苦芛賦 Knowledge of the better bamboo

【作者介紹】

黃庭堅，字魯直，號涪翁，又號山谷，分寧人。生於宋仁宗慶曆五年，卒於徽宗崇寧四年，享年六十一歲。為江詩西派的領袖人物，更是東坡的好友。門人諡曰「文節先生」。魯直自幼聰穎，讀書幾可過目不忘。蘇東坡曾見其詩文，以為超軼絕塵，為蘇門四學士之一。舉進士，官至起居舍人，但因黨爭之故，先後被眨謫至黔州、涪州、鄂州，最後客死宜州。忠賢而不得志，這點和東坡相同，實在可惜。書亦為北宋四大家之一。

Inside Story

Huang Tingchien liked bitter bamboos and he wrote this article to joke about himself. He knew that bitter bamboo was very bitter, but there was something delicious about the food. He implied that those who remonstrated to the emperor and recommended descent officers to manage administration were just like bitter bamboo. Bitter bamboo was a good appetizer and a delicacy. Although Suchuan people do not eat bitter bamboo, they believed bitter bamboo triggered out hidden illness inside human body. Huang Tingchien ignored and kept eating bitter bamboo. In the end of the writing, he applied Li Pai’s poem to describe the fun of eating bitter bamboo. Saying that it was merely enjoyed by those who understood, and there was no need explaining to those who did not.