The Gay Genius Preface

I. Words and express

1. A vivid personality is always an enigma. There had to be one Su Tungpo, but there could not be two.

enigma  someone or something that is strange and difficult to understand.

“There had to be one Su Tungpo, but there could not be two.” 苏东坡此人，不可无一，难得有二。

2. He wielded his pen almost as if it were a toy. He could be whimsical or dignified, playful or serious.

wield   挥舞、运用

whimsical  unusual or strange and often amusing

dignified    庄重、高贵

3. When sorrow came and misfortune fell, he accepted them with a smile.

sorrow came and misfortune fell. came和fell两个动词的搭配非常巧妙

4. Out of the Buddhist faith to annihilate life, the Confucian faith to live it, and the Taoist faith to simplify it, a new amalgam was formed in the crucible of the poet's mind and perceptions.

annihilate    to destroy something or someone completely.

amalgam    a mixture of different things

crucible    严酷的考验

5. As with charm in women and beauty and fragrance in flowers, it is easier to feel it than to tell what elements it is composed of. 

正如女子的魅力与花朵的美好与香味，易于感受，难以表达。

II. Thoughts

正如序言首句“There is really no reasons for my writing the life of Su Tongpo except that I want to do it”，林语堂笔下的苏东坡，尽管不乏对史实的考证，但实际上是高度个人化的苏东坡，而非史传中的苏东坡。比如林语堂对老苏的佛教信仰与道教信仰的理解，实际上，老苏身上的儒释道合一有其复杂性，很难将其泾渭分明的划分为道教徒或佛教徒。尽管老苏曾修内丹养生之术，也抄经礼佛，且与佛印、道潜、仲殊等僧人往来密切，但老苏之所以是老苏，在于他将儒学、道家与佛教融贯一体，其处世内圣外王，其诗文亦庄亦禅。正是因为思想的复杂性，造就了老苏精神境界的超然于旷达，这才是老苏魅力所在。