Ballad of the Old Cypress
In front of K’ung-ming Shrine
stands an old cypress,
With branches like green bronze
and roots like granite;
Its hoary bark, far round,
glistens with raindrops,
And blueblack hues, high up,
blend in with Heaven’s:
Long ago Statesman, King
kept Time’s appointment,
But still this standing tree has men’s devotion;
United with the mists
of ghostly gorges,
Through which the moon brings cold
from snowy mountains.
(I recall near my hut
on Brocade River
Another Shrine is shared by
King and Statesman
On civil, ancient plains
with stately cypress:
The paint there now is dim,
windows shutterless. . .)
Wide, wide though writhing roots
maintain its station,
Far, far in lonely heights,
many’s the tempest
When its hold is the strength
of Divine Wisdom
And straightness by the work of the Creator. . .
Yet if a crumbling Hall
needed a rooftree, Yoked herds would, turning heads,
balk at this mountain:
By art still unexposed all have admired it;
But axe though not refused,
who could transport it?
How can its bitter core deny ants lodging,
All the while scented boughs
give Phoenix housing?
Oh, ambitious unknowns,
sigh no more sadly:
Using timber as big
was never easy!
The First thing that came to mind when I began reading this poem was the large white tree in the middle of the palace court in Lord of the Rings. So untouched by the rulers of its time, it stands alone and proud for all to see. Trees have a tendency to represent wisdom and knowledge, and this Old cypress is no different. “With branches like green bronze and roots like granite;” This tree cannot be touched or moved. The cypress holds the strength of Divine Wisdom, so tall into the heavens it stands alone. Stronger and more powerful than the rulers, kings and men who gave devotion to the tree there is still a sense of unknowing-ness about the tree, “Oh, ambitions unknown, sigh no more sadly: Using timber as big was never easy.”
Monistic religious views relate to a higher power and knowledge of being; a state of understanding. this tree untouched in such lonesomeness and hierarchy represents this idea of being one with nature and the higher power which can only be obtained through meditation: ” men’s devotion.” Though I can’t quite squeeze a meaning out of the last line, ‘Using timber as big was never easy!’
