A Chinese Wordplay Poem on the Green Tea Box
1. One heart
2. Two tea leaves
3. Three mountain springs
4. Tomb sweeping on April Bright Festival Day
5. Tea picking at five in the afternoon
6. Six showers of leak flowers
7. Seven bowls of dew
8. Eight portions of affinity
9. Nine rounds of drinking
10. Attain the unattainable (perfect) ten, the spirit of tea
The planet is made new again every day, if we but have the freshness in ourselves to see it. That freshness may come from a friend as a cup of tea or a poem. Often, however, the gift arrives wrapped in another guise. It may come as a request for help, a criticism, a suggestion, or a demonstration. It may in extreme instances come as an attack. Or it may come simply wrapped as itself: a gift.
ReplyDeleteI think I learned that there is a Chinese tradition associating the number four with death - is that true? Is that why the tomb sweeping for number 4?
ReplyDeleteExcellent question! Here is the (hopefully not too complicated) answer:
ReplyDelete1. There is indeed a Chinese tradition associating the number 4 with death, because the Chinese character for 4, “si” (4th tone), and that for death, “si” (3rd tone) sound very similar;
2. There is at the same time another equally strong Chinese tradition associating the number 4 with safety because of the Chinese idiom “si si ping an” (4 plus 4 equal safety);
3. The Tomb Sweeping Day or Ancestors Day or Clear Bright Festival or Qingming Festival has, however, to do with neither traditions. It is celebrated according to the Chinese lunar calendar, hence can happen in March or April. In that specific year when the tea poem was written, the festival happened to come in April, thus the coincidence.
What is the reason/etymology for the idiom si si ping an?
ReplyDeleteHow would it be used?