of the situation, forming imaginary drinking companions out of the bright moon overhead and his own shadow at his feet in the moonlight. Here is Li Bai's poem in a translation by Keith Holyoake. Alone among the flowers with a jug of wine Without a single friend to drink with me I lift my glass, call to the bright moon to come join in The moon, my shadow, and I make three I know the moon is not a famous drinker My shadows toast no more than mimicry Yet for a little while The three of us carouse in springtime camaraderie I sing, the moon sways to and fro in rhythm I dance, my shadow floats in harmony Drinking, we share our joys with one another After, we'll need to find them separately Let's meet again beyond the silver river And there, my friends, resume our revelry Li Bai finds companionship with the moon and with his own shadow On clear nights when I feel contemplative I walk down my hillside road looking at the moon and the shadows of the night Here is my song, Drinking with the Moon My music echoes a Texas dance hall in the 1950s Twin fiddles, steel guitar, a walking bass line and a shuffle beat Pull on your cowboy boots, dance a two-step I drink alone under the sky Raise my paper wine cup high And look for friends to share this night with me I toast my distant pal, the moon Her face brightens up my mood Casts my shadow to complete our group of three My home-brewed dandelion wine Lifts my shadow for a time How we like to raise a cup up to the moon Now my shadow starts to dance Tipsy, it appears While moon does Macarena To the music of the spheres When home and heart are far away I find company this way A party night for shadow, moon and me I pour the final dregs of wine For my shadow one last time And spill droplets on the meadow for the moon But my fading shadow looks a bit unsteady for the road And waning moon is nodding To some wistful country tune Let's plan to meet again next spring I'll fill thermos jugs to bring To our reunion under April's starry sky When home and heart are far away I dream beneath the Milky Way Another lonely moonlit lullaby That's another lonely moonlit lullaby The moon is the center of a common trope in Chinese poetry Loved ones or friends Separated by long miles Imagine a connection as they watch the same moon And here, separated by centuries Li Bai and I are both friended In our reveries by this eternal moon Li Bai was too much of a free spirit To keep a steady government job He cultivated the image of the inspired poet Often drunk, more concerned with his art Than his livelihood A stable home life Probably wasn't his priority either He was often away from his family Sometimes by choice, traveling Sometimes because an insulting poem Or social misstep Forced him to leave the capital Pressured or banished But wherever Li Bai was in his travels He surely thought tenderly of loved ones back home Li Bai wrote two sequential poems Expressing that emotion Titled Endless Yearning Which he styled as folk-style verse Here are those poems In translations by Witter Binner and Kang Kung Ho I am endlessly yearning to be in Chang'an Insects hum of autumn By the gold brim of the well A thin frost glistens like little mirrors On my cold mat The high lantern flickers And deeper grows my longing I lift the shade and with many a sigh Gaze upon the moon Single as a flower centered from the clouds Above I see the blueness and deepness of sky Below I see the greenness And the restlessness of water Heaven is high Earth wide Bitter between them flies my sorrow Can I dream through the gateway Over the mountain Endless longing breaks my heart The sun has set And a mist is in the flowers And the moon grows very white And the people sad and sleepless A jow harp has just been laid mute On its phoenix holder And a shoe lute begins to sound Its mandarin duck strings Since nobody can bear to you The burden of my song Would that it might follow The spring wind to Yanran Mountain I think of you far away Beyond the blue sky And my eyes that once were sparkling Are now a well of tears Oh, if ever you should doubt This aching of my heart Here in my bright mirror Come back and look at me Those poems are filled with emotion Conveyed through images very typical Of the Tang poets The moon connecting the poets' thoughts To a distant place A mirror, itself perhaps moon-shaped Reflecting inner thoughts and tears The moon in the sky above, eternal The river in the valley below Flowing endlessly In my own songwriting I want to reflect different styles Of old American folk music So I can take Levi's folk-style Chinese verse And transform it into A folk-style American song I imagine a lonely cowboy In a rural town Singing to the girl he loves In the big city far away Here is my song Endless Yearning I am endlessly yearning To be in L.A. Open the window And stare far away The moon's like an orchid Alone in the sky The flower I gave you When we said goodbye Deep is the sky Heaven is high Restless and green The old river flows Stream in my sorrow Far down through the hills Endlessly yearning My heart's breaking so Endlessly yearning And I hope that you're yearning for me If you doubt that I'm yearning, my darling Come share my bright mirror And see what I see Video's loud but I'll soon turn it down To strum soft guitar chords Into the night air When next the wind blows Through the mountains in spring I wish it would bear you This song that I share There's mist in the air The full moon is sleepless Eyes that once sparkled Now moisten like dew Our glances seemed innocent Flirting back then But I sigh for what you and I Failed to pursue Endlessly yearning And I hope that you're yearning for me If you doubt that I'm yearning, my darling Come share my bright mirror And see what I see Endlessly yearning And I hope that you're yearning for me If you doubt that I'm yearning, my darling Come share my bright mirror And see what I see If you doubt that I'm yearning, my darling Come share my bright mirror And see what I see Levi's younger admirer, Dufu, wrote virtuoso poetry while chasing an elusive government job. Some characterize Levi as more fanciful and romantic. Dufu is more morally serious. In this era, armed rebellion ravaged the Tang state, troubled times for poet officials. Often on the move for safety, Dufu did not have an easy life. Here is Dufu's poem, On the Heights, translated by Keith Holyoake. The wind is keen in the sky wide. Apes howl mournfully. The islet is clear, it's sand white. Birds wheel round and round. In the boundless forest, swirling leaves go rustling, rustling by. Down the endless river, surging waves come rolling, rolling on. I am a constant traveler. This melancholy autumn. An old man now wracked by sickness. I scale these heights alone. This life so hard, full of bitter pain, has turned my hair to frost. Left me so poor that my last cup of cloudy wine is gone. Dufu has another poem, Struggling South, with a similar mood of travel, age and fatigue. That poem ends with these words, My life is just a bitter song. I found no one who cared for my sad music. Well, I relate to that, though I try to be more cheerful. Perhaps through this program, I can reach someone who does care for my sad music. Dufu's Tired Traveler reminds me of an old bluegrass song by Bill Monroe, the father of bluegrass music, who sang I am a weary traveler. I am a weary traveler. I am always on the go. I'll ride that lonesome railroad train to where I do not know. So I'll pick up the images from Dufu's poems and write a song with some feel of bluegrass music. In this musical style, a cheerful tempo can balance a downbeat theme. Drums are not traditionally used in bluegrass music, but I like a snare drum with brushes, so I've got a drum track. Apologies to Bill Monroe. I am a constant traveler. This melancholy fall. My back is bent with trouble. I scale these heights alone. The autumn wind blows bitter. My hair is white with frost. Farewell to wine and whiskey. So many pleasures lost. The hawks and eagles circle above the rocky shore. The broad and muddy river rolls southward evermore. I am a constant traveler. This melancholy fall. My back is bent with trouble. I scale these heights alone. Wind whistles through the swirling leaves High on the craggy hill. It rustles all my words away And leaves me sad and still. My legs are tired and weary From climbing up the knoll. The overlook is empty And no one hears me call. I am a constant traveler. This melancholy fall. My back is bent with trouble. I scale these heights alone. My back is bent with trouble. I scale these heights alone. The Tang literati valued both poetry and music. Poets might play the traditional qin or enjoy the pipa, the Chinese lute. They could sing their poems to old tunes or improvised melodies. Or they could chant them with a musical intonation. Professional entertainers adapted some poems to public performance, singing them with instrumental accompaniment in taverns or at parties. So I think that reimagining a classic poem as a new song remains appropriate. If I could share a glass of wine with Li Bai and Du Fu, we would trade some tunes. The Tang Dynasty poems are over a thousand years old. And in musical style, I echo country music from old radio many decades ago. It may be out of fashion, but I like it. Poet Bo Juyi wrote about music. Alas, that the ears of common people should love the modern and not the old. Well, I enjoy old Chinese poems and old American music. So I challenge myself to weave these two interests together into something new. I hope that I have conveyed to you my love for the old Chinese poems and how they inspire my creative life. I host a website for my full album of Tang Dynasty songs and the poems that inspired them. I invite you to visit with me on that website. Perhaps the poems will spark your own thoughts and creative ideas. Through October sky Sails a bright moon Fading leaves blow away With the wind Chilly crows in the field Scatter off to the west And another lonely night Roosts again And I wonder when I'll see you again Let's thank Dr. Merritt for his fascinating talk and performance. Next week, we are going to hear the music performance of another gifted American musician. Mr. John Thompson, the guest host, will perform ancient Chinese Qin music and talk about the rich culture behind it. Let us meet on YouTube and Bilibili there.