Master Hong Yi and His Austrian Ambassador’s Piano Gift

駐足回首處 長亭更短亭

When you stop and turn around

You see pavilions in the short distance and far distance

Master Hong Yi and His Austrian Ambassador’s Piano Gift 弘一法師李叔同教過大姨婆﹐在南京高等師範學院。 奧地利公使送給其父一架鋼琴﹐伴著他過寂寞的童年﹐但造就他寫譜作詞的才華。 Master Hong Yi, before he turned into a monk, taught art in Nanjing Teachers’ Model College. My great aunt was a college student there. My aunt had a Belarusian (translated as White Russian) piano teacher. Her piano became part of the fixture in the Austrian embassy. Just like the master Hong Yi, the Austrian ambassador gave his father a piano which accompanied his lonely childhood. But it has created China’s great passion musician and playwright. Wonder what kind of composition work would flow out if Wolfgang Mozart was ever able to come to China? 在杭州時﹐旅店供給兩瓶虎跑泉水﹐我嚐到最清涼甘甜的水。 我懂他出家的因由。他選擇在虎跑泉出家﹐因其母葬於此。 那泉水曾是他數日禁食的飲料。 話劇藝術的先驅 他把話劇茶花女引入中國﹐為何他男扮女裝演茶花女一角﹖我也明白根由﹐讀過他的傳﹐那是因為其母為小妾﹐他揣摩母親的討好年邁的父親心理﹐正如法國那茶花女是靠逢迎男人為生的﹐五歲時﹐七十歲的父親過世時﹐是在一片佛事往生唸經聲﹐他在僧人環境裡﹐會找到了最初的自己。 When I traveled in Hangzhou, the hotel gave us two bottles of Hu Pao Quan Tiger Running Fountain water. I tasted the cool and sweet water. I understood why he became a monk. He chose the site of Hupaoquan because his mother was buried there. He once was on a fast for days solely subsisting on the local fountain. He is the modern play’s pioneer. He played the lead role in Dumas’La Dame aux camellias, and produced it too. Why as a female lead role? I studied his biography and that is because he impersonated his mother as a young concubine in serving his aging father. Just like the French Camellia was making her living with humble servitude to men. He was barely five when his 70 year old father passed away in the chanting of Buddhism. So in the life of the monastery, he would eventually find his nascent self.

送別　　In Chinese　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　

李叔同 長亭外，古道邊，芳草碧連天。晩風拂柳笛聲殘，夕陽山外山。天之涯，地之角，知交半零落。一觚濁酒盡餘歡，今宵別夢寒。　　　　　　　　

******送別 　　In Japanese　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

長亭の外（はづれ），　古道の邊（あたり），芳草　　碧（みどり）　　天に 連なる。晩風は　柳を拂（はら）ひ　　笛聲　殘（すた）りて，夕陽は　　山外の山。天の涯（はて），地の角（すみ）に，知交　　半（なか）ば 零落す。一觚（こ）の 濁酒　　餘歡を 盡（つく）せど，今宵　　別夢　寒からん。

Farewell by Master Hong Yi Beyond the long Pavilion By the ancient pass Sweet grass linking to sky Late wind touching the willow In the residue flute sound Sunset is behind the mountain and mountain At the edge of heaven In the corner of ocean My friends are half gone A left over wine to exhaust my desire This night has another cold dream