THE CAT DISAPPROVES

Somehow I feel that the cat disapproves of the entire cock-up humanity has made of things. And please note: the cat is figmantary, he doesn't actually exist. He (or she) is a ghost feline that lurks in my apartment during the dark hours before dawn, when I catch glimpses through half-closed hours of the beast either on my computer desk -- where I have four crystal wine glasses from a friend years ago, which are not knocked over -- or the high shelves near the Chinese classics. Which I should reread; Mencius has words about misrule and tyrants.

What I'm actually rereading is the Three Hundred Poems Of The Tang Dynasty Period (唐詩三百首 'tong si saam paak sau'), which was compiled by the retired scholar of Heng Tang (蘅塘退士 'hang tong teui si') two and a half centuries ago. A standard collection of the poems written over a millenium ago during one of the golden ages. Even if you are not in school, it should be required reading.

I'm fairly sure the ghost cat approves of that.
He wants you to improve yourself.

Seriously.

Your pig's breakfast displeases him. Her.

The reason I know he's a ghost cat is that this place does not smell of cat pee, and those crystal wine glasses have not been pushed onto the floor. Quod erat demonstrandum.

There are also no rats or mice here. Nor ghost rats or mice.


Which brings Lu You's poetic ode to his cat slaughtering all of them to mind.


鼠屢敗吾書偶得狸奴捕殺無虛日群鼠幾空為賦
['sue leui paai ng sue ngau tak lei nou bou saat mou heui yat kwan sue kei hung wai fu.']

服役無人自炷香，狸奴乃肯伴禪房。書眠共藉床敷暖，夜坐同聞漏鼓長。
['Fuk yik mou yan ji jue heung， lei nou naai hang pun sim fong. Sue min gung jik chong fu nuen, ye jo tung man lau gu jeung.']
賈勇遂能空鼠穴，策勳何止履胡腸。魚餮雖薄真無愧，不向花間捕蝶忙。
['gaa yung seui nang hung sue yuet， chaak fan ho ji lei wu cheung. yue tit seui pok jan mou kwai, pat heung faa gaan pou dip mong.']


Pararaphrasis:
The rodents have often destroyed my books, but at times, having acquired a cat, the feline hunts them down and kills them all, the multitude of pests is quite gone, a dedicatory verse:

By myself in the study with none to light the incense, but my cat is with me and shares my couch, together we listen to the steady leak. He has hunted the mice and skillfully dealt with them, he does not sneer at the humble meat or fish, nor does he waste his efforts on chasing butterflies among the flowers.


I'm probably going to have to redo that paraphrasing at some point. It's clutzy and doesn't flow well, nor does it translate as well as it should. Later, after lunch and errands.



==========================================================================
NOTE: Readers may contact me directly:
LETTER BOX.
All correspondence will be kept in confidence.
==========================================================================