What We Can Learn From Orchids

Number 22 from The Journey by Marissa Bridge

What does an orchid teach us about life?  The painting above is from a series called The Journey by the artist Marissa Bridge.  The series follows the growth of an orchid over the course of budding, blossoming and senescence.   While orchids aesthetically appeal to us thanks to their delicate bilateral symmetry, this series of paintings explores another level of beauty in the orchid plant over the passage of time.  The sequence of images reveals a temporal balance as buds form, blossoms strive for their moment of perfection and then give way to fresh buds.  It’s remarkable work and I’ve learned a tremendous amount from watching the series of paintings take shape over the last few years, which I have had a chance to observe up close and first hand, since Marissa happens to be my wife.

Three paintings from the series will be on display for the first time at the Southampton Cultural Center’s 2014 juried art show.  We're very excited about going to the opening this coming Saturday, September 13^th where we plan to celebrate with friends.  You can also see more of the paintings from the series on Marissa’s web site here:  http://www.marissabridge.com 

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Number 21 from The Journey by Marissa Bridge

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Not only do orchids provide an inspiration for Marissa's current work - they also happen to be a recurring theme in Chinese poetry.  To help celebrate the first public display of Marissa’s new series, here is my translation of a poem from the Gan Yu cycle by Chen Z’iang, one of the lesser known masters of the early Tang period.   

The orchids birthed
Through spring
And summer both
Such luxuriant growth
How can leaf
Be so green

Hidden and alone
In the forest remote
The vermillion flowers
Hang from a purplish stem

Slowly absorbing
The light as the
Daytime fades
And with the first hint
Of autumn’s wind
The blossoms reach
Their fullest extent
Falling as the stem trembles

A sudden fragrance
Released that
No one expected

感遇 其二


兰若生春夏
芊蔚何青青
幽独空林色
朱蕤冒紫茎
迟迟白日晚
嫋嫋秋风生 

岁华尽摇落
芳意竟何成

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Translator’s note:

The Gan Yu is a truly remarkable collection of poems written by Chen Z'iang along his life's way during the late 7th century. These poems are almost completely unknown to Western readers. Chen Z'iang is from the early Tang period with a lifespan thought to have run from 656 or 661 to 702. According to our friend Steve Zhang, Chen is not even well known or widely read in China today, his work having fallen into obscurity due to the long shadows cast by the great Tang poets who followed. (We owe many thanks to Professor Jonathan Stalling for calling our attention to Chen's poems in his excellent collection of essays, The Poetics of Emptiness.)  There is much about these poems we find wonderful. They are steeped in Daoism and imbued with mystery but at the same time the poet's voice remains quite distinct and accessible.

You can read more of our translations of classic Chinese poetry by clicking here to subscribe to our free email newsletter - The Tang Spirit.