From The Taiji Handbook

Abstract

from The Taiji Handbook Dan Ying (bio) Translated by Julia C. Lin (bio) 3. a single whip With a soft whip in handlet the black stallionhead eastwardand kick upa trail ofscenery 6. parry and punch with back step A thoughtforms a straight lineand rises atop the headelbowslike sunkened moons Right palm to the leftleft palm to the rightHa! watch the fist A spasm of chest paincaught by nightmare 7. step forward as if blocked and sealed No emptinessno substanceseems realseems illusory [End Page 191] breath after a return to the Cinnabar Fieldtopples mountains, overturns oceansand covers tighton ancient ruinsthat heapwith desolate smoke 9. punch fist under elbow Please listenbefore I make an offering ofthe last Buddhain the ruined templeI musttransform my palm into a fist 11. push down the palm and fly sideways One twist of the bodythe back is shaped intoa huge standing bannerthat greets the windleft and right wrists intertwineoutside the small peaceful and quiet bellya tuberoseslowly opens its blossom You seemed stunnedand I’ve boarded the wheel of wind and firethe moving breathlike the Nine Twists pearlrises sidewaysheads for the southeast constellation [End Page 192] 12. raise your left and right hands In the South there are foesin the North there are sworn enemieshow do I with my two handssplit openwithin 360 degreesthis flashing blade and the shadow of my swordthen bend one kneeto kneel before the shrineand set myself afire? 1982 [End Page 193] Dan Ying Dan Ying was born in Perak and educated in Malaysia, Taiwan, and the United States; she has lived in Singapore since the seventies. She is the author of five volumes of poetry, including Poems of Taiji and Time Passing Through My Hair. Her literary prizes include two National Book Development Council of Singapore Awards for poetry, the 1995 Southeast Asian Write Award, and the 1996 Cultural Medallion. She is a founding member of the May Poetry Society. Julia C. Lin Julia C. Lin (1928–2013) was Emeritus Professor of English at Ohio University, where she taught English and Asian literature. Her publications include Modern Chinese Poetry: An Introduction (1972), Essays on Contemorary Chinese Poetry (1985), and Women of the Red Plain: An Anthology of Chinese Women’s Poetry in Modern China (1993). Copyright © 2014 University of Hawai‘i Press