Ah, but how
difficult
to find the way!
Amy Lowell - Chinese Poets
Shang Ti does not look favourably upon us.
This waste and ruin of the Earth--
If my body alone might endure it!
Already the drought is terrible beyond expression!
I cannot evade the responsibility of it.
I am afraid--afraid; I feel in peril--I feel in peril,
As when one hears the clap of thunder and the roll of thunder.
Of the remnant of the black-haired people of Chou
There will not be left so much as half a man.
Ruler over the high, wide Heavens,
Even I shall not be spared.
Why should I not be terrified
Since the ancestral sacrifices will be ended?
Already the drought is terrible beyond expression!
The consequences of it cannot be prevented.
Scorching--scorching!
Blazing--blazing!
No living place is left to me.
The Great Decree of Fate is near its end.
There is none to look up to; none whose counsel I might ask.
The many great officials, the upright men of ancient days,
Cannot advise me in regard to these consequences.
My father, my mother, my remote ancestors,
How can you endure this which has befallen me?
Already the drought is terrible beyond expression!
Parched and scoured the hills, the streams.
Drought, the Demon of Drought, has caused these ravages,
Like a burning fire which consumes everything.
My heart is shrivelled with the heat;
Sorrow rises from the heart as smoke from fire.
The many great officials, the upright men of ancient days,
Do not listen to me.
Ruler of the high, wide Heavens,
Permit that I retire to obscurity.
Already the drought is terrible beyond expression!
I strive, and force myself in vain.
I dread that which will come.
How--why--should I bear this madness of drought?
I suffer not to know the reason for it.
I offered the yearly sacrifices for full crops in good time.
I neglected not one of the Spirits of the Four Quarters of the Earth.
The Ruler of the high, wide Heavens
Does not even consider me.
I have worshipped and reverenced the bright gods,
They should not be dissatisfied or angry with me.
Already the drought is terrible beyond expression!
Everything is in confusion; all authority is gone;
My officials are reduced to extremity.
My Chief Minister is afflicted with a continuing illness.
My Master of the Horse, my Commander of the Guards,
My Steward, my attendants of the Right and of the Left,
Not one among them has failed to try and help the people,
Not one has given up because powerless.
I raise my head and look at the Ruler of the wide, bright Heavens.
I cry: 'Why must I suffer such grief! '
I look upwards. I gaze at the wide, bright Heavens,
There are little stars twinkling, even those stars.
My officers and the great men of my country,
You have wrought sincerely and without gain.
The Great Decree is near its end.
Do not abandon what you have partly accomplished,
Your prayers are not for me alone,
But to guard the people and those who watch over them from calamity.
I look upwards. I gaze at the wide, bright Heavens.
When shall I receive the favour of rest? "
TO THE AIR: "THE FALLEN LEAVES AND THE PLAINTIVE CICADA"
BY THE EMPEROR WU OF HAN
There is no rustle of silken sleeves,
Dust gathers in the Jade Courtyard.
The empty houses are cold, still, without sound.
The leaves fall and lie upon the bars of doorway after doorway.
I long for the Most Beautiful One; how can I attain my desire?
Pain bursts my heart. There is no peace.
WRITTEN IN EARLY AUTUMN AT THE POOL OF SPRINKLING WATER
BY CHAO TI OF HAN, THE "BRIGHT EMPEROR"
In Autumn, when the landscape is clear, to float over the wide,
water ripples,
To pick the water-chestnut and the lotus-flower with a quick, light
hand!
The fresh wind is cool, we start singing to the movement of the
oars.
The clouds are bright; they part before the light of dawn; the moon
has sunk below the Silver River.
Enjoying such pleasure for ten thousand years--
Could one consider it too much?
PROCLAIMING THE JOY OF CERTAIN HOURS
BY THE EMPEROR LING OF (LATER) HAN
Cool wind rising. Sun sparkling on the wide canal.
Pink lotuses, bent down by day, spread open at night.
There is too much pleasure; a day cannot contain it.
Clear sounds of strings, smooth flowing notes of flageolets--we sing
the "Jade Love-Bird" song.
A thousand years? Ten thousand? Nothing could exceed such delight.
A SONG OF GRIEF
BY PAN CHIEH-YÜ
Glazed silk, newly cut, smooth, glittering, white,
As white, as clear, even as frost and snow.
Perfectly fashioned into a fan,
Round, round, like the brilliant moon,
Treasured in my Lord's sleeve, taken out, put in--
Wave it, shake it, and a little wind flies from it.
How often I fear the Autumn Season's coming
And the fierce, cold wind which scatters the blazing heat.
Discarded, passed by, laid in a box alone;
Such a little time, and the thing of love cast off.
A LETTER OF THANKS FOR PRECIOUS PEARLS BESTOWED BY ONE ABOVE
BY CHIANG TS'AI-P'IN
(THE "PLUM-BLOSSOM" CONCUBINE OF THE EMPEROR MING HUANG)
It is long--long--since my two eyebrows were painted like
cassia-leaves.
I have ended the adorning of myself. My tears soak my dress of
coarse red silk.
All day I sit in the Palace of the High Gate. I do not wash; I do
not comb my hair.
How can precious pearls soothe so desolate a grief.
DANCING
BY YANG KUEI-FEI
(THE "WHITE POPLAR" IMPERIAL CONCUBINE OF THE EMPEROR MING HUANG)
Wide sleeves sway.
Scents,
Sweet scents
Incessantly coming.
It is red lilies,
Lotus lilies,
Floating up,
And up,
Out of Autumn mist.
Thin clouds
Puffed,
Fluttered,
Blown on a rippling wind
Through a mountain pass.
Young willow shoots
Touching,
Brushing,
The water
Of the garden pool.
SONGS OF THE COURTESANS
(WRITTEN DURING THE LIANG DYNASTY)
ONE OF THE "SONGS OF THE TEN REQUESTS"
BY TING LIU NIANG
My skirt is cut out of peacock silk,
Red and green shine together, they are also opposed.
It dazzles like the gold-chequered skin of the scaly dragon.
Clearly so odd and lovely a thing must be admired.
My Lord himself knows well the size.
I beg thee, my Lover, give me a girdle.
AI AI THINKS OF THE MAN SHE LOVES
How often must I pass the moonlight nights alone?
I gaze far--far--for the Seven Scents Chariot.
My girdle drops because my waist is shrunken.
The golden hairpins of my disordered head-dress are all askew.
SENT TO HER LOVER YÜAN AT HO NAN (SOUTH OF THE RIVER) BY CHANG PI LAN
(JADE-GREEN ORCHID) FROM HU PEI (NORTH OF THE LAKE)
My Lover is like the tree-peony of Lo Yang.
I, unworthy, like the common willows of Wu Ch'ang.
Both places love the Spring wind.
When shall we hold each other's hands again?
CH'IN, THE "FIRE-BIRD WITH PLUMAGE WHITE AS JADE," LONGS FOR HER LOVER
Incessant the buzzing of insects beyond the orchid curtain.
The moon flings slanting shadows from the pepper-trees across the
courtyard.
Pity the girl of the flowery house,
Who is not equal to the blossoms
Of Lo Yang.
THE GREAT HO RIVER
BY THE MOTHER OF THE LORD OF SUNG
(FROM "THE BOOK OF ODES")
Who says the Ho is wide?
Why one little reed can bridge it.
Who says that Sung is far?
I stand on tiptoe and see it.
Who says the Ho is wide?
Why the smallest boat cannot enter.
Who says that Sung is far?
It takes not a morning to reach it.
WRITTEN PICTURES
AN EVENING MEETING
The night is the colour of Spring mists.
The lamp-flower falls.
And the flame bursts out brightly.
In the midst of the disorder of the dressing-table
Lies a black eye-stone.
As she dances,
A golden hairpin drops to the ground.
She peeps over her fan,
Arch, coquettish, welcoming his arrival.
Then suddenly striking the strings of her table-lute,
She sings--
But what is the rain of Sorceress Gorge
Doing by the shore of the Western Sea?
LI HAI-KU, 19th Century
THE EMPEROR'S RETURN FROM A JOURNEY TO THE SOUTH
Like a saint, he comes,
The Most Noble.
In his lacquered state chariot
He awes the hundred living things.
He is clouded with the purple smoke of incense,
A round umbrella
Protects the Son of Heaven.
Exquisite is the beauty
Of the two-edged swords,
Of the chariots,
Of the star-embroidered shoes of the attendants.
The Sun and Moon fans are borne before him,
And he is preceded by sharp spears
And the blowing brightness of innumerable flags.
The Spring wind proclaims the Emperor's return,
Binding the ten thousand districts together
In a chorded harmony of Peace and Satisfaction,
So that the white-haired old men and the multitudes rejoice,
And I wish to add my ode
In praise of perfect peace.
WÊN CHÊNG-MING, 16th Century
ON SEEING THE PORTRAIT OF A BEAUTIFUL CONCUBINE
Fine rain,
Spring mud
Slippery as bean curds.
In a rose-red flash, she approaches--
Beautiful, sparkling like wine;
Tottering as though overcome with wine.
Her little feet slip on the sliding path;
Who will support her?
Clearly it is her picture
We see here,
In a rose-red silken dress,
Her hair plaited like the folds
Of the hundred clouds.
It is Manshu.
CH'EN HUNG-SHOU, 19th Century
CALLIGRAPHY
The writing of Li Po-hai
Is like the vermilion bird
And the blue-green dragon.
It drifts slowly as clouds drift;
It has the wide swiftness of wind.
Hidden within it lurk the dragon and the tiger.
The writing of Chia, the official,
Is like the high hat of ceremonial.
It flashes like flowers in the hair,
And its music is the trailing of robes
And the sweet tinkling of jade girdle-pendants.
Because of his distinguished position,
He never says anything not sanctioned by precedent.
LIANG T'UNG-SHU, 18th Century
THE PALACE BLOSSOMS
When the rain ceases,
The white water flowers of Ch'ang Lo stroll together at sunset
In the City by the River.
The young girls are no longer confined
In the gold pavilions,
But may gaze at the green water
Whirling under the bridge of many turnings.
TAI TA-MIEN, 18th Century
ONE GOES A JOURNEY
He is going to the Tung T'ing Lake,
My friend whom I have loved so many years.
The Spring wind startles the willows
And they break into pale leaf.
I go with my friend
As far as the river-bank.
He is gone--
And my mind is filled and overflowing
With the things I did not say.
Again the white water flower
Is ripe for plucking.
The green, pointed swords of the iris
Splinter the brown earth.
To the South of the river
Are many sweet-olive trees.
I gather branches of them to give to my friend
On his return.
LIU SHIH-AN, 18th Century
FROM THE STRAW HUT AMONG THE SEVEN PEAKS
I
From the high pavilion of the great rock,
I look down at the green river.
There is the sail of a returning boat.
The birds are flying in pairs.
The faint snuff colour of trees
Closes the horizon.
All about me
Sharp peaks jag upward;
But through my window,
And beyond,
Is the smooth, broad brightness
Of the setting sun.
II
Clouds brush the rocky ledge.
In the dark green shadow left by the sunken sun
A jade fountain flies,
And a little stream,
Thin as the fine thread spun by sad women in prison chambers,
Slides through the grasses
And whirls suddenly upon itself
Avoiding the sharp edges of the iris-leaves.
Few people pass here.
Only the hermits of the hills come in companies
To gather the Imperial Fern.
LU KUN, 19th Century
ON THE CLASSIC OF THE HILLS AND SEA
In what place does the cinnabar-red tree of the alchemists seed?
Upon the sun-slopes
Of Mount Mi
It pushes out its yellow flowers
And rounds its crimson fruit.
Eat it and you will live forever.
The frozen dew is like white jade;
It shimmers with the curious light of gems.
Why do people regard these things?
Because the Yellow Emperor considers them of importance.
Written by LI HAI-KU, 19th Century
Composed by T'AO CH'IEN
THE HERMIT
A cold rain blurs the edges of the river.
Night enters Wu.
In the level brightness of dawn
I saw my friend start alone for the Ch'u Mountain.
He gave me this message for his friends and relations at Lo Yang:
My heart is a piece of ice in a jade cup.
Written by LI HAI-KU, 19th Century
Composed by WANG CH'ANG-LING
AFTER HOW MANY YEARS
SPRING
The willows near the roadside rest-house are soft with new-burst
buds.
I saunter along the river path,
Listening to the occasional beating of the ferry drum.
Clouds blow and separate,
And between them I see the watch towers
Of the distant city.
They come in official coats
To examine my books.
Months go by;
Years slide backwards and disappear.
Musing,
I shut my eyes
And think of the road I have come,
And of the Spring weeds
Choking the fields of my house.
SUMMER
The rain has stopped.
The clouds drive in a new direction.
The sand is so dry and hard that my wooden shoes ring upon it
As I walk.
The flowers in the wind are very beautiful.
A little stream quietly draws a line
Through the sand.
Every household is drunk with sacrificial wine,
And every field is tall with millet
And pale young wheat.
I have not much business.
It is a good day.
I smile.
I will write a poem
On all this sudden brightness.
AUTUMN
Hoar-frost is falling,
And the water of the river runs clear.
The moon has not yet risen,
But there are many stars.
I hear the watch-dogs
In the near-by village.
On the opposite bank
Autumn lamps are burning in the windows.
I am sick,
Sick with all the illnesses there are.
I can bear this cold no longer,
And a great pity for my whole past life
Fills my mind.
The boat has started at last.
O be careful not to run foul
Of the fishing-nets!
WINTER
I was lonely in the cold valleys
Where I was stationed.
But I am still lonely,
And when no one is near
I sigh.
My gluttonous wife rails at me
To guard her bamboo shoots.
My son is ill and neglects to water
The flowers.
Oh yes,
Old red rice can satisfy hunger,
And poor people can buy muddy, unstrained wine
On credit.
But the pile of land-tax bills
Is growing;
I will go over and see my neighbour,
Leaning on my staff.
LI HAI-KU, 19th Century
THE INN AT THE MOUNTAIN PASS
I return to the inn at the foot of the Climbing Bean Pass.
The smooth skin of the water shines,
And the clouds slip over the sky.
This is the twilight of dawn and dusk.
On the top of Hsi Lêng
The hill priest sits in the evening
And meditates.
Two--
Two--
Those are the lights of fishing-boats
Arriving at the door.
WANG CHING-TS'ÊNG, 19th Century
LI T'AI-PO MEDITATES
Li Po climbed the Flowery Mountain
As far as the Peak of the Fallen Precipice.
Gazing upward, he said:
"From this little space my breath can reach the God Star. "
He sighed, regretting his irresolution, and thought:
"Hsieh T'iao alarms people with his poetry.
I can only scratch my head
And beseech the Green Heaven
To regard me. "
HO PING-SHOU, 19th Century
PAIR OF SCROLLS
Shoals of fish assemble and scatter,
Suddenly there is no trace of them.
The single butterfly comes--
Goes--
Comes--
Returning as though urged by love.
HO SHAO-CHI, 19th Century
TWO PANELS
By the scent of the burning pine-cones,
I read the "Book of Changes. "
Shaking the dew from the lotus-flowers,
I write T'ang poetry.
LIANG T'UNG-SHU, 19th Century
THE RETURN
He is a solitary traveller
Returning to his home in the West.
Ah, but how difficult to find the way!
He has journeyed three thousand _li_.
He has attended an Imperial audience at the Twelve Towers.
He sees the slanting willows by the road
With their new leaves,
But when he left his house
His eyes were dazzled by the colours
Of Autumn.
What darkness fills them now!
He is far from the Autumn-bright hills
He remembers.
The spread of the river before him is empty,
It slides--slides.
LI HAI-KU, 19th Century
EVENING CALM
The sun has set.
The sand sparkles.
The sky is bright with afterglow.
The small waves flicker,
And the swirling water rustles the stones.
In the white path of the moon,
A small boat drifts,
Seeking for the entrance
To the stream of many turnings.
Probably there is snow
On the shady slopes of the hills.
KAO SHIH-CHI, 19th Century
FISHING PICTURE
The fishermen draw their nets
From the great pool of the T'an River.
They have hired a boat
And come here to fish by the reflected light
Of the sunken sun.
TA CHUNG-KUANG, 19th Century
[Illustration: FACSIMILE OF ORIGINAL "HANGING-ON-THE-WALL POEM" ENTITLED
"FISHING PICTURE"]
SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN
The stream at the foot of the mountain
Runs all day.
Even far back in the hills,
The grass is growing;
Spring is late there.
From all about comes the sound
Of dogs barking
And chickens cheeping.
They are stripping the mulberry-trees,
But who planted them?
What a wind!
We start in our boat
To gather the red water-chestnut.
Leaning on my staff,
I watch the sun sink
Behind the Western village.
I can see the apricot-trees
Set on their raised stone platform,
With an old fisherman standing
Beside them.
It makes me think
Of the Peach-Blossom Fountain,
And the houses
Clustered about it.
Let us meet beside the spring
And drink wine together.
I will bring my table-lute;
It is good
To lean against
The great pines.
In the gardens to the South,
The sun-flowers are wet with dew;
They will pick them at dawn.
And all night
In the Western villages
One hears the sound of yellow millet being pounded.
LI HAI-KU, 19th Century
NOTES
NOTES
SONGS OF THE MARCHES
_Note 1. _
_It is the Fifth Month,
But still the Heaven-high hills
Shine with snow. _
The Fifth Month corresponds to June. (See Introduction. ) The Heaven-high
hills are the T'ien Shan Mountains, which run across the Northern part
of Central Asia and in places attain a height of 20,000 feet. (See map. )
_Note 2. _
_Playing "The Snapped Willow. "_
The name of an old song suggesting homesickness; it is translated in
this volume. It was written during the Liang Dynasty (A. D. 502-557).
References to it are very common in Chinese poetry.
_Note 3. _
_So that they may be able in an instant to rush upon the
Barbarians. _
The Chinese regarded the tribes of Central Asia, known by the generic
name of Hsiung Nu, as Barbarians, and often spoke of them as such. It
was during the reign of Shih Huang Ti (221-206 B. C. ) that these tribes
first seriously threatened China, and it was to resist their incursions
that the Great Wall was built. They were a nomadic people, moving from
place to place in search of fresh pasture for their herds. They were
famous for their horsemanship and always fought on horseback.
_Note 4. _
_And the portrait of Ho P'iao Yao
Hangs magnificently in the Lin Pavilion. _
Ho P'iao Yao was a famous leader whose surname was Ho. He was given the
pseudonym of P'iao Yao, meaning "to whirl with great speed to the
extreme limit," because of his energy in fighting. His lust for war was
so terrible that the soldiers under him always expected to be killed.
After his death, the Emperor Wu of Han erected a tomb in his honour. It
was covered with blocks of stone in order that it might resemble the
Ch'i Lien Mountains, where Ho P'iao Yao's most successful battles had
been fought.
The Lin Pavilion was a Hall where the portraits of distinguished men
were hung.
_Note 5. _
_The Heavenly soldiers arise_.
The Chinese soldiers were called the "Heavenly Soldiers" because they
fought for the Emperor, who was the Son of Heaven.
_Note 6. _
_Divides the tiger tally_.
A disk broken in half, worn as a proof of identity and authority. The
General was given one half, the Emperor kept the other.
_Note 7. _
_The Jade Pass has not yet been forced_.
In order to reach the Central Asian battle-fields, the soldiers were
obliged to go out through the Jade Pass, or Barrier, which lay in the
curious bottle-neck of land between the mountain ranges which occupy the
centre of the continent. (See map. )
_Note 8. _
_They seized the snow of the Inland Sea_.
The Inland, or Green Sea, is the Chinese name for the Kokonor Lake lying
West of the Kansu border. (See map. )
_Note 9. _
_They lay on the sand at the top of the Dragon Mound_.
The Dragon Mound is a high ridge of land on the Western border of
Shensi, now comprising part of the Eastern boundary of Kansu. The
native accounts say that the road encircles the mountains nine times,
and that it takes seven days to make the ascent. "Its height is not
known. From its summit, one can see five hundred _li_. To the East, lie
the homes of men; to the West, wild wastes. The sound of a stone thrown
over the precipice is heard for several _li_. "
_Note 10. _
_All this they bore that the Moon Clan. _
Name of one of the Hsiung Nu tribes. It was this tribe, known to
Europeans under name of Huns, who overran Europe in the Fifth Century.
THE PERILS OF THE SHU ROAD
_Note 11. _
During the reign of the T'ang Emperor, Hsüan Tsung (A. D. 712-756),
better known as Ming Huang, a rebellion broke out under An Lu-shan, an
official who had for many years enjoyed the Emperor's supreme favour.
Opinions among the advisers to the throne differed as to whether or not
the Emperor had better fly from his capital and take refuge in the
province of Szechwan, the ancient Shu. Li T'ai-po strongly disapproved
of the step, but as he was no longer in office could only express his
opinion under the guise of a poem. This poem, which the Chinese read in
a metaphorical sense, describes the actual perils of the road leading
across the Mountains of the Two-Edged Sword, the only thoroughfare into
Szechwan. Li T'ai-po's counsel did not prevail, however, and the Emperor
did actually flee, but not until after the poem was written.
_Note 12. _
_No greater undertaking than this has been since Ts'an Ts'ung and Yü
Fu ruled the land. _
These were early Rulers. Ts'an Ts'ung was the first King of Shu, the
modern Szechwan. He was supposed to be a descendant of the
semi-legendary Yellow Emperor.
_Note 13. _
_But the earth of the mountain fell and overwhelmed the Heroes so
that they perished. _
An historical allusion to five strong men sent by the King of Shu to
obtain the daughters of the King of Ch'in.
_Note 14. _
_Above, the soaring tips of the high mountains hold back the six
dragons of the sun. _
The sun is supposed to drive round the Heavens once every day in a
chariot drawn by six dragons and driven by a charioteer named Hsi Ho.
_Note 15. _
_The gibbons climb and climb. _
Gibbons, which are very common in this part of China, are a small
species of tailless ape, thoroughly arboreal in their habits. They make
the woods sound with unearthly cries at night, and are unsurpassed in
agility and so swift in movement as to be able to catch flying birds
with their paws.
_Note 16. _
_This is what the Two-Edged Sword Mountains are like! _
In this range, the mountains are so high, the cliffs so precipitous, and
the passes so few, that it was almost impossible to devise a means of
crossing them. The Chinese, however, have invented an ingenious kind of
pathway called a "terraced" or "flying" road. Holes are cut in the face
of the cliffs, and wooden piles are mortised into them at an angle. Tree
trunks are then laid across the space between the tops of the piles and
the cliff wall, making a corduroy road, the whole being finally covered
with earth. These roads are so solidly built that not only people, but
horses and even small carts, can pass over them. As there are no
railings, however, travel upon them is always fraught with more or less
danger.
LOOKING AT THE MOON AFTER RAIN
_Note 17. _
_Half of the moon-toad is already up. _
In Chinese mythology, the _ch'an_, a three-legged toad, lives in the
moon and is supposed to swallow it during an eclipse. The toad is very
long-lived and grows horns at the age of three thousand years. It was
originally a woman named Ch'ang O, who stole the drug of Immortality and
fled to the moon to escape her husband's wrath. The moon is often
referred to as _ch'an_, as in the poem.
_Note 18. _
_The glimmer of it is like smooth hoar-frost spreading over ten
thousand _li_. _
A _li_ is a Chinese land measurement, equal to about one third of a
mile.
THE LONELY WIFE
_Note 19. _
_There is only the moon, shining through the clouds of a hard,
jade-green sky. _
The term "jade," in Chinese literature, includes both the jadeites and
nephrites. These semi-transparent stones are found in a great variety of
colours. There are black jades; pure white jades, described by the
Chinese as "mutton fat"; jades with brown and red veins; yellow jades
tinged with green; grey jades with white or brown lines running through
them; and, most usual of all, green jades, of which there are an
infinite number of shades.
These green jades vary from the dark, opaque moss-green, very much like
the New Zealand "green-stone," to the jewel jade called by the Chinese
_fei ts'ui_, or "kingfisher feather," which, in perfect examples, is the
brilliant green of an emerald. As a result of this range of colouring,
the Chinese use the term "jade" to describe the tints seen in Nature.
The colours of the sky, the hills, the sea, can all be found in the
jades, which are considered by the Chinese as the most desirable of
precious stones. In addition to its employment in actual comparison, the
word "jade" is very often used in a figurative sense to denote anything
especially desirable.
_Note 20. _
_Beneath the quilt of the Fire-Bird, on the bed of the Silver-Crested
Love-Pheasant. _
The Fire-Bird is the _Luan_, and the Love-Pheasant the _Fêng Huang_;
both are fully described in the table of mythical animals in the
Introduction.
_Note 21. _
_As the tears of your so Unworthy One escape and continue constantly
to flow. _
The term "Unworthy One" is constantly used by wives and concubines in
speaking of themselves to their husbands or to the men they love.
_Note 22. _
_As I toss on my pillow, I hear the cold, nostalgic sound of the
water-clock. _
The clepsydra, or water-clock, has been used by the Chinese for many
centuries, one can still be seen in the North Worshipping Tower in
Canton, and another in the "Forbidden" portion of the Peking Palace,
where the dethroned Manchu Emperor lives. The following account of the
one in Canton is taken from the "Chinese Repository," Volume XX, Page
430: "The clepsydra is called the 'copper-jar water-dropper. ' There are
four covered jars standing on a brickwork stairway, the top of each of
which is level with the bottom of the one above it. The largest measures
twenty-three inches high and broad and contains seventy catties or
ninety-seven and a half pints of water; the second is twenty-two inches
high and twenty-one inches broad; the third, twenty-one inches high and
twenty broad; and the lowest, twenty-three inches high and nineteen
inches broad. Each is connected with the other by an open trough along
which the water trickles. The wooden index in the lowest jar is set
every morning and afternoon at five o'clock, by placing the mark on it
for these hours even with the cover through which it rises and indicates
the time. The water is dipped out and poured back into the top jar when
the index shows the completion of the half day, and the water is renewed
every quarter. "
THE PLEASURES WITHIN THE PALACE
_Note 23. _
_From little, little girls, they have lived in the Golden House. _
The "Golden House" is an allusion to a remark made by the Emperor Wu of
Han who, when still a boy, exclaimed that if he could marry his lovely
cousin A-chiao he would build a golden house for her to live in.
Palaces were often given most picturesque names, and different parts of
the precincts were described as being of "jade" or some other precious
material, the use of the word "golden" is, of course, in this case,
purely figurative.
The organization of the Imperial seraglio, which contained many
thousands of women, was most complicated, and the ladies belonged to
different classes or ranks.
There was only one Empress, whose title was _Hou_, and, if the wife of
the preceding monarch were still alive, she was called _T'ai Hou_, or
Greater Empress. These ladies had each their own palace. Next in rank
came the principal Imperial concubines or secondary wives called _Fei_.
As a rule, there were two of them, and they had each their palace and
household. After them came the _P'in_ described as "Imperial concubines
of first rank," or maids of honour, who lived together in a large
palace and who, once they had attained this rank, could never be
dispersed. (See Note 69. ) The ladies of the Court are often spoken of as
_Fei-P'in_. Of lower rank than these were the innumerable Palace women
called _Ch'ieh_, concubines or handmaids. The use of the word is not
confined to the inmates of the Palace, as ordinary people may have
_ch'ieh_. Little girls who were especially pretty, or who showed unusual
promise, were often sent to the Palace when quite young, that they might
become accustomed to the surroundings while still children. (See
Introduction. )
_Note 24. _
_They are lovely, lovely, in the Purple Hall. _
The Ruler of Heaven lives in a circumpolar constellation called the Tzŭ
Wei, Purple Enclosure; therefore the Palace of his Son, the Ruler of
Earth, is called "Purple. "
_Note 25. _
_Their only sorrow, that the songs and wu dances are over. _
The wu dance is a posturing dance for which special, very elaborately
embroidered dresses with long streamers are worn. As the arms move,
these scarves float rhythmically in the air.
_Note 26. _
_Changed into the five-coloured clouds and flown away. _
The allusion to the five-coloured clouds is to the beautifully
variegated clouds, bright with the five colours of happiness, upon which
the Immortals ride.
WRITTEN IN THE CHARACTER OF A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN
_Note 27. _
_Bright, bright, the gilded magpie mirror. _
Magpies are the birds of happiness. There is an old story of the Gold
Magpie which tells that, ages ago, a husband and wife, at parting,
divided a round mirror between them, each keeping a half as a guarantee
of fidelity. Unhappily, the wife forgot her marriage vows, and to her
horror the half circle she had kept turned into a magpie and flew away.
Since then, magpies are often carved on mirror backs as reminders and
warnings.
_Note 28. _
_I sit at my dressing-stand, and I am like the Green Fire-Bird who,
thinking of its mate, died alone. _
The Green Fire-Bird is a fabulous creature who is regarded as the
embodiment of every grace and beauty. It is the essence of the Fire God,
and references to it in stories of love and marriage are frequent. One
of the most popular of these tales is that of a King of India who caught
a beautiful bird with green plumage of an extraordinary brilliance. He
valued it greatly, and had an exquisite gold cage made for it. For three
years it lived in captivity, and not a sound came from it in all that
time. At last, the King, who was much puzzled at its silence, consulted
his wife, saying: "Is the creature dumb? " She replied: "No, but every
creature is the same, when it meets one of its own species it will
speak. " Not knowing how to obtain a mate for the Green Fire-Bird, the
King placed a large mirror in its cage. The _Luan_ danced with joy,
uttered strange cries, and then, with all its strength, hurled itself
against its own reflection and fell dead.
_Note 29. _
_My tears, like white jade chop-sticks, fall in a single piece. _
It was said of the Empress Ch'ên of Wei (403-241 B. C. ) that her tears
fell so fast they formed connected lines like jade chop-sticks.
SONGS TO THE PEONIES
_Note 30. _
The "Songs to the Peonies" were written on a Spring morning when Ming
Huang, accompanied by Yang Kuei-fei, his favourite concubine, and his
Court, had gone to see the blooms for which he had a passion. As he
sat, admiring the flowers and listening to the singing of the Palace
maidens, he suddenly exclaimed: "I am tired of these old songs, call Li
Po.
