More Sarcastic Poems

More Sarcastic Poems

West Lake 西湖 in Hangzhong is a water wonderland and was once
favorite imperial retreat.

During the Song Dynasty, the notorious poet Su Dong Po 蘇軾, while
enjoying and appreciating the beauty of West Lake, wrote a poem
to embrace the glory of the scenery that so inspired him:

水光瀲灧晴方好，山色空濛雨亦奇；
欲把西湖比西子，濃妝淡抹總相宜。

The West Lake had gained a lasting charm for centuries. In the
Southern Song, this guy by the name 賈似道 gained the power
through his sister, who was the emperor’s sweetheart. He spent
the public fund and taxed money and built his own private luxury
living there, which drew wide criticism from people everywhere
including this one, who wrote a sarcastic poem:

「山外青山樓外樓，西湖歌舞幾時休，
暖風薰得遊人醉，直把杭州作汴州。」

Many years ago, while retrieving my memory of the Taipei social
scene of the 60s, I wrote an article in our NTUMC Alumni Bulletin
and modified the poem as follow:

「山外青山樓外樓，台北風氣 幾時休，
洋風薰得人人醉，硬把台州當美洲」


PS

For those who are interested in the up and down tale of “賈似道”,
please refer to the Chinese classic popular novel “古今小說”,
Chapter 22.


Yeh Tze