The Other China
翩然而去
Lao Shu 老樹 is the nom de plume of Liu Shuyong (劉樹勇, 1962-), a Beijing-based artist, writer, critic and professor in communications. His artistic voice is unique and personal, its tenor, whimsy and profundity evoke what for decades we have called The Other China — a cultural noosphere that is as undeniably local as it is universal.
All of the works in this selection can be found in Lao Shu’s Weibo account, 老樹畫畫.
The Chinese rubric of this selection of Lao Shu’s work — 翩然而去 piān rán ér qù — is a reference to the suicide note left by the celebrated romantic writer Chiung Yao 瓊瑤 on 4 December 2024.
— Geremie R. Barmé
Editor, China Heritage
10 December 2024
***
Lao Shu in China Heritage :
Autumnal Hues Fill My Courtyard
Paintings and poetry by Lao Shu
translated by Geremie R. Barmé
Autumn gusts travel from the fields
Delivering yellowing leaves to home
At peace in my pavilion I’m here
With a fat cat sleeping by my side.
— Lao Shu, autumn, Jiachen Year of the Dragon
***
到處紛爭。
萬種思緒，
一剪秋風。
Strife everywhere
My mind a jumble
An autumn wind
cuts though it all
— Lao Shu
***
Winter will soon be upon us.
How, then, to stave off the chill?
Eat and put some meat on your bones
then you can hibernate behind
Closed Doors
— Lao Shu, late autumn, Year of the Dragon
***
When can such a wayward traveller
Ever truly chance upon someone?
From my retreat beyond the Dusty World
In retrospect the city seems full of blossoms.
— Shu
***
Even before ‘Frost Descends’
Snow is suddenly falling.
If the cold weather is so early,
How’ll I cope with the winter?
— Lao Shu, late autumn, Year of the Dragon
* ‘Frost Descends’ 霜降 is one of the twenty-four solar phases in the traditional calendar. It begins around 23 October 23 and ends around 7 November. — Ed.
***
Buoyed initially by
boundless enthusiasm
certain of the significance
of the project at hand.
Then, as soon as it’s all over,
You reflect: Is that all there is?
That fleeting sense of pleasure
gives way to boundless melancholy.
— Lao Shu
[*Note*: See also Only ever one step away — Lao Shu’s travels in time and space, 16 October 2024.]
***
It’s been a truly hectic time
and I’m feeling completely drained.
Work trips, one after another, and
constant boozing with buddies.
I tried to keep it in check,
but always ended up completely fried.
Back in my nest at home even now
I feel the alcohol is still in my system.
I promise I’ll turn over a new leaf:
Gotta keep my health and treasure life.
If I really want to live a few more years,
I can’t just piss it all away like this.
— Lao Shu, autumn, Year of the Dragon
***
Fist tightly clenched, swearing
An oath to liberate all humankind
Red Flags of victory fluttering worldwide.
Now I’m best by the years
And suffer from the ‘Three Highs’,*
Bored and sick of it all.
I snuggle with my dosette box,
keeping track of all my medications.
— Lao Shu, an ink-wash painting, early autumn, Year of the Dragon
* The ‘Three Highs’ 三高 are: high blood pressure, high blood sugar and hyperlipidemia. — Ed.
***
今日是個週末，
獨自湖上呆坐。
忽然一陣風起，
黃葉如花飄落。
It’s the weekend today
and I’m alone by the lake.
Suddenly, a gust of wind scatters
the autumnal leaves like petals.
— posted by Lao Shu on 3 November 2024
***
The tourists have left for the day
and dusk is blanketing the desert.
At that very moment of quiet and still
they appear, like the fins of passing sharks.
Recording a sighting of Iron-back Fish at Crescent Lake, Dunhuang,
after a summer shower in the Year of the Dragon.
— Lao Shu, painting as if recording a dream
***
晨起幾分寒意，
冬天已經到來。
心中一意簡淨，
總會等到花開。
It’s chilly when I get up
winter really is here.
But, I’m clear in my mind and
am waiting for those future blossoms
— posted by Lao Shu on 15 November 2024
***
人們說起戰爭，
彷彿離得很遠。
各種解讀分析，
貌似還挺悠閒。
其實環顧左右，
子彈就在眼前。
想想我們心裡，
早已炮火連天。
People talk about war
As though it’s some distant thing.
All the commentators and their analysis
have a leisurely tone, they’re bloodless.
But just take a look around,
Bullets are right in front of us.
Think about the sense we have of things:
It’s though war has already engulfed us.
***
It’s devilishly cold, this world, a chill
that goes right to the heart of things.
Lying drunk riverside
best to enjoy the setting sun.
This painting reflected my state of mind during the early winter last year. When I happened upon again while rifling through my old work, I realised it also pretty much accords with how I’m feeling now and I’ve added some lines to it in a rather lackadaisical fashion.
— Lao Shu
***
Another year is all but gone,
more of the same old boring stuff.
Sitting alone by the river
I’ll focus on these plum blossoms.
In the Guimao Year of the Rabbit [early 2023-early 2024] the economy was in a slump and people were anxious about the future. One sleepless night, I got up and made this painting.
— Lao Shu
***
樹 shù. Source: 張遷碑