Celebrating New Sinology

&

Contra Trump

碩鼠

In The Shame of Mar-a-Lago, reproduced here with the permission of China Thought Express, the cultural critic Ren Jingjing 任晶晶 offers a commentary on Mar-a-Lago《海湖》a poem by Jianli 漸離 (Chen Li 陳力, aka 陳漸離) that was composed in the wake of the Gatsby-like party held by US President Donald J. Trump at his detached palace in Florida during Halloween 2025.

Drawing on classical Chinese literary forms and allusions in the hallowed language of moral approbation, the poet expresses his disdain for the latest burlesque display by America’s late-imperial political class. We would suggest that it behooves students of China’s increasingly global culture to familiarise themselves with the linguistic landscape and the world of traditional tropes employed by Jianli in Mar-a-Lago. You should have a passing familiarity with the pantheon of quasi-fictional sages and the gallery of political ghouls who have been a touchstone of malevolence for millennia. Important too are texts like The Book of Songs and The Analects, not to mention the infamous landmarks of historical excess like the Deer Terrace of King Zhou and Shi Chong’s Golden Valley Garden. After all, as the poet reminds us here, ‘the lessons of Yin are close at hand’ 殷鑑不遠, both for America and China.

Since first advocating New Sinology in 2005, I have encouraged students of China — be they in the PRC, Taiwan or overseas — to embrace the three main registers of traditional China, the republican era and the post-1949 party-state. I have encouraged an ecumenical approach to a Chinese world that is grounded in historical reality while also defying the spatial and temporal limitations demanded of narrow orthodoxy.

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Jianli’s poem refers to the ‘Ji clan’, one that features in Chapter Sixteen of The Analects of Confucius 《論語·季氏》and in particular to the first passage in that chapter. Upon hearing that Lord Ji, the head of the Ji clan, is planning to attack the neighbouring Zhuanyu, Confucius remarks that:

… your master is incapable of attracting people from far away, his land is racked with divisions and unrest, he cannot hold it together any longer—and yet he wants to wage war against one of his own provinces! For Lord Ji, I am afraid, the real menace does not come from Zhuanyu, it lies within the walls of his own palace.

遠人不服而不能來也；邦分崩離析而不能守也。而謀動干戈於邦內。吾恐季孫之憂，不在顓臾，而在蕭牆之內也。

This passage is summed up in the expression 禍起蕭牆 huò qǐ xiāo qiáng — ‘the real menace lurks within the walls of the palace’ and we have used it in two earlier chapters in the series Contra Trump:

• The Fourth of July 2025 & the Enemy Within; and,
• History Makes Way for a Brooklyn Baroque Catering Hall.

In keeping with the conventions of China Heritage, we have converted the Simplified Chinese Characters of the original text. Minor emendations have also been made to the translation of Ren Jingjing’s essay.

— Geremie R. Barmé
Editor, China Heritage
6 November 2025

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“Mar-a-Lago” 《海湖》

Jianli 漸離

Mar-a-Lago feasting
the Ji clan runs riot
brings no good to the realm
brings no peace to the four quarters
sycophants follow, clapping
Is there prudence or virtue?

海湖宴饗
季氏放蕩
莫惠其邦
莫綏四方
詭隨撫掌
豈謹無良？

Mar-a-Lago is foul
the Ji clan doubles its fault
brings no good to the common people
brings no peace to home and state
gluttons’ mouths, greedy tongues
courtesans piping and singing

海湖齷齪
季氏貳過
莫惠庶人
莫綏家國
饕口饞舌
商女笙歌

The people toil indeed
a gentleman’s shame
the Ji clan is mediocre
robed retinues trail along
my heart burns
I dare not follow the crowd

民亦勞止
君子之恥
季氏庸庸
衣冠扈從
我心如焚
不敢從眾

Draw the bow, draw it hard
states have their bounds
the tyrant never has enough
the lessons of Yin are close at hand
the people offer no praise
vast Heaven dawns day after day

輓弓輓強
列國有疆
獨夫無厭
殷鑒不遠
民言無嘉
昊天旦旦

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The Shame of Mar-a-Lago

— On Jianli’s “Mar-a-Lago” (《海湖》)

Ren Jingjing

海湖之耻

——评渐离《海湖》

任晶晶

5 November 2025

 

During Halloween, social media filled with clips from the lavish parties at the Mar-a-Lago estate (海湖莊園): night fell, gold chandeliers glittered above crossed glasses, a bikini-clad model reclined in an oversized champagne flute, dancers in red spun with smiles, the crowd applauded, toasted, and whooped. Outside, the world braced for storms; inside, laughter drowned out the music. Such scenes are now common online: privatized political parties, ritualized revelry, banquets centered on “leader and entourage.” Jianli’s (漸離) poem Mar-a-Lago (《海湖》) was written in this atmosphere. It uses the ancient four-character Book of Songs line to strike at the softest and most corrupt part of contemporary political life—the shamelessness and desire covered over by luxury and display.

萬聖節期間，社交平台出現多段海湖莊園豪華派對的視頻：夜幕降臨，金色吊燈下的杯光交錯，碩大的香檳酒杯里躺著搔首弄姿的比基尼美女，紅衣舞者旋轉著笑意，人群鼓掌、碰杯、起哄。外面的世界風聲正緊，而屋內的笑聲比音樂更亮。這樣的場景，如今在網絡視頻中比比皆是：私宅化的政治派對、儀式化的狂歡、以“領袖與隨從”為核心的歡宴。漸離的詩《海湖》，正是在這樣的現實氛圍中寫成。它以古老的“四言詩經體”出手，卻擊中了當代政治生活最柔軟也最腐敗的部分——那種以奢華和表演掩蓋的無恥和慾望。

A Moral Judgment Beating Like a Drum

The poem has four stanzas, each six lines, each line four characters. The rhythm is short, the phrasing regular, as if a single breath were held in the chest and each line struck. It opens with “Mar-a-Lago feasting / the Ji clan runs riot.” Space and subject are set at once: a manor that symbolizes wealth and power; a ruler sunk in private desire and performance. The lines “brings no good to the realm / brings no peace to the four quarters” repeat the negative “no,” building a pulse like drumbeat and giving the stanza the cadence of political judgment. It ends with “sycophants follow, clapping / is there prudence or virtue?”—placing the flatterer’s simper next to the ruler’s lack of character, so the stage’s merriment turns to moral desolation.

The second stanza—“Mar-a-Lago is foul / the Ji clan doubles its fault”—pulls back the gilded curtain. The noise continues; the air is already dirty. “Brings no good to the common people / brings no peace to home and state” sustains the first stanza’s structure and deepens the negation. “Gluttons’ mouths, greedy tongues / courtesans piping and singing” snaps the lens to a close-up: clinking cups, dances in bloom, every sense aroused—while government grinds to a halt, soldiers and civilians run out of rations, the nation struggles, the hungry suffer, all barred outside the gates of the Mar-a-Lago estate.

The third stanza turns to ethics: “The people toil indeed / a gentleman’s shame.” Borrowing an old line from “The Toils of the People” in the Book of Songs—Minor Odes, “Min Lao” (《詩經·小雅·民勞》)—the poet resets the definition of shame: when the people labor and the gentleman banquets, that is the greatest shame. Then come “the Ji clan is mediocre / robed retinues trail along,” a comic chain linking lord and attendants. “My heart burns / I dare not follow the crowd” is the poem’s only first-person confession. It is not a shout. It is a nail hammered in under pressure: to refuse the chorus is the courage of this moment.

The last stanza rises to history and the order of Heaven: “Draw the bow, draw it hard / states have their bounds,” a martial image for a moral limit, a reminder that power must contain itself. “The tyrant never has enough” names the root of turmoil. “The lessons of Yin are close at hand / the people speak no praise / vast Heaven dawns day after day” brings a triple closure, weighing the charge on the scales of history and Heaven. The banquet lights have not gone out, but the poem’s voice has turned to stone, carved into the conscience of civilization.

節拍如鼓的道德審判

這首詩由四章構成，每章六句，四言為度。節奏短促、斷句整齊，像一口氣憋在胸腔里，句句敲打。開篇“海湖宴饗／季氏放蕩”，立即點出空間與主語：一個象徵財富與權力的莊園，一位沈溺於私慾與表演的權者。緊接著的“莫惠其邦／莫綏四方”以重復的“莫”字形成否定的律動，如鼓聲連響，帶出政治的審判語氣。結尾“詭隨撫掌／豈謹無良”，則把“附和者”的媚態與“主位者”的無德並置，讓舞台的熱鬧變成道德的荒涼。

第二章“海湖齷齪／季氏貳過”掀開華麗的帷幕：場面依舊喧囂，空氣卻已渾濁。“莫惠庶人／莫綏家國”延續前章結構，否定在層層加深。“饕口饞舌／商女笙歌”，畫面忽然聚焦——觥籌交錯、艷舞環繞，一切感官都被調動，而政府停擺，軍民斷糧，國家掙扎，飢民痛苦，早被隔絕在海湖莊園的門外。

第三章轉向倫理焦點：“民亦勞止／君子之恥”。詩人用《小雅·民勞》的舊句，重新定義恥感：當民眾勞苦、而君子宴飲，這是最大的恥。隨後“季氏庸庸／衣冠扈從”，權貴與侍從的滑稽連線出現；“我心如焚／不敢從眾”一句，成為全詩唯一的自白。那並非激昂的吶喊，而是壓抑之下的硬釘——不隨聲附和，便是此時此地的勇氣。

最後一章拔高至歷史與天理的層面：“輓弓輓強／列國有疆”，一句以武喻理，提醒權力的自限；“獨夫無厭”，禍亂之根昭然若揭；“殷鑒不遠／民言無嘉／昊天旦旦”，三重收束，把批評推回歷史與天道的秤上。宴席的燈火未滅，但詩的聲音已變成石刻，刻在文明的良知上。

The Poem’s Imagery and Moral Progression

“Mar-a-Lago” is a place in the world and a political emblem. It names a private luxury and hints at a climate of politics drowned in private desire. Beneath the shimmer is ethical decline; beneath the applause, institutional slippage. The poet pairs “banquet” with “filth,” letting fragrance and rot coexist, light and stain share the same frame.

“Ji clan” (季氏) comes from the “Ji Shi” chapter of the Analects (《論語·季氏》): a byword for the minister who usurps ritual and spoils order. The poem uses the name to indict not only a person but a structure of complicity—virtue does not match the office, and office does not seek virtue; power turns into a tool of consumption and entertainment. “The people toil indeed” pulls the poem back to the real: ordinary people labor without end, yet are reduced to background noise in the distance. “The lessons of Yin are close at hand” and “vast Heaven dawns day after day” lift the party beyond the news cycle and into history’s mirror—humanity always seems to hold a feast as if at a rite, dancing its last dance before collapse.

The imagery is tiered: banquet → state and home → history → Heaven. Each turn deepens the critique: from extravagance to disorder, from disorder to shame, from shame to warning, from warning to law. With the fewest words, the poem completes an ascent in political ethics.

從“宴”到“恥”：詩的意象與道德遞進

“海湖”是現實中的地點，更是政治的象徵。它既指一處奢華的私產，又暗示一種被私慾淹沒的政治氣候。波光瀲灧之下，是倫理的沈淪；掌聲四起之間，是制度的失守。詩人故意把“宴饗”與“齷齪”連用，讓香與腐同在，讓光與污同框。

“季氏”來自《論語·季氏》篇，指權臣專擅、敗壞禮制之人。詩中借此稱謂，不僅批判個人，也諷刺權力系統的共謀結構——德不配位、位不思德，權力成為消費與娛樂的工具。“民亦勞止”一句，把詩拉回現實：普通人勞碌不息，卻只能做遠處的背景噪音。最後的“殷鑒不遠”“昊天旦旦”，讓這場派對不止停留在新聞層面，而升為歷史鏡像——人類總是以盛宴為祭，在覆亡前跳最後一曲。

意象的層級清晰：宴席 → 家國 → 歷史 → 天道。每一次轉折，都讓詩的批評更深一層：從奢靡到失範，從失範到恥，從恥到鑒，從鑒到法。它以極簡的語言完成了一個政治倫理的昇華過程。

I Hear the Echo of “Big Rat” (《硕鼠》)

“Big Rat” (《碩鼠》) is among the sharpest protests in the Book of Songs, the anger of the deprived—“Big rat, big rat, do not eat my millet.” The rat stands for the greed of rulers. It ends with “We shall go away,” that is, departure, leaving the order of exploitation. Jianli’s Mar-a-Lago inherits this critical spirit but reverses the direction—from leaving to standing, from “go away” to “do not follow.” The difference marks a change of times. In “Big Rat,” the powerless accuse. In Mar-a-Lago, the discerning must set limits. The former calls for exit; the latter demands standing one’s ground. The former speaks of unjust distribution; the latter, of breached boundaries. With “a gentleman’s shame,” the poet reminds modern society: when wealth and power merge, the first thing to vanish is not morality but shame. The collapse of shame means the threshold of civilization has been crossed.

In rhetoric, Mar-a-Lago is closer to an inscription than a song. There is no thicket of metaphor, only the force of declarative lines; no soft sighs, only the cadence of judgment. Compared with the “hot satire” of “Big Rat,” Mar-a-Lago is “cold judgment”—cold as a verdict, its restraint giving it greater bite. It restores to poetry a public function: not ornament, but measure.

In form, Jianli returns to the Book of Songs; in spirit, he turns to the present. With “simplicity,” he cuts away all excess. With “force,” he drives the tightening pace. With “directness,” he strikes at the core of judgment. Adjectives are scarce; nouns and verbs clash head-on. The chill of the language throws into relief the heat of the moral claim. “Sycophants follow, clapping” stands against “my heart burns”: the former is a portrait of fawning, the latter the clarity of conscience. “The lessons of Yin are close at hand / vast Heaven dawns day after day” sets history beside Heaven’s order. It is both a political warning and a philosophical end point. At that height, the poem is not only critique; it is civilization’s self-examination: why do we reenact our fall at the banquet table, again and again?

我聽到《碩鼠》的回聲

《碩鼠》是《詩經》中最具鋒芒的“討伐惡政”之作。它寫的是被剝奪者的憤怒——“碩鼠碩鼠，無食我黍”，老鼠象徵統治階層的貪婪。詩的結局是“逝將去女”，也就是“離開”，逃離剝削的秩序。漸離的《海湖》繼承了這種批判精神，卻把方向完全反轉——從逃離到立起，從“去女”到“不從”。二者的區別恰是時代的轉變。《碩鼠》的世界是無力者的控訴，《海湖》的世界則要求對有權者的限制。前者呼喚出走，後者要求堅守；前者講“分配的不公”，後者講“邊界的失守”。詩人借“君子之恥”提醒現代社會：當財富與權力合流，最先消失的不是道德，而是羞恥。恥感的崩塌，意味著文明的臨界點已被越過。

修辭上，《海湖》更接近碑文而非歌謠。它沒有比喻的繁復，只有斷語的力量；沒有溫柔的嘆息，只有審判的秩序。與《碩鼠》的“熱譏”相比，《海湖》是“冷判”——冷得像法庭宣告，卻因克制而更具穿透力。它讓詩重新承擔了公共話語的功能：不是裝飾，而是度量。

漸離在形式上回歸《詩經》，在精神上卻走向現代。他用“簡”削去一切多餘的修辭，用“猛”推動節奏的緊逼，用“直”抵達判斷的核心。全詩幾乎不見形容詞，只有動詞和名詞的硬碰硬。語言的冷峻，反襯出道德的灼熱。“詭隨撫掌”與“我心如焚”形成鮮明對照：前者是媚態的寫照，後者是清醒的自覺。“殷鑒不遠／昊天旦旦”把歷史與天理並舉，既有政治的警語，也有哲學的終點。詩到此處，不只是批評，更是一種文明的自省：人類何以一次又一次在宴席上重演墮落？

When Luxury Replaces Morality, When Applause Replaces Shame

The real images—giant champagne flutes, dancers in red, the laughter of politicians and tycoons—are footnotes to Mar-a-Lago. The scenes are familiar: in antiquity, the Deer Terrace of King Zhou of Shang (鹿台); in the Han, Shi Chong’s Jingu Garden (石崇·金谷園); today, the Mar-a-Lago estate. The form of the feast changes; the spirit of corruption runs unbroken.

“Sycophants follow, clapping” is almost film language—the applause becomes currency, the smile, coin. “Robed retinues trail along” captures the power ecology of the present: surface ceremony replaces inner cultivation. “States have their bounds” is pointed today. It names not only national borders but institutional ones. In any system, power without self-restraint breaks the civilization it rests on. The banquet shocks not for its luxury but for power’s narcissism: in a world of crisis and hardship, it can still amuse itself with laughter. This numbness to pain is a sign that political ethics are failing.

The poem’s deepest lesson is not anger but measure. True civilization is not the absence of desire; it is knowing when to stop. It is not the absence of applause; it is the refusal of applause that should never be given. First, shame is the foundation of order. When those in power delight in luxury and conformists pride themselves on applause, society enters a “shameless” phase. Shamelessness is a deeper corruption—it no longer pretends. Second, boundaries are civilization. “States have their bounds” is not only a line of defense toward others; it is the sign of self-restraint. A system that loses a sense of boundary becomes a stage for performance. Third, virtue must match office. “The Ji clan is mediocre / robed retinues trail along” exposes hollow politics—form on the outside, no spirit within. Fourth, not following the crowd is a virtue. “My heart burns / I dare not follow the crowd” looks slight, yet it is the rarest courage in modern life. It recalls the Analects: “If all hate him, examine it; if all love him, examine it.” Moral clarity often begins with refusing applause.

當奢華取代道德，當掌聲取代羞恥

現實中的宴會影像——巨瓶香檳、紅衣舞者、政客與富商的笑聲——成了《海湖》的注腳。這些場景似曾相識：古有紂王鹿台、漢有石崇金谷園、今有海湖莊園。盛宴的形式在變，精神的腐敗卻一脈相承。

詩中的“詭隨撫掌”，幾乎就是鏡頭語言的還原——掌聲成為通貨，笑容成為貨幣；“衣冠扈從”，則是當下權力生態的寫照：表面的禮儀替代了真正的修養。“列國有疆”一句在今日尤具現實意義。它不僅指國際邊界，更象徵制度的邊界。無論何種體制，權力若不知止，終將破壞其所依託的文明。盛宴之所以讓人心驚，並非因為奢華，而是因為它展現了權力的自戀：在世界危機與民生困頓的背景下，數百萬軍人和國家公務員因為政府停擺斷了薪水，不得不在風雨中排隊領取免費的晚餐，數千萬鰥寡孤獨、老弱病殘在萬聖節第二天就斷了糊口的糧食劵，他仍能載歌載舞以歡笑自娛。這種對現實痛感的麻木，正是政治倫理崩壞的徵兆。

《海湖》給人的最大啓示，不是憤怒，而是尺度。它告訴人們，真正的文明不是沒有慾望，而是知道何時該止；不是沒有掌聲，而是能拒絕不該有的掌聲。第一，恥感是秩序的基石。 當權力者以奢華為樂，當從眾者以掌聲為榮，社會便進入“無恥化”的階段。無恥是一種更深的腐敗——它不再掩飾。第二，邊界即文明。 “列國有疆”不僅是對他者的防線，更是自我克制的象徵。一個制度若失去邊界意識，最終將淪為表演的舞台。第三，德須配位。 “季氏庸庸／衣冠扈從”揭示的是空殼式政治——外有形式，內無精神。第四，不從是一種德性。 “我心如焚／不敢從眾”，看似微弱，實則是現代社會最稀缺的勇氣。它讓人想起《論語》中的那句話：“眾惡之，必察焉；眾好之，必察焉。”道德的清醒，往往從拒絕掌聲開始。

No Banquet Goes on Forever

Jianli’s Mar-a-Lago shows that a classical form can still speak a present truth. The four-character beat sits like an inscription in the reader’s mind—a bell from within civilization: when “the tyrant never has enough,” take “the lessons of Yin” as mirror; when “sycophants follow, clapping,” take “not following the crowd” as warning; when the night is darkest, trust that “vast Heaven dawns day after day.” As Little Red (小紅) says in Dream of the Red Chamber (《紅樓夢》), “You can build a long shed for a thousand li, but no banquet goes on forever.” When the feast breaks up, we learn whose suit hides a prison uniform.

Mar-a-Lago is not a news poem. It is a documentary poem of civilization. With an ancient form, it interrogates the modern. With spare language, it tears off the gilded mask. The real-world party may be a holiday spree. In the poem’s mirror, it returns to history’s cycle: from the “wine pools and meat forests” under King Zhou of Shang to the public baths of Rome, from Shi Chong’s Jingu Garden to today’s Mar-a-Lago, human extravagance and the loss of shame always begin with a feast; a politics centered on private desire and the rot of power always makes a stage of women’s bodies. When crisis surrounds us and the powerful still drown in drink and song, luxury is not a flourish; it is the omen of political decay and disaster. A manor paved with gold is a bell tolling before a polity collapses. The long history of ostentatious rule says this: when power loses its self-limits, when pleasure covers moral sense, when the extravagant banquet becomes politics’ daily routine, the end of splendor is already on its way.

盛宴之後，昊天旦旦

漸離的《海湖》讓我們看到，古典的形式仍能說出當下的真話。四言的節奏像石刻一樣，留在每個讀者心中——那是一種來自文明內部的警鐘：當“獨夫無厭”，須以“殷鑒”為鏡；當“詭隨撫掌”，須以“不從眾”為戒；當夜色最深，還須相信“昊天旦旦”。還是《紅樓夢》里的小紅說得好，“千里搭長棚，沒有不散的宴席”。宴席散去，我們才知道誰的西裝下面穿著囚服。

《海湖》不是一首新聞詩，而是一首文明的紀實詩。它用古體對現代進行審訊，用簡潔的語言揭開華麗的面具。現實中的宴會，也許只是一次節日狂歡，但在詩的鏡面里，它被推回歷史的循環：從殷紂的酒池肉林到羅馬的公共浴場，從石崇的金谷園到今日的海湖莊園，人類的驕奢與恥感的消失，總以盛宴為序曲；以私慾為中心的政治生態和權力腐化，總以美女為舞台。當社會危機四伏，權貴仍沈醉於宴飲與聲色，奢華背後是政治衰敗與災難的預兆。一個以黃金鋪就的莊園，是一個政治文明坍塌前的警鐘。歷史循環的奢靡政治告訴我們：當權力失去制衡，當道德被享樂掩蓋，當奢侈的宴會變成政治的日常操作，繁華的終局就悄然到來矣。

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Source:

• Ren Jingjing, The Shame of Mar-a-Lago — On Jianli’s “Mar-a-Lago” (《海湖》), China Thought Express, 5 November 2025

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