I recently read Ha Jin’s original “The Banished Immortal: A Life of Li Bai” on my parents’ recommendation. It is a biography of the most legendary Chinese poet in history written by a Chinese author……in English. It is also the first book about literature and history that I read in a while, and it sparked a lot of thoughts.
Ha Jin is a very unique author. I don’t know that much about him yet. All I know is his original name is Xuefei Jin, and he is from Liaoning (northeast China). He joined the People’s Liberation Army when he was young, and studied abroad in the US. Although Chinese is his native language, most of his books were written in English. Some of them were translated back to Chinese, and published in China and Taiwan. He won many prestigious awards in literature in the US, and he is currently a Professor of English at Boston University. I found his achievements particularly commendable because he mainly writes in his second language. In “The Banished Immortal,” he showed his perfect command over the English language while writing about one of the greatest Chinese poets ever. If it weren’t for the profound Chinese culture heritage between the lines, I would have forgotten that he is a Chinese writer.
I am usually reluctant to read Chinese literature in English. I have tried to read “Dream of the Red Chamber” (also known as “The Story of the Stone”), “Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain,” and “Legends of the Condor Heroes,” but I never got past the first chapter because so much is lost in translation. The differences between the English and Chinese languages are just too large to bridge. While I admire the translators’ courage and determination, I am always disappointed at the outcome. “The Banished Immortal” is different. It was written in English in the first place instead of translated from Chinese. While Ha Jin’s translations of Li Bai’s poems did not fully capture their spirits and beauty, they are actually quite reasonable. The biography itself also flows very smoothly. Therefore, “The Banished Immortal” became the very first Chinese literature book written in English that I read from start to finish. (I hope to read more of Ha Jin’s books and learn more about his literature world in the future. Perhaps this will help with my own amateur writing too.)
After reading this book, I felt like I finally got to know Li Bai for the very first time in my life – the true, genuine Li Bai. I have read and memorized numerous Li Bai’s poems since I was a kid, and I absolutely love these poems. What we have been taught about him in school is also mostly positive: romantic, free-spirited, incredibly talented, and handsome. While he was repeatedly relegated by the imperial court, that was because he was the “banished immortal” – he did not belong to this earthly world to begin with. The summer after I graduated from high school, I read “Li Bai in the Human World,” a historical novel written by Li Yue. In this book, Li Bai’s image is much richer and fuller than what I learned from textbooks. I started to see some of Li Bai’s flaws and brashness behind his extraordinary talents. However, since this book is a novel rather than a biography, Li Bai still feels more or less like a legend.
“The Banished Immortal” is a relatively realistic biography. Ha Jin referenced a lot of historical materials to paint out the life of Li Bai. He also weaved many of Li Bai’s most well-known poems into his major life events to help readers understand the context of these famous pieces. For example, almost all Chinese-speaking school kids know Li Bai’s “Reflection in a Quiet Night” by heart. (This poem was featured on a set of stamps commemorating World Poetry Day by the United Nations Postal Administration in 2015.) On the surface, Li Bai is simply expressing his homesickness. In reality, he was trapped in Yangzhou and struggling with a major setback. His money ran out, he fell ill, and none of the officials he tried to meet appreciated his talents. He thought of his family in Sichuan, and he was too embarrassed to go home because he was unable to realize his ambitions. Feeling desperate, he composed this poem, which turned out to be one of his most famous pieces. “Ascending the Phoenix Terrace in Jinling” originated from a rivalry that lasted for over twenty years. Li Bai went to the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan in his twenties, and was awestruck by Cui Hao’s poem “Yellow Crane Tower.” At that time, Li Bai knew he could not produce a poem as good as Cui’s, so he did not write anything, but he felt challenged and took it to his heart. After twenty years of ups and downs, he finally grew to excel in any form of poetry, and surpassed Cui Hao’s “Yellow Crane Tower” by artistry and historical dimensions with “Ascending the Phoenix Terrace in Jinling.” Finally, “Leaving Baidi Town in the Morning” was not only a poem about traveling swiftly. Back then, Li Bai was banished to Yelang by Emperor Suzong because he joined Prince Yong (Li Lin)’s rebellious camp. It took him two months to go up the Three Gorges and arrive at Baidi Town, only to find out the Emperor granted amnesty to all exiled convicts. Overjoyed, he boarded a boat back down the Three Gorges immediately and wrote this poem. After knowing more about the context, Li Bia’s ecstatic after all his sufferings became that much livelier.
After reading this book, I finally understood what the poems I have memorized since childhood were really about. In fact, as I read more books, I started to notice that the contents in our textbooks, especially subjects that are heavily affected by ideology such as history and Chinese, were extremely simplified. If I really want to have a deep understanding of my culture and history, I have to bypass what was given to me by the government and the media. Instead, I will have to take the time to search for the right materials and read them.
When I was reading this book, it was not as uplifting and hearty as I expected. Rather, I sensed quite a bit of depression and disgruntlement. In this book, Li Bai’s most common emotion is his restlessness arises from his failure at becoming a government official, which in turn led to a series of intoxication and wandering. Li Bai’s contemporaries thought “his brush starts to inscribe, arousing wind and rain, and his poems can make ghosts and gods weep.” However, he did not have the practical knowledge and experience necessary to govern. His “A Grand Essay for my Dynasty,” while beautifully written, is void and theoretical, and lacks practical contents. Hs was also perceived as being overly confident and reckless by government officials, lacking the people skills required to succeed in the court. Therefore, while he was talented and ambitious, thinking of himself as a great roc soaring all over the sky, he kept failing at seeking a post in the government. In fact, not only Li Bai, many of the most renowned poets and writers in Chinese history, such as Chu Yuan, Han Yu, Su Shi, and Xin Qiji …etc., shared very similar experience – while they were all remarkably talented, they had little success in the Emperor’s court. I guess part of this is due to the traditional Chinese social hierarchy, where government officials were ranked well above farmers, workers, and merchants. Therefore, becoming a government official seemed to be the only path for educated people. These poets left us with masterpieces that move readers for hundreds and thousands of years, but most of them did not have the practical experience required to govern, nor the people skills necessary to balance different parties of interest in the officialdom. Becoming a government official was probably not the best career path for them, but the time that they were in did not give them too many other choices. Therefore, they had to keep trying to seek governmental positions under societal pressure, and either kept failing or getting banished repeatedly. Even up until now, we still have similar societal expectations and framework. For example, in Taiwan, people’s obsession with medical schools and becoming civil servants doesn’t seem to be too different from the obsession with becoming government officials in the Tang Dynasty. Thankfully, our society is more open than the Tang Dynasty, and people have more options. As long as one can break away from the existing framework, one still has a good chance to live a fulfilling life. While Li Bai seemed free-spirited and never stopped trying to become a Daoist xian (immortal), he never truly broke free from the societal shackles of him time, which did not give him that many other options.
Although I am somehow disillusioned after reading “The Banished Immortal,” I finally feel like I get to know Li Bai as a person. He used to feel like a genius and a legend that is out of reach, but this book makes him a real person with human emotions and struggles. This is the first Chinese biography and literature history that I read in a while. When I was young, I used to read the historical novels we had at home like there was no tomorrow. Schoolwork got busier after I started junior high school, but I still managed to read several biographies (and every single one of Jin Yong’s novels.) In high school, I barely had any time for pleasure reading, but I made up for it during the summer before I went to Northwestern. (I read “Li Bai in the Human World”, “The Story of Cao Cao” and many other books during this time.) After I came to the US, I pretty much had no time to read about Chinese literature and history because I have been busy getting used to the new language, new culture, as well as learning specialized knowledge. I occasionally still read poems and articles that used to deeply touch me on the internet. However, it’s hard to imagine the girl who used to spend all her time outside of school reading historical novels has not read history and literature for almost a decade. After reading “The Banished Immortal,” I think I should be more systematic about reading history and literature because my language and my culture is the closest connection between me and my hometown. For my next book, should I read a novel by Ha Jin, or go buy a biography of Su Shi from book.com.tw?
最近在爸爸媽媽的推薦下，我讀了哈金原文（英文）的《通天之路：李白傳》。我已經好久沒有讀文史相關的書籍了，這次讀了一本中國作家以英文寫作的中國傳奇詩人傳記，我的思潮起伏，難以自已。
哈金是一位很特別的作家。我現在對他的認識還不算深入，只知道他本名金雪飛，是遼寧人。他年輕時曾經加入中國人民解放軍，後來到美國留學，雖然他的母語是中文，但是他大部分的作品都是以英文寫成，他許多的小說又被翻回了中文，在大陸和台灣出版。他現在在波士頓大學擔任英文文學教授，也獲得了許多美國重量級的文學獎。哈金主要以非母語寫作，能在英文文壇獲得如此地為實屬難能可貴。這次透過《通天之路》認識了哈金，他用英文寫李白，對文字的掌握純熟無比，若非字裡行間流露出深厚的中國文化底蘊，我幾乎忘了他是中國人。
我一般來說很排斥讀英文寫的中文文學，我曾經試圖讀過英譯版的《紅樓夢》、《雪山飛狐》、《射雕英雄傳》，但是通常連第一章都讀不完，因為中西文化、語言的巨大差異，即便我敬佩譯者的勇氣與毅力，翻譯出的結果總覺得不倫不類，講直白一點，就是毀了我心目中的經典。這次讀哈金的《通天之路》，雖然還是無法翻出李白許多詩句的神韻和美感，但是大部分的詩意還是有到位，而且傳記的部分十分寫實流暢，所以這本書成了我第一本從頭到尾讀完、以英文寫作的中文文學歷史。（以後我希望多讀幾本哈金的小說、多認識哈金的文學世界，說不定日後我的業餘寫作也會有所進益。）
讀了這本書，我突然感覺這輩子第一次認識李白——真真正正、有血有肉的李白。我從小到大讀過、背過李白的絕句古詩樂府無數，他的詩句總是深深打動我的心，而且學校課本中的李白的形象近乎完美：浪漫灑脫、天縱奇才、氣宇軒昂，雖然一輩子屢遭貶謫，但那也是因爲他是謫仙，人間本來就不是屬於他的地方。高中畢業那年，我讀了李約的《人間李白》，書中李白的形象比課本裡的豐滿了許多，我看到了一些李白不世出的才華背後
的困頓與缺陷，但是因為這是本歷史小說而非傳記，所以李白還是有幾分「浪跡江南江北的天上謫仙人」的傳奇色彩。
哈金的《通天之路》是本寫實道地的傳記，以歷史考據的手法闡述了李白一生的故事，史實間也穿插著李白的詩文，讓讀者能更深入了解李白寫下這些千古絕唱的時空背景。比方說，小學生都琅琅上口的《靜夜思》，表面上只是一首表達思鄉情懷的絕句，其實李白當時正旅居揚州，碰到了人生中的瓶頸——盤纏用盡、無人賞識、身患重病，身處困境中，他想起了四川的家人以及他們對他的殷殷期許，在萬念俱灰之下才寫下了這首《靜夜思》。《登金陵鳳凰臺》其實是源於在李白心中一段歷時二十多年的「競爭」。李白在二十出頭時初登黃鶴樓時，看到了崔顥的《黃鶴樓》，自認無法寫出超越崔顥的詩句而未在黃鶴樓題詩，並對此事耿耿於懷。經歷了二十多年的漂泊與跌宕，李白終於以這首詩，在藝術和歷史感方面都超越了崔顥的《黃鶴樓》。而《早發白帝城》，寫的不僅僅是旅途的輕快，而是李白在被流放夜郎後，花了兩個月溯長江而上過了三峽抵達白帝城，喜出望外地收到唐肅宗的特赦，馬上掉頭沿長江而下的雀躍歡欣。在理解了這些前因後果之後，李白詩中那種歷盡千辛後的喜悅與舒暢就顯得更鮮活了。
讀了這本書，我終於明白許多從小就背得滾瓜爛熟的詩句究竟在寫什麼了。其實越長越大書讀越多，就會發現以前課本裡的內容都十分簡化，尤其是受到意識形態影響嚴重的國文和歷史科，所以要真的要對自己的文化和歷史有深入的認識，就要繞過政府和媒體斷章取義的內容，自己下功夫了解歷史事實。
讀這本書時，感受到的並非原本想像中「人生得意須盡歡，莫使金樽空對月」的酣暢淋漓，而使充滿了「蜀道之難，難於上青天，側身西望長咨嗟」的抑鬱和嘆惋。李白在書中最常表現的情緒就是因為仕途不順而引起的焦躁不安，引發了一連串的大醉和漂泊。在李白同時期的人眼中，他雖然有「筆落驚天地，詩成泣鬼神」的文才，但是他所提出的治世理論卻流於空泛、紙上談兵，所以並不是經世治國的良材，再加上他率性任真、不通事故的個性，以至於他雖然滿腔報國的雄心壯志，卻在求官的過程中四處碰壁。其實不只是李白，中國歷史上許多偉大的文人，如屈原、韓愈、蘇東坡、辛棄疾……等等，仕途不順、屢遭貶謫的不勝枚舉。我猜，有一部分的原因大概是中國古代「士農工商」的階級和「十年寒窗無人問，一舉成名天下知」的價值觀作祟。這些文人筆下的詩文永垂不朽，但是大多卻沒有治理國家所需要的實戰經驗，也沒有官場上所需要的圓融周到。官場或許真的不是最適合他們的出路，但是在社會的壓力下，他們只能不斷地嘗試求官，然後一次又一次的遭受貶謫之苦。其實就算到了現在，我們的社會還是沒有跳脫這樣的框架——台灣社會對於醫學系和公務員的執念，和唐代文人對於仕途的執念又有什麼不同呢？只是我們比李白幸運，我們的社會比唐代更開放、選擇更多，只要能跳脫框架，還是有機會活出自己的一片天。李白雖然看似灑脫不羈、四處求仙訪道，但是他的內心卻未真正擺脫世俗的枷鎖，或許也是因為他的時代並沒有給他更多選擇的機會。
《通天之路》讓我真正認識了李白。雖然有種對偶像幻想破滅的遺憾，但這位以往高不可攀、神龍見首不見尾的「詩仙」，卻從未像此刻在我眼前如此真實地展現，讓我相信他是位情感豐沛、有血有肉的真人，也讓我一下子覺得和他的距離拉近了。這是多年來我讀的第一本中國歷史人物傳記。想當年，我小學時幾乎是飢渴地讀著家裡每一本歷史小說；國中課業雖然變繁忙了，但是我還是斷斷續續看了好幾本傳記（還有全套金庸小說）；上了高中後鮮少有時間看課外讀物，但是出國前的那個暑假，我硬是把三年中沒看的書都補看了（《人間李白》和《曹操大傳》都是這段時間看完的）。出國之後，為了要適應美國的語言環境和學習更專精的學問，幾乎再也沒有看文史相關的書籍了。我偶爾還是會上網看看那些曾經讓我心神激盪的詩詞、重溫中國文學帶給我的感動，但是很難想像小學時那個把所有的課餘時間都拿來讀歷史小說的小女孩，已經好多年沒有好好讀文學和歷史了。看完這本書，我認為我在閱讀專業領域和勵志的書籍之外，應該要更有系統性地抽出時間來讀文史，因為我的文化是我和我的家鄉最緊密的牽連。下一本書，我是應該再讀哈金的另一本小說，或是上博客來買一本蘇東坡的傳記呢？