Chinese Lyrical Poetry Scroll
Poetry by scholars Qu Dajun (1630-1696) and Pan Youdu (1755-1820)
Written by Zhang Wenqin
A gift to Salem State University from Guangzhou University (2014)
Zhuzhici is a Chinese lyrical poetry style that has a paired 7+7 character couplet structure (7,7;7,7.). These structured poems were developed by Tang Dynasty classic scholar, Liu Yuxim in southern China. These original folk songs were taught to young children.
There are 2 poems in the scroll, both written by famous Chinese scholars. The first poem by 屈大圴（Qu, Dajun 1630-1696) is part of his observations during his travels. The second author, 潘有度（Pan, Youdu 1755-1820) was a hong merchant, one of the main appointed officers who oversaw the trading deals in the booming textile industry. Hong merchants acted as exclusive liaisons between British and Indian traders and the Chinese. Maritime trading during this period changed and expanded rapidly after trade restrictions were relaxed by the Qin Dynasty’s Kangxi Emperor. A special cross-shaped trading channel was established. Many friendly relationships were formed between the Chinese and Western merchants.
作者 (author)： 屈大圴（Qu, Dajun)
詞名 (Writing style) ：。竹枝詞(Zhuzhi poem)
洋船爭出是官商: Trading business ships are making official transactions
十字門開向二洋: Going out to sea through the official Cross Gate
五絲八絲廣緞好*: Both silk and satin are good materials for trade
* Descriptions for different silk weaves that were highly valued: 五絲：silk of five warp and weft threads, 八絲 ：silk of eight warp and weft threads
廣緞: satin
銀錢堆滿十三行**: Profits for the company from trading and the coins are piling up
** 十三行： In 1757 (during the Qing dynasty (1636-1912), importing and exporting was concentrated in Guangsaokou (廣州）with a total of 13 major companies.
Money was in coin form at the time.
十字錢多是大官: Officers are richer
官兵枉向澳門盤: More eagerly rushed to Macau to trade
東西洋貨先呈樣: First step is to select which items will be traded from the samples
白黑番奴擁白丹: Foreigners came with beautiful jewelry
作者 (author)：潘有度（Pan, Youdu)
西洋雜詠: This is a poem written to summarize the observations of how foreigners conduct their daily life activities.
繾綣閨闡祗一妻: In the boudoir with one lovely wife
猶如㪯案與眉育: They are so in love
婚姻自擇無媒妁: Their marriage was by choice without matchmaker
同懺天堂佛國西: They believe in heaven together
十字門中十字開: They pray to enter through the heavenly cross gate
花王廟裡証西來: Pray for blessings in the temple
祈風日日鐘聲㥯: Hope for trade winds every day
千里梯航瞬回: Thousands of miles of flight back in an instant
More on Hong merchants: https://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/heard/canton-trade.html