Graham Sanders (he/him)
@gmsprof.bsky.social
Professor of classical Chinese literature at the University of Toronto, among other pursuits.
若復不為無益之事則安能悅有涯之生？“Without trivial pursuits, how can we enjoy a life that must end?”
若復不為無益之事則安能悅有涯之生？“Without trivial pursuits, how can we enjoy a life that must end?”
We are all, ultimately, alone and vulnerable in the vastness of natural forces, seeking refuge in a circle of light, and finding comfort in reaching out to others who share that experience with us. In the closing couplet, Han Yu asks, “How is it that...?”—his poem is an answer to that question.
October 18, 2025 at 9:23 PM
We are all, ultimately, alone and vulnerable in the vastness of natural forces, seeking refuge in a circle of light, and finding comfort in reaching out to others who share that experience with us. In the closing couplet, Han Yu asks, “How is it that...?”—his poem is an answer to that question.
I think it is the mark of great art that it repays whatever amount of effort you put into interpreting it. This poem speaks to what we used to call the “human condition”. It is what the kids these days call “relatable”.
October 18, 2025 at 9:23 PM
I think it is the mark of great art that it repays whatever amount of effort you put into interpreting it. This poem speaks to what we used to call the “human condition”. It is what the kids these days call “relatable”.
The closing couplet switches register to a conversational tone, as the poem moves from the world of a lone consciousness in nature to communication between two fellow travelers, who find themselves reminded of how far they are from the security of home.
October 18, 2025 at 9:23 PM
The closing couplet switches register to a conversational tone, as the poem moves from the world of a lone consciousness in nature to communication between two fellow travelers, who find themselves reminded of how far they are from the security of home.
The lamp inside produces a gentle and comforting vision with its warm halo of light, small and circumscribed; the rain in the fading darkness outside impinges on that interior, vulnerable coziness with a feeling of vast and implacable cold.
October 18, 2025 at 9:23 PM
The lamp inside produces a gentle and comforting vision with its warm halo of light, small and circumscribed; the rain in the fading darkness outside impinges on that interior, vulnerable coziness with a feeling of vast and implacable cold.
The ensuing line of this parallel couplet juxtaposes “night fading” and “dream awakening” as two related time markers, and the “lamp emitting a halo” with “the rain bringing a chill” as two descriptions of inanimate (are they?) objects performing actions.
October 18, 2025 at 9:23 PM
The ensuing line of this parallel couplet juxtaposes “night fading” and “dream awakening” as two related time markers, and the “lamp emitting a halo” with “the rain bringing a chill” as two descriptions of inanimate (are they?) objects performing actions.
When Han Yu rouses from his dreamy, hypnagogic state, the tumultuous, moonlit visions in his mind’s eye are replaced by the serene image of a dim lamp casting a halo of light in his room.
October 18, 2025 at 9:23 PM
When Han Yu rouses from his dreamy, hypnagogic state, the tumultuous, moonlit visions in his mind’s eye are replaced by the serene image of a dim lamp casting a halo of light in his room.
The froth on the whitecaps could appear to be flakes of frost buoyed up by the water. In the dreamscape of his imagination, sky and river merge, liquid and frozen water coexist—everything is mixed up and in motion.
October 18, 2025 at 9:23 PM
The froth on the whitecaps could appear to be flakes of frost buoyed up by the water. In the dreamscape of his imagination, sky and river merge, liquid and frozen water coexist—everything is mixed up and in motion.
The POV switches in the second couplet from inside/auditory to outside/visual in the eye of Han Yu’s mind. Imagining what the rushing water looks like under the bright moon, the light playing across the currents could be mistaken for reflected streaks of lightning.
October 18, 2025 at 9:23 PM
The POV switches in the second couplet from inside/auditory to outside/visual in the eye of Han Yu’s mind. Imagining what the rushing water looks like under the bright moon, the light playing across the currents could be mistaken for reflected streaks of lightning.
The second line takes us inside to the human perceiver, Han Yu in bed, listening to the sound of the rushing water outside, first ebbing away, then rising again in an endless cycle. The natural world is oblivious of him, time flows on unceasin; his own life is a small current in that larger flow.
October 18, 2025 at 9:23 PM
The second line takes us inside to the human perceiver, Han Yu in bed, listening to the sound of the rushing water outside, first ebbing away, then rising again in an endless cycle. The natural world is oblivious of him, time flows on unceasin; his own life is a small current in that larger flow.
The first line of the poem opens with doubled reduplicative compounds that do not so much describe the torrent of water outside where Han Yu is sleeping as capture it in language that mimics the unending flow itself, its persistence and power.
October 18, 2025 at 9:23 PM
The first line of the poem opens with doubled reduplicative compounds that do not so much describe the torrent of water outside where Han Yu is sleeping as capture it in language that mimics the unending flow itself, its persistence and power.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this poem since I translated it. It is a short, powerful snapshot of a perceiving mind away from home. (Han Yu was moved around a lot because of the vicissitudes of his political career.)
October 18, 2025 at 9:23 PM
I’ve been thinking a lot about this poem since I translated it. It is a short, powerful snapshot of a perceiving mind away from home. (Han Yu was moved around a lot because of the vicissitudes of his political career.)
Useful. Thanks!
March 2, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Useful. Thanks!
Oops. That cocktail picture came out blurry. Here is a better version...
February 25, 2025 at 3:51 AM
Oops. That cocktail picture came out blurry. Here is a better version...
BONUS FALLACY
And the prize for most widespread and profoundly damaging fallacy goes to...
21/20. Correlation Equals Causation
It does not.
And the prize for most widespread and profoundly damaging fallacy goes to...
21/20. Correlation Equals Causation
It does not.
February 24, 2025 at 6:20 AM
BONUS FALLACY
And the prize for most widespread and profoundly damaging fallacy goes to...
21/20. Correlation Equals Causation
It does not.
And the prize for most widespread and profoundly damaging fallacy goes to...
21/20. Correlation Equals Causation
It does not.
20/20. Poisoning the Well
Presenting information in a way that is intended to discredit or undermine an argument, rather than addressing the argument itself.
Presenting information in a way that is intended to discredit or undermine an argument, rather than addressing the argument itself.
February 24, 2025 at 6:20 AM
20/20. Poisoning the Well
Presenting information in a way that is intended to discredit or undermine an argument, rather than addressing the argument itself.
Presenting information in a way that is intended to discredit or undermine an argument, rather than addressing the argument itself.
19/20. Appeal to Consequences
Arguing that a statement is true or false based on its consequences, rather than its actual truth or falsity.
Arguing that a statement is true or false based on its consequences, rather than its actual truth or falsity.
February 24, 2025 at 6:20 AM
19/20. Appeal to Consequences
Arguing that a statement is true or false based on its consequences, rather than its actual truth or falsity.
Arguing that a statement is true or false based on its consequences, rather than its actual truth or falsity.
18/20. Shifting Burden of Proof
Shifting the burden of proof from one party to another, often unfairly.
Shifting the burden of proof from one party to another, often unfairly.
February 24, 2025 at 6:20 AM
18/20. Shifting Burden of Proof
Shifting the burden of proof from one party to another, often unfairly.
Shifting the burden of proof from one party to another, often unfairly.
17/20. Appeal to Ignorance
Assuming that because something has not been proven false, it must be true.
Assuming that because something has not been proven false, it must be true.
February 24, 2025 at 6:20 AM
17/20. Appeal to Ignorance
Assuming that because something has not been proven false, it must be true.
Assuming that because something has not been proven false, it must be true.
16/20. Appeal to Tradition
Arguing that a practice or belief is valid because it has been done a certain way for a long time.
Arguing that a practice or belief is valid because it has been done a certain way for a long time.
February 24, 2025 at 6:20 AM
16/20. Appeal to Tradition
Arguing that a practice or belief is valid because it has been done a certain way for a long time.
Arguing that a practice or belief is valid because it has been done a certain way for a long time.
15/20. Narrow Definition
Defining a term or concept so narrowly that it excludes counterexamples that actually exist.
Defining a term or concept so narrowly that it excludes counterexamples that actually exist.
February 24, 2025 at 6:20 AM
15/20. Narrow Definition
Defining a term or concept so narrowly that it excludes counterexamples that actually exist.
Defining a term or concept so narrowly that it excludes counterexamples that actually exist.
14/20. Equivocation
Using ambiguous language to obscure or distort the meaning of an argument.
Using ambiguous language to obscure or distort the meaning of an argument.
February 24, 2025 at 6:20 AM
14/20. Equivocation
Using ambiguous language to obscure or distort the meaning of an argument.
Using ambiguous language to obscure or distort the meaning of an argument.