Graham Sanders (he/him)

This #poem came up during my grad seminar on Tang #poetry, and I decided to take a crack at a #translation. Han Yu (768–824) was fond of writing in a looser ancient style, but this piece is a rare example of his using the later regulated style of four couplets of five-syllable lines.

I think it is the mark of great art that it repays whatever amount of effort you put into interpreting it. This poem speaks to what we used to call the “human condition”. It is what the kids these days call “relatable”.

We are all, ultimately, alone and vulnerable in the vastness of natural forces, seeking refuge in a circle of light, and finding comfort in reaching out to others who share that experience with us. In the closing couplet, Han Yu asks, “How is it that...?”—his poem is an answer to that question.

The lamp inside produces a gentle and comforting vision with its warm halo of light, small and circumscribed; the rain in the fading darkness outside impinges on that interior, vulnerable coziness with a feeling of vast and implacable cold.

The closing couplet switches register to a conversational tone, as the poem moves from the world of a lone consciousness in nature to communication between two fellow travelers, who find themselves reminded of how far they are from the security of home.

When Han Yu rouses from his dreamy, hypnagogic state, the tumultuous, moonlit visions in his mind’s eye are replaced by the serene image of a dim lamp casting a halo of light in his room.

The ensuing line of this parallel couplet juxtaposes “night fading” and “dream awakening” as two related time markers, and the “lamp emitting a halo” with “the rain bringing a chill” as two descriptions of inanimate (are they?) objects performing actions.

The POV switches in the second couplet from inside/auditory to outside/visual in the eye of Han Yu’s mind. Imagining what the rushing water looks like under the bright moon, the light playing across the currents could be mistaken for reflected streaks of lightning.

The froth on the whitecaps could appear to be flakes of frost buoyed up by the water. In the dreamscape of his imagination, sky and river merge, liquid and frozen water coexist—everything is mixed up and in motion.

The first line of the poem opens with doubled reduplicative compounds that do not so much describe the torrent of water outside where Han Yu is sleeping as capture it in language that mimics the unending flow itself, its persistence and power.

The second line takes us inside to the human perceiver, Han Yu in bed, listening to the sound of the rushing water outside, first ebbing away, then rising again in an endless cycle. The natural world is oblivious of him, time flows on unceasin; his own life is a small current in that larger flow.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this poem since I translated it. It is a short, powerful snapshot of a perceiving mind away from home. (Han Yu was moved around a lot because of the vicissitudes of his political career.)

youtu.beFULL SPEECH: Carney addresses Canadians as new Liberal leader and PM-designateYouTube video by CBC News

10 Mar 2025

This is one of the best political speeches I have heard in a long time. Mark Carney is not a firebrand, and his French is mediocre, but I wholeheartedly agree with everything he has to say here about Canadian values (currently under threat from US aggression)... youtu.be/Qv6JIMtX8Qc?...

youtube.com水仙操 (L'immortel des eaux) (The Immortal by the Water)YouTube video by 蘇思棣 (Sou Si-tai) - Topic

2 Mar 2025

Mental health break with the #guqin #古琴... www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b6Q...

2 Mar 2025

I found a break from the bleakness in this #poem: “The City Limits” by AR Ammons (1926–2001). consider the radiance... ...each is accepted into as much light as it will take #poetry #solace #light

𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺, 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘪𝘭𝘭-𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧... 𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝟮𝟬 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗟𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱 𝗪𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗪𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻 #𝗔𝗿𝗴𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 (which I have to guard against using myself) 👇🏼

20/20. Poisoning the Well Presenting information in a way that is intended to discredit or undermine an argument, rather than addressing the argument itself.

BONUS FALLACY And the prize for most widespread and profoundly damaging fallacy goes to... 21/20. Correlation Equals Causation It does not.

18/20. Shifting Burden of Proof Shifting the burden of proof from one party to another, often unfairly.

19/20. Appeal to Consequences Arguing that a statement is true or false based on its consequences, rather than its actual truth or falsity.

16/20. Appeal to Tradition Arguing that a practice or belief is valid because it has been done a certain way for a long time.

17/20. Appeal to Ignorance Assuming that because something has not been proven false, it must be true.

14/20. Equivocation Using ambiguous language to obscure or distort the meaning of an argument.

15/20. Narrow Definition Defining a term or concept so narrowly that it excludes counterexamples that actually exist.

12/20. Appeal to Emotion Using emotional reactions rather than logic to persuade others.

13/20. Bandwagon Arguing that because many people believe something, it must be true.

10/20. False Analogy Making an analogy between two things that are not sufficiently similar to support the conclusion being drawn.

11/20. Slippery Slope Arguing that a particular action will inevitably lead to a series of negative consequences without providing evidence for these consequences.

8/20. Appeal to Authority Using the opinion or position of an authority figure to support an argument.

9/20. False Dilemma Presenting only two options when there are more options available.

6/20. Ad Hominem Attacking the person making the argument rather than addressing the argument itself.

7/20. Straw Man Misrepresenting or exaggerating someone’s argument to make it easier to attack.

4/20. Whataboutism Pointing out that the person making the argument, or people admired by them, have done what they are arguing against.

5/20. Red Herring Switching to another topic that is only superficially related.

2/20. Nitpicking Disproving a minor point or piece of evidence, then claiming the entire argument is disproven.

3/20. Cherry Picking Citing only the evidence that supports the argument, while ignoring evidence that undermines it.

1/20. Moving The Goal Posts Redefining the terms of the argument as one progresses.

23 Feb 2025

Somehow, Aparna Halpé always pulls together the best looks from wildly disparate elements. The woman has #style. You can come see her and @solidaridadtango.bsky.social play at Drom Taberna in Toronto, today at 3–5pm. Fantastic live #tango #music, food, and drink. Would love to see you there!

23 Feb 2025

Elon Musk instructed federal workers to summarize their weekly accomplishments in an email, a tactic he previously used to downsize staff at X. “Please reply to this email with approximately five bullet points of what you accomplished this week and CC your manager.” You know what to do...

A very #Canadian picture #Canada will not be part of the #USA

thebeaverton.comCanada annexes 4 Nations ChampionshipBOSTON, MA – The Canadian men’s hockey team has successfully seized the 4 Nations hockey championship from their American opponents, completing their annexation of the trophy nearly halfway through th...

@thebeaverton.com, FTW! “We actually ended up using America’s favourite strategy against them,” said Connor McDavid, who scored the winning goal. “I wanted the trophy, so I took it without asking them what they thought.” www.thebeaverton.com/2025/02/cana... #4Nations #hockey #Canada #USA

Typically #Canadian #winter weather has returned and, with it, typically Canadian winter #parking techniques. This particular maneuver is known as the... “Fuck it, eh? I'm leaving it here and grabbing a beer and watching the game.” #Canada

21 Feb 2025

Here’s an idea for any person in the US government doing good work anywhere in the world, who has been told to cease and desist: KEEP DOING IT, until they come and physically stop you; they don’t have the capacity to enforce compliance everywhere for everything.

open.spotify.comWhere is Home / Hae ke KaeAbel Selaocoe · Album · 2022 · 16 songs

17 Feb 2025

You need some #cello fusion #music by a South #African genre-bending #artist to warm up a cold winter day? I have just the thing... open.spotify.com/album/6IYAr9...

aresluna.orgThe hardest working font in ManhattanA story of a 150-year-old font you have never heard of – and one you probably saw earlier today.

16 Feb 2025

I find fonts weirdly fascinating; I’m not sure why. For instance, I eagerly devoured this 6,100 word article with 600 photos on the long history of the obscure (but ubiquitous) “Gorton” font, by Marcin Wichary. aresluna.org/the-hardest-...

14 Feb 2025

“One day, my father took me up one of the towers and he pointed at the slums below. He said, ‘It is an accident of birth: you could’ve been there, or you could’ve been here. Use your life to make a difference. Because, being in a position of privilege, you have a duty to lift others up.’” —Asma Khan

14 Feb 2025

I couldn’t resist turning those words of wisdom turning into a 👕...

press.vatican.va Lettera del Santo Padre ai Vescovi degli Stati Uniti d’America

13 Feb 2025

From the “Letter of the Holy Father to the Bishops of the United States of America” (11 Feb 2025): “What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly.” press.vatican.va/content/sala... #PopeFrancis #wisdom