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HomeChinese Classical LiteratureChen Chiju: Sketches by the Little Window ~ 陈继儒《幽窗小记》 with English Translations

Chen Chiju: Sketches by the Little Window ~ 陈继儒《幽窗小记》 with English Translations

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《幽窗小记》又名《醉古堂剑扫》作者是明朝的陈继儒。《幽窗小记》中最著名的一句是“宠辱不惊,闲看庭前花开花落。去留无意,漫随天外云卷云舒。”陈继儒今存著,除《小窗幽记》外,尚有《见闻录》、《六合同春》、《陈眉公诗余》、《虎荟》、《眉公杂著》等。

《幽窗小记》(节选)

陈继儒

赏花须结豪友,观妓须结淡友,登山须结逸友,泛舟须结旷友,对月须结冷友,待雪须结艳友,捉酒须结韵友。

法饮宜舒,放饮宜雅,病饮宜小,愁饮宜醉;春饮宜庭,夏饮宜郊,秋饮宜舟,冬饮宜室,夜饮宜月。

凡醉各有所宜:醉花宜昼,袭其光也;醉雪宜夜,清其思也;醉得意宜唱,宣其和也;醉将离宜击钵,壮其神也;醉文人宜谨节奏,畏其侮也;醉俊人宜益觥盂加旗帜,助其烈也;醉楼宜暑,资其清也;醉水宜秋;泛其爽也。此皆审其宜,考其景;反之,则失饮矣。

吾斋之中,不尚虚礼。凡入此斋,均为知己。随分款留,忘形笑语,不言是非,不侈荣利,闲谈古今,静玩山水,清茶好酒,以适幽趣。臭味之交,如斯而已。

月夜焚香,古桐三弄,便觉万虑都忘,妄想尽绝。试看香是何味?烟是何色?穿窗之白是何影?指下之馀是何音?恬然乐之,而悠然忘之者是何趣?不可思量处是何境?

凡静室,须前栽碧梧,后种翠竹;前檐放步,北用暗窗;春冬闭之,以避风雨;夏秋可开,以通凉爽。然碧梧之趣,春冬落叶,以舒负喧融和之乐;夏秋交荫,以蔽炎烁蒸烈之威。

Sketches by the Little Window

Chen Chiju

For enjoying flowers, one must secure nonchalant friends. For going to sing-song houses to have a look at the girls, one must secure quiet or mild-tempered friends. For going up a high mountain, one must secure romantic friends. For boating, one must secure friends with an expansive nature. For looking at the moon, one must secure friends with a cool philosophy. For anticipating snow, one must secure beautiful friends. For a wine party, one must secure friends with flavor and charm.

Formal drinking should be slow and leisurely, while unrestrained drinking, elegant and romantic. A sick person should drink a very small quantity, while a sad person should drink so much as to get drunk. Drinking in the spring should take place in a courtyard, in summer in the outskirts of a city, in autumn on a boat, and in winter in the house, and at night it should be enjoyed in the presence of the moon.

There is a proper time and place for getting drunk. One should get drunk in the company of flowers during the day, in order to assimilate their light and colour; and one should get drunk in the company of snow at night, in order to clear one’s thoughts. A man getting drunk when happy at success should sing, in order to harmonize his spirit; and a man getting drunk at a farewell party should strike an earthen pot in order to strengthen his spirit. A drunken scholar should be careful in his conduct, so that humiliations can be avoided; and a drunken military man should order gallons and put up more flags, so that his military splendour can be increased. Drinking in a tower should take place in summer, in order to profit from the cool atmosphere; and drinking in a boat on the water should take place in autumn, in order to increase the sense of elated freedom. These are proper ways of drinking in respect of mood and scenery, and to violate these rules is to miss the pleasure of drinking.

In my studio, all formalities will be abolished, and only the most intimate friends will be admitted. They will be treated with good or bad fare such as I have, and will chat and laugh together and forget our own existence. We will never discuss the right and wrong of other people and will be totally indifferent to worldly glory and wealth. In our leisure we will discuss the ancients and the moderns; and in our quiet, we will enjoy the sceneries of the mountains and rivers. Then we will have thin, clear tea and good wine to fit into the atmosphere of delightful seclusion. That is my conception of the pleasure of intimate friendship.

We burn incense on a moonlit night and play three stanzas on the ch’in, and immediately the myriad worries of our breast are banished and all our foolish ambitions or desires are forgotten. We will then inquire, what is the fragrance of this incense, what is the colour of the smoke, what are the white streams of light darting in through the window, what is this sound that arises from below my fingertips, what is this enjoyment which makes us so quietly happy and so forgetful of everything else, and what is the condition of the infinite universe?

For a quiet studio, one should have some green wut’ung trees in front and some emerald bamboos behind. On the south of the house the eaves will stretch boldly forward, while on the north side there will be a paneless window, which can be closed in spring and winter to shelter one from wind and rain, and opened in summer and autumn for ventilation. The beauty of the wut’ung tree is that all its leaves fall off in spring and winter, thus admitting us to the full enjoyment of the sun’s warmth, while in summer and autumn its shade protects us from the scorching heat.

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