seven
This character refers to the number seven. Seven was widely used in ancient Chinese culture and was generally considered a propitious number.
七步之才
qī bù zhī cái
Qi is “seven” while bu refers to “step.” Zhi is “of” and cai means “talent.” It first refers to creating a poem with seven steps, and is used to describe somebody’s quickness in wit and dexterity in literary creativity.
This old saying is derived from a story that dates back to the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280). Cao Zhi (192- 232) was a prince of the state of Cao Wei and an accomplished poet as well. After he failed in a power struggle for the crown against his brother Cao Pi (187-226), he was ordered to make a poem within the time required for taking seven steps, or his bitter brother would execute him. Cao Zhi recited the famous poem, “Written While Taken Seven Paces”: “They were boiling beans on a beanstalk fire;/ Came a plaintive voice from the pot,/ ‘O why, since we sprang from the selfsame root,/ Should you kill me with anger hot?’” Moved by the poem, Cao Pi let his brother go.
七月七日长生殿
qī yuè qī rì cháng shēng diàn
Qi yue refers to “July” while qi ri means “the seventh day.” Chang sheng dian is the “Long Life Hall.” This is a verse of the famous poem “Chang Hen Ge,” also known as “The Everlasting Regret,” written by the Tang poet Bai Juyi (772-846). “On seventh day of seventh moon when none was near,/ At midnight in Long Life Hall he whispered in her ear, / ‘On high, we’d be two lovebirds flying wing to wing;/ On earth, two trees with branches twined from spring to spring.’” The poem centers on the love story of Li Longji, the Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (685-762) and his concubine Yang Yuhuan (719-756). Li neglected the affairs of state in his eagerness for the love for Yang. During the An Lushan Rebellion, as Li and his cortege were fleeing from the capital, his guards demanded that he put Yang to death. After doing so, Li was in perpetual grief and trapped in his memories. This verse is a snapshot of the days with Yang that he recalled. Yang serves as a source of inspiration for numerous works of literature, either as the author of misfortune or as a scapegoat.
(edited by REN GUANHONG)