Chapter 810 809 [Poetry Recitation]

Among the many schools of modernist literature, there is one called "Imagism", whose representative and name is none other than Ezra Pound.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of European and American poets, influenced by Japanese haiku, began to focus on poetic intention. Later, they discovered that Japanese haiku originated from Chinese metrical poetry, and then studied ancient Chinese poetry, thus forming the so-called "Imagist Poetry".

Especially Ezra Pound. This gentleman's love for Chinese literature has gone so far that he is completely worshiping Chinese characters. He believed that Chinese poetry and Chinese characters were full of magic, so much so that he included Chinese characters in many places in his long poem "Poetry" to express some mysterious meaning.

You may have seen poetry like this. In a certain Chinese vernacular poem, a few English words suddenly pop up, as if this can show a noble character. Pound's poetry is just the opposite. Among a bunch of English or Italian verses, a few Chinese characters suddenly pop up, leaving Western readers confused.

"Oh, Zhou, I finally see you!" Pang opened his arms and walked carelessly.

This guy has a very magical appearance, with a slender face, a hooked nose, a pair of baggy trousers, and a shirt and sweater. His hair and beard were gray, and the roots were messy and standing upright, as if his whole body was filled with static electricity, and he looked like he had just escaped from a mental hospital.

Zhou Hexuan hugged Pound and said with a smile: "Mr. Pound, I have long admired you!"

It's really a famous name that I have admired for a long time. According to Pound's contribution to modern literature, it is more than enough to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Unfortunately, he was a die-hard fan of Mussolini. After the end of World War II, he was convicted of "treason" by the United States. He escaped from prison only after being admitted to a mental hospital. Naturally, he was not eligible for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Pound was a student of Yeats, a classmate of Eliot, and a teacher of Hemingway, and all three of them were Nobel Prize winners in literature.

Zhou Hexuan introduced: "This is Mr. Kong Xiangxi, Minister of Finance of China, and Mr. Chen Shaokuan, Minister of Navy of China!"

"Hello, Mr. Kong!"

"Hello Mr. Chen!"

Pound spoke English.

Kong Xiangxi and Chen Shaokuan also greeted each other in English, but Chen Shaokuan spoke pure British English, while Kong Xiangxi spoke Shanxi Taigu American English. No matter what, Kong Xiangxi's English can be understood, at least better than Indian English and Japanese English.

"Sit down, everyone, please take a seat," Mussolini greeted warmly and said with a smile, "Hahahaha, Mr. Pound is very knowledgeable about Chinese culture. He is very happy to discuss literature with friends from China."

"I am also very honored that a Western writer like Mr. Pound can love and study Chinese culture." Kong Xiangxi smiled broadly when he spoke, but he was actually speechless in his heart. He came to Italy to seek a loan, but Mussolini insisted on dragging him to talk about literature, which was ridiculous.

In fact, Mussolini did not want to negotiate a loan with China, and Chang Kaishen had completely offended him - due to Italy's brazen invasion of Ethiopia, China was imposing diplomatic sanctions on Italy at this time.

You heard it right!

At this time, China is imposing diplomatic sanctions on Italy.

At the beginning of the establishment of the Nanjing National Government, China and Italy had a long honeymoon period. Italy was also the first country in Europe to upgrade its diplomatic relations with China to the ambassadorial level. At that time, Mussolini said to Liu Wendao, the Chinese ambassador to Italy: "The country that best represents Asian culture is your country, and the country that best represents European culture is our country. Therefore, it is natural for the two countries to be upgraded!" "

At the beginning, Mussolini canceled more than 26 million taels of money with a wave of his hand, saying that Italy did not want the money. Chiang Kai-shek was so excited that he burst into tears and wrote a warm letter of thanks to Mussolini.

Mussolini also supported the construction of the Chinese air force. Chiang Kai-shek sent 250 Chinese officers to Italy to study. Because Mussolini liked black clothes and black trousers, in order to flatter Mussolini, Chiang Kai-shek required all Chinese flight personnel to wear black clothes and black trousers. He also ordered that all air force academies have Mussolini hangings hanging in their classrooms. Big picture of Ni.

At that time, the relationship between China and Italy was even closer than that between China and Germany, until Chiang Kai-shek announced sanctions against Italy...

Sanctioning Italy is naturally to please Britain and the United States. Chiang Kai-shek did not dare to offend Mussolini. It was not until Italy devoured Ethiopia that China officially passed the sanctions against Italy. Don't offend both sides. It not only gives an explanation to the League of Nations, but also saves face for Italy.

But Mussolini's nose was so angry that he scolded Chang Kaishen for being an unethical man. He also called the ambassador to Italy Liu Wendao and cursed him: "I spent so much money to train your Chinese air force, why do I still need to do it?" Sanction me? China is so ungrateful!"

Liu Wendao quickly explained: "The Chairman's move is to prevent the League of Nations from recognizing the status of the puppet Manchukuo and Japan's invasion of China."

Mussolini immediately slapped the table: "You idiot, the League of Nations has sold you to Japan at a low price. Think about it, why does this bullshit League of Nations only sanction Italy and not Japan for occupying Northeast China?"

As a result, the diplomatic relations between China and Italy turned from closeness to alienation.

Kong Xiangxi came to Italy to ask for a loan this time. It was just a hot-faced attempt to show off someone else's cold butt. If he could get even a penny, he would be considered a great person. Because Mussolini was a very face-loving person, he would say anything to give him face, and he would even do business at a loss. If you don’t give him face, haha!

At this moment, Mussolini was sitting on the sofa in his study with a big cigar in his mouth, intentionally or unintentionally showing off the many celebrity poetry collections on his desk.

Collections of poems are different from collections of poems. For example, Mussolini admired Gabriel D'Annunzio and tended to realism and aestheticism. This represents a kind of poetry taste. Mussolini believed that the poetry taste he liked should be the best taste, so he wanted all visitors to know this.

In fact, Mussolini's literary tastes were detached. He claimed that he loved passionate, combative, and realistic poetry, but the poems he wrote were full of lonely petty bourgeoisie and 200% literary youth flavor.

In Mussolini's study, the entire wall was covered with books. It seemed that he had more books than the German leader Hitler. But there are differences. Hitler's collection of books was diverse, ranging from novels and biographies to witchcraft and health care. Mussolini obviously preferred pure literature and ideological theory, and most of his books were philosophy, literature and theoretical books.

This may be the difference between the two men. They were both under the Fascist dictatorship. Hitler directly declared literature illegal and equated literature with politics. As for Mussolini, although he also persecuted some writers and artists, he was generally more lenient. As long as you didn't write articles to trouble him, Mussolini still supported literary creation and exploration.

Putting his cigar on the ashtray, Mussolini, who was big-faced and stocky, suddenly stood up and recited the poems of his teacher, the famous Italian poet D'Annunzio. He used an affectionate and ups and downs tone, slightly closing his eyes and recited: "The breeze flapped its wings and wrote blurred words on the soft sand. The breeze uttered low and earnest whispers to the white river embankment, The gentle autumn waves convey..."

"good!"

After reciting an Italian poem, Kong Xiangxi clapped his hands and applauded loudly.

Zhou Hexuan also clapped along, applauding sincerely, because Mussolini's recitation was really good. If this guy didn't play politics and became a poetry reciter, he could probably make a living.

Pound commented: "Mr. D'Annunzio's "Summer Ballad" is like an oil painting depicting summer, with beautiful imagery. In my opinion, the most important thing about poetry is imagery. This is the point of Chinese poetry. They did a particularly good job. Can three friends from China recite Chinese poetry in Chinese? It’s not modern poetry, it’s ancient poetry.”

Zhou Hexuan said with a smile: "Minister Kong is a descendant of Confucius, and heirlooms in poetry and etiquette. Please come up with one."

"I'll forget it. I won't do anything about it." Kong Xiangxi waved her hand and refused.

Mussolini laughed loudly: "Just you come, just you come, don't refuse!"

"Then let me... play one?"

Kong Xiangxi stood up and recited in Taigu accent of Shanxi Province: "When the half-acre square pond is opened, the skylight and cloud shadows linger together. How clear is the canal? It has a source of living water."

Pound immediately said: "I know this poem is Zhu Xi's "Looking at the Book and Feelings", but it sounds a little different."

"Who did you listen to read it before?" Zhou Hexuan asked.

"A Japanese poet," Pound said, "My Chinese is not very good and I only know some simple Chinese characters. All my knowledge of Chinese literature comes from Japanese friends."

"Maybe it's the accent." Zhou Hexuan said with a smile.

Reading the same ancient Chinese poem with a Japanese accent and a Shanxi accent would be damned if it sounds the same.

Pound commented with a longing look on his face: "This song "Looking at the Book and Feelings" is very beautiful in imagery. The half-acre pond is opened like a mirror, and the skylight and the shadows of the clouds reflect each other. In just a dozen words, it outlines It creates a beautiful picture of nature. Chinese poetry is so beautiful that it takes people’s breath away. I wish I was born in China!”

As expected of an American poet who mixes Chinese characters in his English poems, his admiration for Chinese literature has gone crazy.

But Mussolini frowned and said: "Too short, too short. Are all Chinese poems so short?"

"Chinese Chinese poetry never uses fancy rhetoric. It is concise, vivid, magnificent, accurate, and full of connotations. This is also the creative concept pursued by our Imagists." Pound quickly rectified the name of ancient Chinese poetry and said to Zhou Hexuan, "Zhou Hexuan Sir, please recite a Chinese poem too. Come on and let your Excellency the Prime Minister appreciate it."

Zhou Hexuan thought to himself: Since you like imagery, I can recite "Qinyuan Spring·Snow" to you, but I'm afraid that Kong Xiangxi and the others will get angry after hearing this.

Because Zhou Hexuan often gave speeches, he practiced specifically in private, and his level of poetry recitation also improved accordingly. He cleared his throat and recited: "Don't you see, the water of the Yellow River comes up from the sky, rushes to the sea and never returns. Don't you see, the mirror in the high hall has sad white hair, and the morning is like blue silk, and it turns to snow at dusk. If you are proud of life, you must enjoy it to the fullest, and don't let the golden bottle be empty. Facing the moon...the five-flowered horse, the golden coat, the call will be exchanged for fine wine, and I will sell the eternal sorrow with you!"

Zhou Hexuan's tone was ups and downs, and his emotions were rising layer by layer. Even Kong Xiangxi felt a little excited when he heard it.

"Okay, great!"

Pound shook his head and praised: "I have heard a Japanese friend recite this Chinese poem. But his recitation is far inferior to Mr. Zhou's recitation. It is as refreshing as drinking ice water on a hot summer day!"

"The beauty of poetry transcends national boundaries. I like the recitation of this poem very much." Mussolini found it interesting. "Mr. Zhou, can you translate the meaning of the poem?"

Zhou Hexuan immediately translated the poem into Italian, and Mussolini listened with great excitement. Although the poems he wrote were lonely and petty, he particularly appreciated the open-minded and passionate works. He immediately clapped his hands and said: "It's so well written, especially those few lines. When you are proud of life, you should indulge in joy and don't let the wine glass be empty to the moon." , God’s creation of me must be meaningful, and I will come back even if I lose my millions. This is the same as the way we Italians live. The author who wrote this poem has an Italian heart.”

Mussolini liked "About the Wine" so much that he asked Zhou Hexuan to write out the entire poem and annotate the Chinese verses in Italian.

Seeing this situation, Kong Xiangxi immediately took the initiative to join in, using ancient Chinese poems in various ways to please Mussolini, hoping that the other party would agree to the loan in a hurry. I have to say that although Kong Xiangxi looks like a pig, he really has something in his belly, and his ancient writing skills are very strong.

It's a pity that although Mussolini was happy, he didn't mention the loan and made all sorts of hilarious detours to avoid it.

Until he left Mussolini's study, Pound pulled Zhou Hexuan and whispered: "Zhou, I want to learn Chinese and translate ancient Chinese works. Can you help?"

"Of course." Zhou Hexuan smiled.

Pound is still very famous in the West. His translation of ancient Chinese classics is of great benefit to the spread of Chinese culture.