Old Taoist

198 Pages·2000·2.64 MB·English

by  Stephen Addiss

OldTaoist
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OldTaoist
TheLife,Art,andPoetryofKodo¯jin(1865–1944)
StephenAddiss
TranslationsofandCommentaryon
ChinesePoemsby
Jonathan Chaves
WithanEssayby
J. Thomas Rimer
ColumbiaUniversityPress
NewYork
columbia university press
PublishersSince1893
NewYork
Chichester,WestSussex
Copyright(cid:1)2000ColumbiaUniversityPress
Allrightsreserved
ColumbiaUniversityPresswishestoexpressits
appreciationtoTheUniversityofRichmond,
RobertFeinberg,TheGeorgeWashington
UniversityColumbianSchoolofArtsand
Sciences,andKurtA.Gitterforassistanceinthe
publicationofthisvolume.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-Publication
Data
Addiss,Stephen,1935–
OldTaoist:thelife,art,andpoetryof
Kodo¯jin(1865–1944)/StephenAddiss:
translationsofandcommentaryonChinese
poemsbyJonathanChaves;withanessayby
J.ThomasRimer.
p. cm.
Includesindex.
isbn0–231–11656-x(cloth)
isbn0–231–11657-8(paper)
1. Fukuda,Haritsu,1865–1944.
2. Authors,Japanese—20thcentury—
Biography. I. Chaves,Jonathan.
II. Rimer,J.Thomas. III. Title.
pl806.k75z53 1999
895.6(cid:2)144—dc21 99–31836
(cid:3)(cid:1)
CaseboundeditionsofColumbiaUniversity
Pressbooksareprintedonpermanentand
durableacid-freepaper.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
p 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Dedicatedto
AudreyYoshikoSeo
and
ElizabethAnnaChaves
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Contents
PrefaceandAcknowledgments ix
1 Kodo¯jin’sLifeandArt 1
2 Kodo¯jin’sJapanesePoetry 57
3 Kodo¯jinandtheT’aoCh’ien
TraditioninKanshiPoetry 73
by jonathan chaves
4 Kodo¯jin’sChinesePoetry 89
translated by jonathan chaves
5 ANoteonKodo¯jinandtheArtand
LiteratureofHisPeriod 155
by j. thomas rimer
Epilogue 161
Notes 165
Index 171
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PrefaceandAcknowledgments
Who was Kodo¯jin, whose name means ‘‘the old Taoist,’’ and how could
such a poet-scholar-artist have survived in the modern world? Could he
reconcilemillennium-oldvalueswiththechangestakingplaceinthemod-
ernage?Whatsuccesscouldaliteratusexpect,andindeed,howmuchsuc-
cesswouldhedesire,inindustrialJapan?Dohislife,poetry,andartrepre-
sent the resiliency of an old tradition faced withnew conditionsandnew
challenges,orwashemerelyplantingflowersonadead-endroad?
Untilafewyearsago,Ibelievedthattheliteratiwayoflifehadvanished
afterthemodernizationandWesternizationofJapanthatbeganinthelate
nineteenthcentury.TomiokaTessai,usuallyconsideredthelastmajorlite-
rati artist, died in 1924, and whatever traces of bunjinga (scholar-poet
painting) remained were integrated into the broad category of nihonga
(Japanese-stylepainting).Thepersonaofapoet-sagewhodevoteshimself
tostudyoftheancients,livesquietlyandmodestly,andcreatesartprimar-
ilyforhimselfandhisfriendswouldseemtohavehadnoplaceinasociety
thatvaluedeconomicgrowthandnationalachievementaboveall.
It was therefore a considerable surprise to discover Fukuda Kodo¯jin,
who lived almost through World War II andmaintainedaliteratilifestyle
to the end of his days. He was a master not only of painting but also of
calligraphy,kanshi(Chinese-languagepoetry),andhaiku.Intheturbulent
twentiethcentury,hislifeisbestdescribedinoneofhisownquatrains:
Alastfirefly—itseemstohaveapurpose
aslateatnightitglimmersbehindmystudycurtain.
Bamboodew—theheartofautumndrips,
amomentwhenthebreeze-touchedlampisalmostextinguished.
ix