Sunday, February 22, 2015

Yinyuan and Mount Fuji



I have been exchanging emails with Prof. Yang Kuei-hsiang about Yinyuan and his love of Mount Fuji. I have a whole section in my book Leaving for the Rising Sun (page 159-162) to discuss this interesting connection. Yinyuan even built a miniature Mount Fuji in his court yard to enjoy the imagined landscape in his later years. 

I will write more about this. He wrote quite a few poems about Mount Fuji and here is one of them which I selected to put in my book, which he likened himself to the "white hair" Mount Fuji. I append the Chinese version below as well. 

Us both with white hair and me old besides
facing each other we think the same thought
I would say something deep but have nothing to say
I’m relying on you to keep this going forever
(IGZS 8: 3746) 

其二
白頭以及白頭翁,兩兩相看心事同。
我欲玄談無可說,借君一脈永流通。

錄自《隱元全集》第八卷第3746頁

Viewing Mount Fuji from my hotel in Shonan 湘南, 2011, Feb. 28-March 5
This hotel is 49.93 miles (80.36 km) from Mount Fuji according to Google Map. I left Japan four days before the great earthquake and tsunami.



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