Swallows and wild geese, carefree and content, fly away with clouds from the
west shore of Lake Tai. Several cloudy mountains agree with each other to bring
rain at sunset. As I stand by the 4th bridge, I wish to live next to
Tian-sui 2. What am I dreaming of? While I lean against the banister to recall
ancient stories, the sparse willow branches dance, each to its own rhythm.
1
Xiao-Zhang and Bai-shi were Kui Jiang’s other first names. He was a native
of Fan-yang City. His ancestors came from Tian-shi City. His seventh generation
ancestor, Pan, taught at Rao City in the beginning of the Song dynasty. Later,
he moved to Jiangxi province. Kui Jiang’s father, E, passed the Advanced Exam in
1160 A.D. and became the Mayor of Han-yang City. He died while he was still the
mayor. Kui had followed his father as he traveled between Mian City and E City
for almost twenty years. During the Chun-xi Period (1174 A.D.-1187 A.D.), he
traveled to Hunan Province and met De-zao Xiao from Ming-qing City (of Fu-jian
Province). De-zao was skilful at poetry. He, Wan-li Yang, Cheng-da Fan, You Lu
and Mao You were equally famous poets. After meeting Jiang, Xiao said that only
after forty years of writing poetry was he able to find this congenial friend.
Xiao married the daughter of his elder brother to Jiang. Jiang brought her to Hu
City and lived there. By the recommendation of Wan-li Yang, Jiang met Cheng-da
Fan at Su City. Fan thought Jiang's poetry and character were like those of
refined scholars in the Jin and Song dynasties. Jiang learned from Fan some
ancient songs, invented new tunes, and then composed melodies for Jiang's two
poems: "Hidden Fragrance" and "Sparse Shadows". The tune was clear and
harmonious. Jiang used to live next to a white stone cave at Xu-kang City in Wu-xing
County. Consequently, he called himself Taoist White Stone. Later, he traveled
between Su City and Song City and loved to compare himself to Hermit Gui Lu. At
that time celebrities like Yao Lou, Shi Ye, Tang Jing, and Shen-pu Xie all
befriended him. Xi Zhu loved Jiang's skill in liturgy. Qi-ji Xin admired Jiang's
poetry. In 1197 A.D., Jiang presented two essays "Grand Music" and "The History
of the Zither and Harp" to the emperor. These essays discussed the gain and loss
of poetry, music and musical instruments. The emperor sent Jiang's essays to the
Royal Academy for evaluation. The scholars were jealous of Jiang's talent, so
his work did not gain the Academy's recommendation. In 1199 A.D. Jiang presented
twelve movements of "Military Music of the Great Song Dynasty" to the emperor.
The emperor broke rules to exempt him and gave him the opportunity to attend the
Palace Exam. Jiang failed the exam, so he never received any government position
during his lifetime. Later, he died by the Western Lake. Jiang looked so thin
and weak that it seemed he should not be able to bear the weight of his
clothing. He was so poor that he did not have any real estate. However, he never
ate a meal without a friend beside him. His collection of books and works of
calligraphy could fill a house and make cattle sweat to carry them. Yan Zhang
compared Jiang's poetry to a wild cloud flying alone: it comes and goes without
leaving a trace. Sheng Huang said in the area of Jiang's expertise, even Bang-yan
Zhou paled in comparison. Jiang wrote a poem first and then composed music to
complement it. Seventeen of his attached scores have been passed down to the
present day as his legacy. They united the poetry and music of the Song dynasty.