The two literary works under consideration are the poem The Everlasting Regret by Bai Juyi-Yi and the play The Autumn of the Lustrous Emperor of Tang: Rain on the Wutong Tree by the famous Chinese playwright Bai Pu. Both works cover the life of a Chinese Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, namely, his personal and political life sides that are being affected by the love affair. Moreover, these readings give us a marvelous opportunity to learn a thousand years old Chinese legend ‘from inside’ presented in two somewhat opposite ways. The legend covered with secrets and mysticism tells us a story about Yang Guifei who was the wife of the son of emperor Xuanzong, who has afterwards made her own wife and the beloved consort. Also, we get to know that the emperor sacrificed her life for the sake of his troops’ dispersion as they blamed Yang and her cousin in betrayal rebellion. The emperor then ordered to take his concubine to the shrine and strangle her. The most interesting fact is that Japanese consider her to have survived the death. There were the rumors that she had fled to Japan, took another name, and lived happily. In China people still bring flowers to her statue because she is considered to be a national legend.
However, it has to be mentioned that the keynote of both of the works – emperor’s personal life – is regarded differently in the two written works. The poem itself gives a much more sensitive and full of love presentation of the main character’s love than the play does. Moreover, when reading The Autumn of the Lustrous Emperor of Tang: Rain on the Wutong Tree somehow, the feeling of disgrace arouses in your subconsciousness. The reason for that is representing the emperor as an old seducer. However, thisis how women were percepted in early ages in China: ‘…as sensul, sexual, and sometimes sentimental creatures’ (Hsieh. 10). As a matter of fact, Yang Guifei, the beloved one, was at the same time his daughter-in-law, being married to the emperor’s son, and being several decades younger.
Of course, the debates about what seduction is can long forever. The only reasonable argument for that would be the laws of the country the issue took place in. However, the prisoner of the incestuous lust was the actual head of empire, so there was nobody to blame him in anything. Though still this very issue is extremely debatable, especially in the contemporary society.
Probably the tone of the works depends on the date of their creation. As such, The Everlasting Regret poem was composed in the 806th year. Therefore, I tend to admit that the former governing of an emperor (8 September 685 – 3 May 762) was the main reason to give the poem a tone it has. Meaning, it is much more gentle and has a greater part of glorifying the actual feeling of love disregarding the events that go along with it in the play. Reading the poem you can hardly call the emperor a seducer and the feeling cannot be called an obsession. The entire story line is described so vividly and in such an affectionate tone and word combinations that you undoubtedly change your opinion of this historical figure to the better one if the first work to read was the play The Autumn of the Lustrous Emperor of Tang: Rain on the Wutong Tree.
Of course, the length of the works under consideration is significantly different but, hopefully, this is not the reason for the poem’s being so romantic and lacking the historical events, whereas the play, on the contrary, has many of those.
Bai Pu made his work so explicitly historical in order to show the actual life and political work of the emperor. The story line shows the downfall of the ruling dynasty well. Evidently, the plot is stirring around the historical events in order to show how people of those times expressed sincere sympathy with emperor’s grief, though considered him to be an awful head of empire. This may change the readers’ view on the moral judgments implied about the protagonists because here the main purpose of the author is to show the damage brought by such an irresponsible behavior of the consort and flagrant disregard for national affairs by the emperor.
Besides, the way the death of Yang Guifei is presented in The Autumn of the Lustrous Emperor of Tang: Rain on the Wutong Tree is completely different from the poem’s scene. It is much more brutal. It is described that people trample down the Yang Guifei’s body who has committed a suicide after the emperor’s command since she and her cousin were the betrayers. It has to be mentioned here that the characters really do gain completely different images and the reader truly changes the impression of a loving couple that both suffer from a tragic love. However, if we regard this situation deeper, then it is to be said that Chinese Emperor Xuanzong of Tang forces this situation to develop the way it did, hence he is the one to be blamed and is not worthy of sympathy. Nevertheless, he still remains a victim of such history development because he happens to be a prisoner of a situation and own rank.
While the poem The Everlasting Regret is completely opposite – the liaison is depicted romantically. The crucial edge of the story’s description about the emperor and his beloved consort is a romantically and tragically developing plot. There are no explicit reflections of war events or the strategies. The poem’s prior goal is celebrating the love of two variously aged people in the most enchanting and sorrow way and glorifying a thousand year old legend about one of the four beauties of China.
So, comparing the two different works about the same historical events, I can definitely say the approaches of the authors to love and political events are completely different. Being romantic to the utmost Bai Ju-Yi stresses the feeling of love itself in his poem, and, of course, the fact of emperor’s sorrow, regret and self-reproach, while the play is a clear blaming the emperor of the empire’s downfall. Moreover, The Autumn of the Lustrous Emperor of Tang: Rain on the Wutong Tree explicitly shows the author’s disapproval of the concubine as she was the reason to the country’s devastation which subsequently led to the revolt.
One of the major differences between the two works under consideration is the romantic narration of the first and completely severe facts facing of the second. Hence, it is to be noticed that the actual life of the lass has been colorfully described for the sake of full understanding of the historical value of the play. Namely, the author tells us how the sisters of Yang and her cousin were promoted according to the West: ‘… my brother Yang Guozhong has been made a Prime Minister and three of mu sisters have been made ladies with patents…’ (120) which serves a good foreword to the further events of rebellion and the suspense of Yang’s guilt.
In contrast, it is admirable how the author describes the sorrow of the emperor after the concubine’s death in the poem. According to Bai Ju-Yi: “…Viewing the moon in the temporary palace escalated sadness. Hearing wind charms in rainy nights deepened brokenheartedness.” (Sun, 7). Interesting how the author depicts the heaven and the hell in the poem, which leads the reader to total sympathy for the emperor: “…Floating in the mist that no one could see. Adorned towers rose above five-colored clouds,…” (Sun, 11)
Though the play is more of a historical heritage, the love between the emperor and his lady is also shown in a pretty affectionate manner: “My consort, I will end this life with you in old age, and after our hundred years is done, we shall be husband and wife through all ages of eternity” (West 126)– is the vow the emperor was ready to give to Yang Guifei. Besides, the delivery of lichee is depicted especially amorously: “My consort, you love to eat this fruit, so I have especially ordered that they be brought to court as they ripen” (West 129.)
The poem does not reflect anything about the author’s age and the political intrigues going on around him, whereas the play has much of it: “The Lustrous Emperor of Tang is now old and senile, so Yang Guozhong and … can easily manipulate the court administration” (West 127), which is a good proof of the author being blameful of Yang Guifei of her collusion to entertain the emperor until his state’s downfall.
So, in order to make a good conclusion, let me sum it all up. The two Chinese literary heritage works speak on the same favorite topic of the Chinese nation – the legend of Yang Guifei – the emperor’s mistress and beloved concubine. Though telling the same story, the poem is a romantic representation of it, while the play is an extended description of emperor’s inevitably mistaken love affair.
Whereas the poem does not reveal any specific historical details of the rebellion, betrayal, and Yang’s death, the play has it all in much extent. Along with the incestuously developing relations, the emperor obtain completely different image within the Yang’s death scene rather than it was described in the poem. In case the poem was read first, we get to know that the emperor actually gave a command to hang his consort with a silken cord disregarding his utmost love for her. Hence, the cruel scenes are somewhat toughly written. As for the scenes of love, the poem hold only romantic vision of those; and the play is more erotically depicted. These all bring a new understanding and the view of the moral beliefs implied about the Chinese Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and his consort.
Bibliography
Hsieh, D. Love and Women in Early Chinese Fiction (Academic Monographs on Chinese Literature). The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2008. Print.
Sun, Y.The Song of Everlasting Regret.Poems of tang dynasty. 2008.
West, S. N., Idema, W. L. Monks, bandits, lovers, and immortals: eleven early Chinese plays. Hackett Publishing Company, 2010. Print.