_
_The neglected lamp does not burn brightly.
_The neglected lamp does not burn brightly.
Amy Lowell - Chinese Poets
The daughter of
educated parents, she was brought up in the strictest Confucian
principles; in the words of the Chinese, she "did not speak loudly nor
did she look beyond the doors, indeed, even within the house, she only
walked the path which led to her mother's room. Her ears were closed to
all distracting sounds, therefore her heart and mind were pure like
those of the Immortals. " Her father regarded her as a precious jewel,
and although many suitors presented themselves, he refused to listen to
their proposals, and finally, when she was seventeen, sent her to the
capital as an offering to the Han Emperor Yüan.
Upon arriving at the Palace, the young girl was housed in the inner
rooms, among the innumerable Palace women who lived there in constant
hope of a summons to the Imperial presence. As the Son of Heaven never
went into this part of his Palace, it was customary to catalogue the
inmates and submit their portraits to him, a form of procedure which led
to much bribery of the Court painters. The rigid principles of the
daughter of the Wang clan forbade her to comply with this Palace custom,
and the portrait which appeared in the catalogue was such a travesty of
her exquisite features that it roused no desire in the Imperial breast.
Five or six dreary years passed, and the young girl remained secluded in
the Women's Apartments. Shortly before this time, one of the Hsiung Nu
tribes (see Note 3) had surrendered to the Chinese soldiers, and as a
proof of good faith on both sides had received permission to serve as a
frontier guard. Soon after, the head of the tribe sent to ask that one
of Yüan Ti's ladies be sent him as Queen. The catalogue was consulted,
and the decision fell upon the daughter of Wang as being the one among
the Palace women who had the fewest charms. She was therefore told to
prepare herself for a journey to the desert wastes where she would reign
over a savage Central Asian tribe, a prospect terrifying to one brought
up in strict seclusion among people of refinement.
Custom demanded that, on the point of departure, she should appear
before the Son of Heaven in order to thank her Imperial Master for his
kind thoughtfulness in thus providing for her future, and then be
formally handed over to the envoys. The audience was held in one of the
secondary halls, the Court was assembled, the envoys stood ready, and
the lady entered. At the sight of her unusual beauty, every one was
thunderstruck, even the Emperor could hardly refrain from springing off
the Dragon Throne and speaking to her. But it was too late; there was
nothing to be done. The most beautiful of all the Palace women was
pledged to the Hsiung Nu Khan, the escort which was to convey her over
the Jade Pass waited, and soon the broken-hearted girl set off.
Fury and consternation spread through the Palace; a camel laden with
gold was sent in pursuit; the guilty painter, Mao Yen-shou, was executed
and his immense fortune sent as a consolation to the Wang family; but
all this could not save the young girl from her fate. The Hsiung Nu
ambassador refused to ransom her, and she passed out through the Jade
Barrier to the "Yellow Sand Fields" beyond.
The banished daughter of Han was true to the principles in which she
had been schooled. Instead of committing suicide, as she longed to do,
she submitted to the will of the Five Great Ones--Heaven, Earth, The
Emperor, her Father, and her Mother--and performed her duties as a wife
to the best of her ability in spite of the homesickness from which she
suffered perpetually.
Upon the death of the Khan, she felt that her hour of deliverance had at
last come and that she was at liberty to poison herself. This she did,
and was buried in the desert, but the mound over her grave remained
always green.
Because of her pseudonym, "Brilliant-and-Perfect," she is often referred
to as "Ming Fei," the "Bright Concubine. " Allusions to her story always
suggest homesickness.
THINKING OF THE FRONTIER
_Note 80. _
_I desire to send the "harmonious writings. "_
Letters from wives to husbands are often spoken of as though they
carried sweet sounds.
_Note 81. _
_He who wears the dragon robes delighted in the sweetly-scented wind
of her garments. _
Appointments for the Emperor's use were all spoken of as "dragon"
appointments, and the analysis of the character which means the
Emperor's love, is a dragon under a roof. Ladies' clothes were, and are
to-day, kept in cupboards in which scented woods were burned, therefore
as the long sleeves of their dresses swayed back and forth a sweet
perfume came from them.
_Note 82. _
_How was it possible for the "Flying Swallow" to snatch the Emperor's
love? _
The "Flying Swallow" was a famous concubine. (See Note 30. )
RECITING VERSES BY MOONLIGHT
_Note 83. _
_I suggest that men meditate at length on Hsieh Hsüan Hui. _
A reference, under a pseudonym, to the poet Hsieh T'iao, whose work Li
T'ai-po so much admired. (See Note 72. ) "Hsüan" is applied to the names
of gods to indicate that they deserve praise and worship, and "Hui"
means bright, splendid, or a ray of the sun.
PASSING THE NIGHT AT THE WHITE HERON ISLAND
_Note 84. _
_At dawn, I left the Red Bird Gate. _
An allusion to the bird which rules the South. (See Note 55. )
_Note 85. _
_At sunset, I came to roost on the White Heron Island. _
According to the Chinese commentary, this island lies "in the heart's
centre of the river, three _li_ West of the district of the Golden Mound
(Nanking), and many herons collect there. "
_Note 86. _
_And the longing in my heart is like that for the Green Jasper Tree. _
This tree grows in the Taoist Paradise, supposed to lie in the K'un Lun
Mountains. (See map. ) Those who eat its blossoms become immortal.
ASCENDING THE THREE CHASMS
_Note 87. _
These are the famous chasms of the Yangtze River, between Ichang and
Chungking. Their names are: "The Terrifying Barrier," "The Sorceress
Gorge," and "The Western Sepulchre. " Joined together in one great line
of precipitous cliffs, they are among the extraordinary natural objects
of the world and are most awe-inspiring.
_Note 88. _
_The Serpent River runs terribly fast.
The Serpent River can be suddenly exhausted. _
A reference to the fact that, although the water of the river flows with
terrible speed while the snow waters are coming down, during the Winter
it is very low, and many parts are quite dry. (See Note 46. )
_Note 89. _
_Three dawns shine upon the Yellow Ox.
Three sunsets--and we go so slowly. _
A cliff beneath which are rapids so difficult and dangerous to pass that
the utmost care must be taken in navigating them. Boats ascending this
stretch of the river often take several days to pass a given point. (See
Introduction for a description of the Yangtze River and travel upon it. )
PARTING FROM YANG, A HILL MAN
_Note 90. _
_You are going to pick the fairy grasses
And the shooting purple flower of the_ ch'ang p'u.
"Hill men" is a term applied to those who desire to become worthy of
joining the ranks of the Immortals, and for this reason lead a life of
contemplation among the hills. The fairy grasses and the _ch'ang p'u_
(see table of plants in Introduction) both grow in the Taoist Paradises.
_Note 91. _
_Riding down from the green-blue Heaven on a white dragon. _
The dragon is one of the steeds of the Immortals.
THE SERPENT MOUND
_Note 92. _
_The mercy of the Sainted Lord is far greater than that of Han Wên
Ti.
The Princely One had pity, and did not appoint you to the station of
the Unending Sands. _
The allusion is to an incident which occurred in the Second Century
B. C. when a famous scholar named Chia was sent to Ch'ang Sha, literally
"Unending Sands" (see map), and died there of the damp vapours.
ON THE SUBJECT OF OLD TAI'S WINE-SHOP
_Note 93. _
_Old Tai is gone down to the Yellow Springs. _
The Yellow Springs lie in the nether world, where spirits go after
death.
_Note 94. _
_There is no Li Po on the terrace of Eternal Darkness. _
This world is known as the World of Light, and below it lies the World
of Shades, where the sun never shines.
DRINKING IN THE T'AO PAVILION
_Note 95. _
_The garden pool lies and shines like the magic gall mirror. _
The Magic Gall Mirror was a square of glittering, polished metal
supposed to possess the miraculous power of betraying the thoughts of
all who looked into it, by making the heart and "five viscera" visible.
The ferocious First Emperor used it to examine his numerous Palace
women, and those who, by a palpitating gall, showed lack of faith were
put to death.
_Note 96. _
_The Golden Valley is not much to boast of. _
A beautiful garden built by the rich and eccentric Shih Ch'ung (died
A. D. 300) for his favourite concubine Lü Chu.
A SONG FOR THE HOUR WHEN THE CROWS ROOST
_Note 97. _
_This is the hour when the crows come to roost on the Ku Su Terrace. _
(See Note 73. )
_Note 98. _
_The silver-white arrow-tablet above the gold-coloured brass jar
of the water-clock marks the dripping of much water_.
(See Note 22. )
POEM SENT TO THE OFFICIAL WANG OF HAN YANG
_Note 99. _
_The shrill notes of the bamboo flute reached to Mien and O. _
Mien and O are the ancient names for Hankow and Wuchang.
DRINKING ALONE ON THE ROCK IN THE RIVER OF THE CLEAR STREAM
_Note 100. _
_Perpetually casting my fish-line like Yen Ling. _
Yen Ling is one of the names of the philosopher Yen Kuang. (See Note
75. )
THE REST-HOUSE OF DEEP TROUBLE
_Note 101. _
_At Chin Ling, the tavern where travellers part is called the
Rest-House of Deep Trouble. _
An inn fifteen _li_ South of the district in which Chin Ling (Nanking)
stands.
_Note 102. _
_Like K'ang Lo I climb on board the dull travelling boat. _
K'ang Lo is a pseudonym for the poet Hsieh Ling-yün, who lived in the
Fifth Century A. D.
_Note 103. _
_I hum softly "On the Clear Streams Flies the Night Frost. "_
A line from one of Hsieh Ling-yün's poems.
_Note 104. _
_It is said that, long ago, on the Ox Island Hill, songs were sung
which blended the five colours. _
The "five colours" are blue-green, yellow, carnation, white, and black.
Anything that is perfectly harmonious is spoken of figuratively as being
blended like the five colours.
Rapids flow past the Ox Island Hill on the Yangtze, which is not to be
confused with the Ox Hill at the Yangtze Gorges.
_Note 105. _
_Now do I not equal Hsieh, and the youth of the House of Yüan? _
Yüan Hung lived in the time of the Chin Dynasty. His poems were both
erudite and beautiful, but his extreme poverty forced him to take a
position on a freight-boat plying up and down the Yangtze. One night, as
the vessel lay below the dangerous Ox Rapids waiting for daylight, the
official of the place, a learned man named Hsieh Shang, heard Yüan
Hung's exquisite songs and was so delighted that he insisted upon the
singer's accompanying him to the Official Residence. Here the days and
nights were passed in conversation, and upon Yüan Hung's departure,
Hsieh gave him much silver and gold, and eventually used his influence
to enable the young man to become an official. Since then all men have
heard of Yüan Hung. Li T'ai-po compares his lonely lot to that of the
youth who possessed a faithful friend.
_Note 106. _
_The bitter bamboos make a cold sound, swaying in the Autumn
moonlight. _
The ancient Chinese divided bamboos into two classes: the bitter and the
tasteless.
THE "LOOKING-FOR-HUSBAND" ROCK
_Note 107. _
_In the attitude, and with the manner, of the woman of old. _
A reference to a legend of a woman who was turned to stone. (See Note
45. )
_Note 108. _
_Her resentment is that of the Woman of the Hsiang River. _
O Huang and her sister Nü Ying were the wives of Shun, the "Perfect
Emperor" (2317-2208 B. C. ). When he died, and was buried near the Hsiang
River, they wept so copiously over his grave that their tears burned
spots on the bamboos growing there, and thus was the variety known as
the "spotted bamboo" created. Eventually the despairing ladies committed
suicide by throwing themselves into the river.
_Note 109. _
_Her silence that of the concubine of the King of Ch'u. _
Ts'u Fei, concubine of the King of Ch'u was much distressed because her
lord was of a very wild disposition, and only took pleasure in hunting
and such pursuits. She constantly expostulated with him on his mode of
life, but at last, finding that all her entreaties were in vain, she
ceased her remonstrances and sank into a silence from which she could
not be roused.
AFTER BEING SEPARATED FOR A LONG TIME
_Note 110. _
_Besides there are the "embroidered character letters. "_
In the Fourth Century A. D. , a lady, whose maiden name was Su,
embroidered a long lament of eight hundred and forty characters in the
form of a poetical palindrome and sent it to her husband who was exiled
in Tartary.
BITTER JEALOUSY IN THE PALACE OF THE HIGH GATE
_Note 111. _
_The Heavens have revolved. The "Northern Measure" hangs above the
Western wing. _
The "Northern Measure" is the Chinese name for the "Dipper," and on the
fifteenth day of the Eighth Month, when it can be seen sinking in the
West before bed-time, a festival is held. This is essentially a festival
for women, who object to being parted from their husbands at that time.
Incense is burned to the full moon, and many fruits and seeds, all of a
symbolical nature denoting the desire for posterity, are set out for the
moon goddess.
_Note 112. _
_In the Gold House, there is no one. _
(See Note 23. )
ETERNALLY THINKING OF EACH OTHER
_Note 113. _
_The tones of the Chao psaltery begin and end on the bridge of the
silver-crested love-pheasant. _
"The _sê_, or psaltery, is made on the principle of the _ch'in_, and
like that instrument has been made the subject of numerous allegorical
comparisons. The number of strings has varied . . . but the _sê_ now in
use has twenty-five strings. Each string is elevated on a movable
bridge. These bridges represent the five colours: the first five are
blue, the next red, the five in the middle are yellow, then come five
white, and lastly five black. " ("Chinese Music," by J. A. Van Aalst. )
The most desirable specimens came from Chao, a place in Shensi. (See
map. ) The allusion to the love-pheasants is, of course, symbolical. By
it, the lady says that this instrument is only properly used for
love-songs, with the implication that it is therefore impossible for her
to play it now.
_Note 114. _
_I wish I could play my Shu table-lute on the mandarin duck strings. _
The _ch'in_, or table-lute, lies on a table like a zither, and is played
with the fingers. It is "one of the most ancient instruments, and
certainly the most poetical of all. . . . The dimensions, the number of
strings, the form, and whatever is connected with this instrument had
their principles in Nature. Thus the _ch'in_ measured 3. 66 feet, because
the year contains a maximum of 366 days; the number of strings was five,
to agree with the five elements; the upper part was made round, to
represent the firmament; the bottom was flat, to represent the ground;
and the thirteen studs stood for the twelve moons and the intercalary
moon. The strings were also subjected to certain laws. The thickest
string was composed of two hundred and forty threads and represented
the Sovereign. " ("Chinese Music," by J. A. Van Aalst. ) The "Shu
table-lute" is an allusion to Ssŭ Ma Hsiang-ju, a great poet and
musician, who was a native of Shu. The mandarin ducks are emblems of
conjugal love, and in speaking of them the wife expresses the wish that
her husband were present to listen.
_Note 115. _
_I wish my thoughts to follow the Spring wind, even to the Swallow
Mountains. _
The Yen Jan, or "Swallow Mountains," lie several thousand miles to the
West of Ch'ang An, in Central Asia.
_Note 116.
_
_The neglected lamp does not burn brightly. _
The lamps were little vessels filled with natural oil, upon which
floated a vegetable wick. Unless constantly attended to, and this was
the duty of the woman, the flame was small and insignificant.
SUNG TO THE AIR: "THE MANTZŬ LIKE AN IDOL"
_Note 117. _
The Mantzŭ are an aboriginal tribe still living in the far Southwest of
China. It was here that Li T'ai-po was to have been exiled had not the
sentence been commuted. (See Introduction. )
_Note 118. _
_Instead, for me, the "long" rest-houses alternate with the "short"
rest-houses. _
On the "great roads," which we should speak of as paths, rest-houses for
the convenience of travellers are erected every five _li_ (a _li_ is
one-third of a mile). These are called "short road rest-houses" and are
simply shelters. There are also "long road rest-houses" every ten _li_,
where the care-takers serve travellers with tea and food, and which are
equipped with altars and idols for the convenience of the pious.
AT THE YELLOW CRANE TOWER, TAKING LEAVE OF MÊNG HAO JAN
_Note 119. _
_I take leave of my dear old friend at the Yellow Crane Tower. _
Mêng Hao Jan (A. D. 689-740) was a very famous poet, one of whose
idiosyncrasies was riding a donkey through the snow in a search for
inspiration.
The Yellow Crane Tower is still standing at Wuchang.
(See map and Note 60. )
THOUGHTS FROM A THOUSAND LI
_Note 120. _
_Li Ling is buried in the sands of Hu. _
Li Ling lived during the reign of the Emperor Wu of Han (140-87 B. C. ) at
a time when the Hsiung Nu tribes were very troublesome. He penetrated
far into the Hsiung Nu country, with a force of only five thousand
infantry, and was there surrounded by thirty thousand of the enemy.
After his men had exhausted their arrows, he was forced to surrender,
and spent the rest of his life as a captive in Central Asia.
_Note 121. _
_Su Wu has returned to the homes of Han. _
Su Wu lived during the same period as did Li Ling, and was sent by the
Emperor Wu upon a mission of peace to the Hsiung Nu. By the time he
reached the Court of the Khan, however, relations between the Chinese
and the Barbarians were again strained, and he was taken prisoner.
Various attempts were made to induce him to renounce his allegiance to
China; he was thrown into prison and subsisted for days on the moisture
which he sucked from his clothes, but all efforts to undermine his
loyalty failed, and eventually he was sent to tend sheep on the grazing
fields of the steppes. Years passed, Wu Ti, the "Military Emperor,"
died, and his successor Chao Ti made peace with the Central Asian
tribes and sent envoys to ask for the return of the faithful Su Wu. The
Khan replied that he was dead, but the envoy was able to answer that
such could not be the case, as, not long before, the Emperor himself
while hunting in his park had shot a wild goose, and had found a letter
from Su Wu tied to its leg. The loyal official was therefore sent back
to China. He had gone off in the prime of life; when he returned, in 86
B. C. , he was a broken-down, white-haired old man.
_Note 122. _
_Wild geese are flying.
If I sent a letter--so--to the edge of Heaven. _
An allusion to the story of Su Wu. Letters anxiously awaited are often
spoken of as "wild-goose" letters.
SAYING GOOD-BYE TO A FRIEND WHO IS GOING TO THE PLUM-FLOWER LAKE
_Note 123. _
_I bid you good-bye, my friend, as you are going on an excursion to
the Plum-Flower Lake. _
This lake lies about seven miles Southwest of Nanking. The legend is
that, many years ago, a raft loaded with flowering plum-trees sank in
it, and ever since, during the plum-blossom season, the lake is covered
with plum-trees in bloom.
_Note 124_ _Nevertheless you must not omit the wild-goose letter. _
(See Notes 121 and 122. )
_Note 125. _
_Or else our knowledge of each other will be as the dust of Hu to
the dust of Yüeh. _
Hu is the Mongols' country to the North and West of the Great Wall, and
Yüeh is the province of Chêkiang in the Southeast of China. (See map. )
A DESULTORY VISIT TO THE FÊNG HSIEN TEMPLE AT THE DRAGON'S GATE
_Note 126. _
_I had already wandered away from the People's Temple. _
The Fêng Hsien is one of the so-called Chao Ti temples. These temples
are erected by the people, not by Imperial command, which fact is
proclaimed on an inscription written on a horizontal board placed over
the main doorway. The Fêng Hsien temple stands in the Lung Mên, or
Dragon Gate, a defile cut in the mountains of Honan by the great Yü when
he drained the Empire about two thousand B. C. (See Introduction. ) He is
supposed to have been helped by a dragon who, with one sweep of its
tail, cleft the mountain range in two, thus forcing the river I, a
confluent of the Lo which is one of the tributaries of the Yellow River,
to confine itself within the defile through which it runs in a series of
rapids.
CROSSING THE FRONTIER--II
_Note 127. _
_Sadness everywhere. A few sounds from a Mongol flageolet jar the
air. _
The Hsiung Nu soldiers, against whom the Chinese are fighting, are so
near that the sounds of their flageolets can be plainly heard.
_Note 128. _
_Perhaps it is Ho P'iao Yao. _
(See Note 4. )
AT THE EDGE OF HEAVEN. THINKING OF LI T'AI-PO
_Note 129. _
_The demons where you are rejoice to see men go by. _
The demons are of the man-eating variety, the _yao kuai_. (See table of
supernatural beings in Introduction. )
_Note 130. _
_You should hold speech with the soul of Yüan. _
Ch'ü Yüan (see Note 62) drowned himself in the Mi Lo River.
SENT TO LI PO AS A GIFT
_Note 131. _
_And remembering Ko Hung, you are ashamed. _
Ko Hung, author of "Biographies of the Gods," lived in the Fourth
Century A. D. Although very poor, he pursued his studies with such zeal
that he became an official. Having heard that the cinnabar, from which
the Elixir of Immortality is distilled, came from Cochin China, he
begged to be appointed to a magistracy in the South in order that he
might obtain a supply for experimental purposes on the spot. Arrived in
Kwangtung, he spent his time on Mount Lo Fo attempting to compound this
elixir, and so, working at his experiments, passed into a tranquil
sleep. When his friends went to wake him, they found his clothes empty.
Ko Hung had ascended to the Taoist Paradise to live forever among the
Immortals.
HEARING THE EARLY ORIOLE
_Note 132. _
_The sun rose while I slept. I had not yet risen. _
The poem alludes to the curious Chinese custom of holding Imperial
audiences at dawn. This custom was persisted in until the fall of the
Manchu Dynasty in 1912. One of the most noticeable peculiarities of
Peking in Imperial days was the noise during the night, which never
seemed to stop. Officials came to the Palace in their carts, while it
was still dark, in order to be ready for the audience at dawn. It is
clear from Po Chü-i's poem that he is no longer in office, since,
although the sun has risen, he himself is still in bed.
AN IMPERIAL AUDIENCE AT DAWN
_Note 133. _
_At the first light of the still-concealed sun, the Cock-man, in his
dark-red cap, strikes the tally-sticks and proclaims aloud the
hour. _
The Cock-men, whose badge of office was a red cloth, were in charge of
the water-clock, and their business was to announce the time of day.
Near the water-clock were kept bamboo tallies, one for each division of
the twenty-four hours. (See Introduction. ) When the arrow of the
water-clock registered the moment of the change from one division into
another, the Cock-man on duty struck the appropriate tally-stick on a
stone set for that purpose beside the door of the Palace. At sunrise,
which took place during the hour of the monkey (three to five A. M. ) or
during the hour of the cock (five to seven A. M. ), according to the
season, he gave a loud, peculiar cry to warn the inmates of the Palace
that day had come.
_Note 134. _
_At this exact moment, the Keeper of the Robes sends in the
eider-duck skin dress, with its cloud-like curving
feather-scales of kingfisher green. _
The "Keeper of the Robes" was one of the six offices instituted by the
Ch'in Dynasty (255-209 B. C. ), the other five were those of the "Imperial
Head-dresses," "Food-stuffs," "Washing Utensils," "Sitting Mats," and
"Writing Materials. " Robes were, and are, made from the skins of the
various eider-ducks found in Northern Asia. The king eider's head is
blue; the Pacific eider's, black and green; while the spectacled eider
has a white line round the eye, which accounts for its name. The
feathers are so close and soft that garments made of them feel exactly
like fine fur.
_Note 135. _
_In the Ninth Heaven, the Ch'ang Ho Gate opens. _
The Ninth Heaven is the centre from which the points of the compass
radiate, and it is there that the first of all the entrances to Heaven,
the Ch'ang Ho Gate, stands.
_Note 136. _
_The immediately-arrived sun tips the "Immortal Palm. "_
The "Immortal Palm" was a very tall bronze pillar which the Emperor Wu
of Han erected in the grounds of the Variegated Colours Palace. On the
top was a colossal hand, with the fingers curled up so that the falling
dew might be caught in the palm, for, of course, the ancient Chinese
firmly believed that dew fell. As dew was the drinking-water of the
Immortals, to drink it was to advance a step on the road to Immortality.
The hand was brightly polished, and was one of the first objects about
the Palace to glitter when the sun rose.
SEEKING FOR THE HERMIT OF THE WEST HILL
_Note 137. _
_On the Nothing-Beyond Peak, a hut of red grass. _
Huts were built of a certain hill grass, now very rare. It turns red in
the Autumn, and is fine and strong like wire.
_Note 138. _
_I look into the room. There is only the low table and the stand for
the elbows. _
Much of the furniture in the T'ang period was like that used now by the
Japanese. It was customary to sit on the floor and write at a low table,
and the use of the elbow-stand was general.
_Note 139. _
_I have received much--the whole doctrine of clear purity. _
The principles of Taoism are called literally "the clear pure
doctrines. "
_Note 140. _
_Why should I wait for the Man of Wisdom? _
An allusion to the eccentric Wang Hui-chih (A. D. 388), who made a long
journey through the snow to see a friend, but missed him.
FAREWELL WORDS TO THE DAUGHTER OF THE HOUSE OF YANG
_Note 141. _ The sacredness with which the Chinese regard their family
ties is well known, but it is perhaps not realized that the Chinese
conception of the duties owed to friendship entails very great
responsibilities. If a friend dies, it is a man's duty to see that his
family do not suffer in any way. Wei Ying-wu is probably addressing the
daughter of some dead friend whom he has brought up in his own family,
or she may be a poor relation on his mother's side, but that she is not
his own daughter is clear from the fact that her clan name differs from
his, which is Wei.
ONCE MORE FIELDS AND GARDENS.
_Note 142. _
_But for thirteen years it was so I lived. _
The text reads "three ten," which is the way the Chinese say "thirty,"
but native commentaries state that it should read "ten three," or
thirteen. This is far more in accordance with the facts of T'ao's life.
He lived A. D. 365-427, and although he became an official, he soon
resigned his post, saying that he "could not crook the hinges of his
back for five pecks of rice a day. " (See Note 54. )
_Note 143. _
_Mine is a little property of ten_ mou _or so. _
A _mou_ is a Chinese land measurement which is equal to about one-sixth
of an acre.
SONG OF THE SNAPPED WILLOW
_Note 144. _
A very famous song written during the Liang Dynasty (A. D. 502-557).
Allusions to it always suggest homesickness.
THE CLOUDY RIVER
_Note 145. _
There seems to be no doubt that although King Hsüan of Chou (876-781
B. C. ) is not mentioned by name in the poem, which appears in the "Decade
of Tang" division of the "Book of Odes," he is the King referred to.
All the old Chinese commentators agree in ascribing the authorship to a
certain Jêng Shu, an officer of the Court during the reign of that
monarch, who is known to have had a profound admiration for the King.
Opinions differ as to the exact date of the great drought, but the
standard chronology places it in the sixth year of King Hsüan's reign,
821 B. C. This ode illustrates the Chinese conception of kingship
described in the Introduction.
_Note 146. _
_How the Cloudy River glitters. _
The Chinese call the Milky Way the "Cloudy" or "Silver River. " Stars are
peculiarly bright and glittering during a drought.
_Note 147. _
_My stone sceptres and round badges of rank. _
The badges of office were made of nephrite. There are references in both
the "Book of History" and the "Book of Odes" to the fact that, after
certain sacrifices, they were buried in the ground. In this case, the
sacrifices had been performed so often that the supply of these tokens
was exhausted.
_Note 148. _
_I myself have gone from the border altars to the ancestral temples. _
According to Confucius, the sacrifices to Heaven and Earth were
performed at the border altars, and those to the ancestors took place at
the temples especially provided for the purpose.
_Note 149. _
_Hou Chi could do no more. _
Hou Chi is the deity of grain, and from him King Hsüan was supposed to
be descended.
_Note 150. _
_Shang Ti does not look favourably upon us. _
Shang Ti, literally the "Above Emperor," is the supreme ruler of the
universe. Earthly Emperors receive the decree which empowers them to
rule from him.
_Note 151. _
_Why should I not be terrified
Since all the ancestral sacrifices will be ended? _
To the Chinese, this is the greatest calamity that can be conceived,
since without these sacrifices the ancestral spirits would suffer
greatly, and might visit their wrath upon their descendants.
_Note 152. _
_Drought, the Demon of Drought, has caused these ravages. _
The "Book of Spirits and Prodigies" states that in the Southern regions
there is a hairy man, two or three cubits in height, with eyes in the
top of his head and the upper part of his body bare. His name is Po. He
runs with the speed of the wind, and in whatever part of the country he
appears a great drought ensues.
_Note 153. _
_I offered the yearly sacrifices for full crops in good time. _
It was the custom for the King to pray and make offerings to Shang Ti
during the first Spring month (February), in order to propitiate this
chief of the Chinese pantheon and ensure good harvests from the grain
then being sown. During the first Winter month (November), other prayers
and sacrifices were offered to the "Honoured Ones of Heaven" (the sun,
moon, and stars) for a blessing on the year to follow.
_Note 154. _
_I neglected not one of the Spirits of the Four Quarters of the
Earth. _
Sacrifices of thanksgiving to the "Spirits of the Four Earth Quarters"
were offered at the end of the harvest season.
SONG OF GRIEF
_Note 155.
educated parents, she was brought up in the strictest Confucian
principles; in the words of the Chinese, she "did not speak loudly nor
did she look beyond the doors, indeed, even within the house, she only
walked the path which led to her mother's room. Her ears were closed to
all distracting sounds, therefore her heart and mind were pure like
those of the Immortals. " Her father regarded her as a precious jewel,
and although many suitors presented themselves, he refused to listen to
their proposals, and finally, when she was seventeen, sent her to the
capital as an offering to the Han Emperor Yüan.
Upon arriving at the Palace, the young girl was housed in the inner
rooms, among the innumerable Palace women who lived there in constant
hope of a summons to the Imperial presence. As the Son of Heaven never
went into this part of his Palace, it was customary to catalogue the
inmates and submit their portraits to him, a form of procedure which led
to much bribery of the Court painters. The rigid principles of the
daughter of the Wang clan forbade her to comply with this Palace custom,
and the portrait which appeared in the catalogue was such a travesty of
her exquisite features that it roused no desire in the Imperial breast.
Five or six dreary years passed, and the young girl remained secluded in
the Women's Apartments. Shortly before this time, one of the Hsiung Nu
tribes (see Note 3) had surrendered to the Chinese soldiers, and as a
proof of good faith on both sides had received permission to serve as a
frontier guard. Soon after, the head of the tribe sent to ask that one
of Yüan Ti's ladies be sent him as Queen. The catalogue was consulted,
and the decision fell upon the daughter of Wang as being the one among
the Palace women who had the fewest charms. She was therefore told to
prepare herself for a journey to the desert wastes where she would reign
over a savage Central Asian tribe, a prospect terrifying to one brought
up in strict seclusion among people of refinement.
Custom demanded that, on the point of departure, she should appear
before the Son of Heaven in order to thank her Imperial Master for his
kind thoughtfulness in thus providing for her future, and then be
formally handed over to the envoys. The audience was held in one of the
secondary halls, the Court was assembled, the envoys stood ready, and
the lady entered. At the sight of her unusual beauty, every one was
thunderstruck, even the Emperor could hardly refrain from springing off
the Dragon Throne and speaking to her. But it was too late; there was
nothing to be done. The most beautiful of all the Palace women was
pledged to the Hsiung Nu Khan, the escort which was to convey her over
the Jade Pass waited, and soon the broken-hearted girl set off.
Fury and consternation spread through the Palace; a camel laden with
gold was sent in pursuit; the guilty painter, Mao Yen-shou, was executed
and his immense fortune sent as a consolation to the Wang family; but
all this could not save the young girl from her fate. The Hsiung Nu
ambassador refused to ransom her, and she passed out through the Jade
Barrier to the "Yellow Sand Fields" beyond.
The banished daughter of Han was true to the principles in which she
had been schooled. Instead of committing suicide, as she longed to do,
she submitted to the will of the Five Great Ones--Heaven, Earth, The
Emperor, her Father, and her Mother--and performed her duties as a wife
to the best of her ability in spite of the homesickness from which she
suffered perpetually.
Upon the death of the Khan, she felt that her hour of deliverance had at
last come and that she was at liberty to poison herself. This she did,
and was buried in the desert, but the mound over her grave remained
always green.
Because of her pseudonym, "Brilliant-and-Perfect," she is often referred
to as "Ming Fei," the "Bright Concubine. " Allusions to her story always
suggest homesickness.
THINKING OF THE FRONTIER
_Note 80. _
_I desire to send the "harmonious writings. "_
Letters from wives to husbands are often spoken of as though they
carried sweet sounds.
_Note 81. _
_He who wears the dragon robes delighted in the sweetly-scented wind
of her garments. _
Appointments for the Emperor's use were all spoken of as "dragon"
appointments, and the analysis of the character which means the
Emperor's love, is a dragon under a roof. Ladies' clothes were, and are
to-day, kept in cupboards in which scented woods were burned, therefore
as the long sleeves of their dresses swayed back and forth a sweet
perfume came from them.
_Note 82. _
_How was it possible for the "Flying Swallow" to snatch the Emperor's
love? _
The "Flying Swallow" was a famous concubine. (See Note 30. )
RECITING VERSES BY MOONLIGHT
_Note 83. _
_I suggest that men meditate at length on Hsieh Hsüan Hui. _
A reference, under a pseudonym, to the poet Hsieh T'iao, whose work Li
T'ai-po so much admired. (See Note 72. ) "Hsüan" is applied to the names
of gods to indicate that they deserve praise and worship, and "Hui"
means bright, splendid, or a ray of the sun.
PASSING THE NIGHT AT THE WHITE HERON ISLAND
_Note 84. _
_At dawn, I left the Red Bird Gate. _
An allusion to the bird which rules the South. (See Note 55. )
_Note 85. _
_At sunset, I came to roost on the White Heron Island. _
According to the Chinese commentary, this island lies "in the heart's
centre of the river, three _li_ West of the district of the Golden Mound
(Nanking), and many herons collect there. "
_Note 86. _
_And the longing in my heart is like that for the Green Jasper Tree. _
This tree grows in the Taoist Paradise, supposed to lie in the K'un Lun
Mountains. (See map. ) Those who eat its blossoms become immortal.
ASCENDING THE THREE CHASMS
_Note 87. _
These are the famous chasms of the Yangtze River, between Ichang and
Chungking. Their names are: "The Terrifying Barrier," "The Sorceress
Gorge," and "The Western Sepulchre. " Joined together in one great line
of precipitous cliffs, they are among the extraordinary natural objects
of the world and are most awe-inspiring.
_Note 88. _
_The Serpent River runs terribly fast.
The Serpent River can be suddenly exhausted. _
A reference to the fact that, although the water of the river flows with
terrible speed while the snow waters are coming down, during the Winter
it is very low, and many parts are quite dry. (See Note 46. )
_Note 89. _
_Three dawns shine upon the Yellow Ox.
Three sunsets--and we go so slowly. _
A cliff beneath which are rapids so difficult and dangerous to pass that
the utmost care must be taken in navigating them. Boats ascending this
stretch of the river often take several days to pass a given point. (See
Introduction for a description of the Yangtze River and travel upon it. )
PARTING FROM YANG, A HILL MAN
_Note 90. _
_You are going to pick the fairy grasses
And the shooting purple flower of the_ ch'ang p'u.
"Hill men" is a term applied to those who desire to become worthy of
joining the ranks of the Immortals, and for this reason lead a life of
contemplation among the hills. The fairy grasses and the _ch'ang p'u_
(see table of plants in Introduction) both grow in the Taoist Paradises.
_Note 91. _
_Riding down from the green-blue Heaven on a white dragon. _
The dragon is one of the steeds of the Immortals.
THE SERPENT MOUND
_Note 92. _
_The mercy of the Sainted Lord is far greater than that of Han Wên
Ti.
The Princely One had pity, and did not appoint you to the station of
the Unending Sands. _
The allusion is to an incident which occurred in the Second Century
B. C. when a famous scholar named Chia was sent to Ch'ang Sha, literally
"Unending Sands" (see map), and died there of the damp vapours.
ON THE SUBJECT OF OLD TAI'S WINE-SHOP
_Note 93. _
_Old Tai is gone down to the Yellow Springs. _
The Yellow Springs lie in the nether world, where spirits go after
death.
_Note 94. _
_There is no Li Po on the terrace of Eternal Darkness. _
This world is known as the World of Light, and below it lies the World
of Shades, where the sun never shines.
DRINKING IN THE T'AO PAVILION
_Note 95. _
_The garden pool lies and shines like the magic gall mirror. _
The Magic Gall Mirror was a square of glittering, polished metal
supposed to possess the miraculous power of betraying the thoughts of
all who looked into it, by making the heart and "five viscera" visible.
The ferocious First Emperor used it to examine his numerous Palace
women, and those who, by a palpitating gall, showed lack of faith were
put to death.
_Note 96. _
_The Golden Valley is not much to boast of. _
A beautiful garden built by the rich and eccentric Shih Ch'ung (died
A. D. 300) for his favourite concubine Lü Chu.
A SONG FOR THE HOUR WHEN THE CROWS ROOST
_Note 97. _
_This is the hour when the crows come to roost on the Ku Su Terrace. _
(See Note 73. )
_Note 98. _
_The silver-white arrow-tablet above the gold-coloured brass jar
of the water-clock marks the dripping of much water_.
(See Note 22. )
POEM SENT TO THE OFFICIAL WANG OF HAN YANG
_Note 99. _
_The shrill notes of the bamboo flute reached to Mien and O. _
Mien and O are the ancient names for Hankow and Wuchang.
DRINKING ALONE ON THE ROCK IN THE RIVER OF THE CLEAR STREAM
_Note 100. _
_Perpetually casting my fish-line like Yen Ling. _
Yen Ling is one of the names of the philosopher Yen Kuang. (See Note
75. )
THE REST-HOUSE OF DEEP TROUBLE
_Note 101. _
_At Chin Ling, the tavern where travellers part is called the
Rest-House of Deep Trouble. _
An inn fifteen _li_ South of the district in which Chin Ling (Nanking)
stands.
_Note 102. _
_Like K'ang Lo I climb on board the dull travelling boat. _
K'ang Lo is a pseudonym for the poet Hsieh Ling-yün, who lived in the
Fifth Century A. D.
_Note 103. _
_I hum softly "On the Clear Streams Flies the Night Frost. "_
A line from one of Hsieh Ling-yün's poems.
_Note 104. _
_It is said that, long ago, on the Ox Island Hill, songs were sung
which blended the five colours. _
The "five colours" are blue-green, yellow, carnation, white, and black.
Anything that is perfectly harmonious is spoken of figuratively as being
blended like the five colours.
Rapids flow past the Ox Island Hill on the Yangtze, which is not to be
confused with the Ox Hill at the Yangtze Gorges.
_Note 105. _
_Now do I not equal Hsieh, and the youth of the House of Yüan? _
Yüan Hung lived in the time of the Chin Dynasty. His poems were both
erudite and beautiful, but his extreme poverty forced him to take a
position on a freight-boat plying up and down the Yangtze. One night, as
the vessel lay below the dangerous Ox Rapids waiting for daylight, the
official of the place, a learned man named Hsieh Shang, heard Yüan
Hung's exquisite songs and was so delighted that he insisted upon the
singer's accompanying him to the Official Residence. Here the days and
nights were passed in conversation, and upon Yüan Hung's departure,
Hsieh gave him much silver and gold, and eventually used his influence
to enable the young man to become an official. Since then all men have
heard of Yüan Hung. Li T'ai-po compares his lonely lot to that of the
youth who possessed a faithful friend.
_Note 106. _
_The bitter bamboos make a cold sound, swaying in the Autumn
moonlight. _
The ancient Chinese divided bamboos into two classes: the bitter and the
tasteless.
THE "LOOKING-FOR-HUSBAND" ROCK
_Note 107. _
_In the attitude, and with the manner, of the woman of old. _
A reference to a legend of a woman who was turned to stone. (See Note
45. )
_Note 108. _
_Her resentment is that of the Woman of the Hsiang River. _
O Huang and her sister Nü Ying were the wives of Shun, the "Perfect
Emperor" (2317-2208 B. C. ). When he died, and was buried near the Hsiang
River, they wept so copiously over his grave that their tears burned
spots on the bamboos growing there, and thus was the variety known as
the "spotted bamboo" created. Eventually the despairing ladies committed
suicide by throwing themselves into the river.
_Note 109. _
_Her silence that of the concubine of the King of Ch'u. _
Ts'u Fei, concubine of the King of Ch'u was much distressed because her
lord was of a very wild disposition, and only took pleasure in hunting
and such pursuits. She constantly expostulated with him on his mode of
life, but at last, finding that all her entreaties were in vain, she
ceased her remonstrances and sank into a silence from which she could
not be roused.
AFTER BEING SEPARATED FOR A LONG TIME
_Note 110. _
_Besides there are the "embroidered character letters. "_
In the Fourth Century A. D. , a lady, whose maiden name was Su,
embroidered a long lament of eight hundred and forty characters in the
form of a poetical palindrome and sent it to her husband who was exiled
in Tartary.
BITTER JEALOUSY IN THE PALACE OF THE HIGH GATE
_Note 111. _
_The Heavens have revolved. The "Northern Measure" hangs above the
Western wing. _
The "Northern Measure" is the Chinese name for the "Dipper," and on the
fifteenth day of the Eighth Month, when it can be seen sinking in the
West before bed-time, a festival is held. This is essentially a festival
for women, who object to being parted from their husbands at that time.
Incense is burned to the full moon, and many fruits and seeds, all of a
symbolical nature denoting the desire for posterity, are set out for the
moon goddess.
_Note 112. _
_In the Gold House, there is no one. _
(See Note 23. )
ETERNALLY THINKING OF EACH OTHER
_Note 113. _
_The tones of the Chao psaltery begin and end on the bridge of the
silver-crested love-pheasant. _
"The _sê_, or psaltery, is made on the principle of the _ch'in_, and
like that instrument has been made the subject of numerous allegorical
comparisons. The number of strings has varied . . . but the _sê_ now in
use has twenty-five strings. Each string is elevated on a movable
bridge. These bridges represent the five colours: the first five are
blue, the next red, the five in the middle are yellow, then come five
white, and lastly five black. " ("Chinese Music," by J. A. Van Aalst. )
The most desirable specimens came from Chao, a place in Shensi. (See
map. ) The allusion to the love-pheasants is, of course, symbolical. By
it, the lady says that this instrument is only properly used for
love-songs, with the implication that it is therefore impossible for her
to play it now.
_Note 114. _
_I wish I could play my Shu table-lute on the mandarin duck strings. _
The _ch'in_, or table-lute, lies on a table like a zither, and is played
with the fingers. It is "one of the most ancient instruments, and
certainly the most poetical of all. . . . The dimensions, the number of
strings, the form, and whatever is connected with this instrument had
their principles in Nature. Thus the _ch'in_ measured 3. 66 feet, because
the year contains a maximum of 366 days; the number of strings was five,
to agree with the five elements; the upper part was made round, to
represent the firmament; the bottom was flat, to represent the ground;
and the thirteen studs stood for the twelve moons and the intercalary
moon. The strings were also subjected to certain laws. The thickest
string was composed of two hundred and forty threads and represented
the Sovereign. " ("Chinese Music," by J. A. Van Aalst. ) The "Shu
table-lute" is an allusion to Ssŭ Ma Hsiang-ju, a great poet and
musician, who was a native of Shu. The mandarin ducks are emblems of
conjugal love, and in speaking of them the wife expresses the wish that
her husband were present to listen.
_Note 115. _
_I wish my thoughts to follow the Spring wind, even to the Swallow
Mountains. _
The Yen Jan, or "Swallow Mountains," lie several thousand miles to the
West of Ch'ang An, in Central Asia.
_Note 116.
_
_The neglected lamp does not burn brightly. _
The lamps were little vessels filled with natural oil, upon which
floated a vegetable wick. Unless constantly attended to, and this was
the duty of the woman, the flame was small and insignificant.
SUNG TO THE AIR: "THE MANTZŬ LIKE AN IDOL"
_Note 117. _
The Mantzŭ are an aboriginal tribe still living in the far Southwest of
China. It was here that Li T'ai-po was to have been exiled had not the
sentence been commuted. (See Introduction. )
_Note 118. _
_Instead, for me, the "long" rest-houses alternate with the "short"
rest-houses. _
On the "great roads," which we should speak of as paths, rest-houses for
the convenience of travellers are erected every five _li_ (a _li_ is
one-third of a mile). These are called "short road rest-houses" and are
simply shelters. There are also "long road rest-houses" every ten _li_,
where the care-takers serve travellers with tea and food, and which are
equipped with altars and idols for the convenience of the pious.
AT THE YELLOW CRANE TOWER, TAKING LEAVE OF MÊNG HAO JAN
_Note 119. _
_I take leave of my dear old friend at the Yellow Crane Tower. _
Mêng Hao Jan (A. D. 689-740) was a very famous poet, one of whose
idiosyncrasies was riding a donkey through the snow in a search for
inspiration.
The Yellow Crane Tower is still standing at Wuchang.
(See map and Note 60. )
THOUGHTS FROM A THOUSAND LI
_Note 120. _
_Li Ling is buried in the sands of Hu. _
Li Ling lived during the reign of the Emperor Wu of Han (140-87 B. C. ) at
a time when the Hsiung Nu tribes were very troublesome. He penetrated
far into the Hsiung Nu country, with a force of only five thousand
infantry, and was there surrounded by thirty thousand of the enemy.
After his men had exhausted their arrows, he was forced to surrender,
and spent the rest of his life as a captive in Central Asia.
_Note 121. _
_Su Wu has returned to the homes of Han. _
Su Wu lived during the same period as did Li Ling, and was sent by the
Emperor Wu upon a mission of peace to the Hsiung Nu. By the time he
reached the Court of the Khan, however, relations between the Chinese
and the Barbarians were again strained, and he was taken prisoner.
Various attempts were made to induce him to renounce his allegiance to
China; he was thrown into prison and subsisted for days on the moisture
which he sucked from his clothes, but all efforts to undermine his
loyalty failed, and eventually he was sent to tend sheep on the grazing
fields of the steppes. Years passed, Wu Ti, the "Military Emperor,"
died, and his successor Chao Ti made peace with the Central Asian
tribes and sent envoys to ask for the return of the faithful Su Wu. The
Khan replied that he was dead, but the envoy was able to answer that
such could not be the case, as, not long before, the Emperor himself
while hunting in his park had shot a wild goose, and had found a letter
from Su Wu tied to its leg. The loyal official was therefore sent back
to China. He had gone off in the prime of life; when he returned, in 86
B. C. , he was a broken-down, white-haired old man.
_Note 122. _
_Wild geese are flying.
If I sent a letter--so--to the edge of Heaven. _
An allusion to the story of Su Wu. Letters anxiously awaited are often
spoken of as "wild-goose" letters.
SAYING GOOD-BYE TO A FRIEND WHO IS GOING TO THE PLUM-FLOWER LAKE
_Note 123. _
_I bid you good-bye, my friend, as you are going on an excursion to
the Plum-Flower Lake. _
This lake lies about seven miles Southwest of Nanking. The legend is
that, many years ago, a raft loaded with flowering plum-trees sank in
it, and ever since, during the plum-blossom season, the lake is covered
with plum-trees in bloom.
_Note 124_ _Nevertheless you must not omit the wild-goose letter. _
(See Notes 121 and 122. )
_Note 125. _
_Or else our knowledge of each other will be as the dust of Hu to
the dust of Yüeh. _
Hu is the Mongols' country to the North and West of the Great Wall, and
Yüeh is the province of Chêkiang in the Southeast of China. (See map. )
A DESULTORY VISIT TO THE FÊNG HSIEN TEMPLE AT THE DRAGON'S GATE
_Note 126. _
_I had already wandered away from the People's Temple. _
The Fêng Hsien is one of the so-called Chao Ti temples. These temples
are erected by the people, not by Imperial command, which fact is
proclaimed on an inscription written on a horizontal board placed over
the main doorway. The Fêng Hsien temple stands in the Lung Mên, or
Dragon Gate, a defile cut in the mountains of Honan by the great Yü when
he drained the Empire about two thousand B. C. (See Introduction. ) He is
supposed to have been helped by a dragon who, with one sweep of its
tail, cleft the mountain range in two, thus forcing the river I, a
confluent of the Lo which is one of the tributaries of the Yellow River,
to confine itself within the defile through which it runs in a series of
rapids.
CROSSING THE FRONTIER--II
_Note 127. _
_Sadness everywhere. A few sounds from a Mongol flageolet jar the
air. _
The Hsiung Nu soldiers, against whom the Chinese are fighting, are so
near that the sounds of their flageolets can be plainly heard.
_Note 128. _
_Perhaps it is Ho P'iao Yao. _
(See Note 4. )
AT THE EDGE OF HEAVEN. THINKING OF LI T'AI-PO
_Note 129. _
_The demons where you are rejoice to see men go by. _
The demons are of the man-eating variety, the _yao kuai_. (See table of
supernatural beings in Introduction. )
_Note 130. _
_You should hold speech with the soul of Yüan. _
Ch'ü Yüan (see Note 62) drowned himself in the Mi Lo River.
SENT TO LI PO AS A GIFT
_Note 131. _
_And remembering Ko Hung, you are ashamed. _
Ko Hung, author of "Biographies of the Gods," lived in the Fourth
Century A. D. Although very poor, he pursued his studies with such zeal
that he became an official. Having heard that the cinnabar, from which
the Elixir of Immortality is distilled, came from Cochin China, he
begged to be appointed to a magistracy in the South in order that he
might obtain a supply for experimental purposes on the spot. Arrived in
Kwangtung, he spent his time on Mount Lo Fo attempting to compound this
elixir, and so, working at his experiments, passed into a tranquil
sleep. When his friends went to wake him, they found his clothes empty.
Ko Hung had ascended to the Taoist Paradise to live forever among the
Immortals.
HEARING THE EARLY ORIOLE
_Note 132. _
_The sun rose while I slept. I had not yet risen. _
The poem alludes to the curious Chinese custom of holding Imperial
audiences at dawn. This custom was persisted in until the fall of the
Manchu Dynasty in 1912. One of the most noticeable peculiarities of
Peking in Imperial days was the noise during the night, which never
seemed to stop. Officials came to the Palace in their carts, while it
was still dark, in order to be ready for the audience at dawn. It is
clear from Po Chü-i's poem that he is no longer in office, since,
although the sun has risen, he himself is still in bed.
AN IMPERIAL AUDIENCE AT DAWN
_Note 133. _
_At the first light of the still-concealed sun, the Cock-man, in his
dark-red cap, strikes the tally-sticks and proclaims aloud the
hour. _
The Cock-men, whose badge of office was a red cloth, were in charge of
the water-clock, and their business was to announce the time of day.
Near the water-clock were kept bamboo tallies, one for each division of
the twenty-four hours. (See Introduction. ) When the arrow of the
water-clock registered the moment of the change from one division into
another, the Cock-man on duty struck the appropriate tally-stick on a
stone set for that purpose beside the door of the Palace. At sunrise,
which took place during the hour of the monkey (three to five A. M. ) or
during the hour of the cock (five to seven A. M. ), according to the
season, he gave a loud, peculiar cry to warn the inmates of the Palace
that day had come.
_Note 134. _
_At this exact moment, the Keeper of the Robes sends in the
eider-duck skin dress, with its cloud-like curving
feather-scales of kingfisher green. _
The "Keeper of the Robes" was one of the six offices instituted by the
Ch'in Dynasty (255-209 B. C. ), the other five were those of the "Imperial
Head-dresses," "Food-stuffs," "Washing Utensils," "Sitting Mats," and
"Writing Materials. " Robes were, and are, made from the skins of the
various eider-ducks found in Northern Asia. The king eider's head is
blue; the Pacific eider's, black and green; while the spectacled eider
has a white line round the eye, which accounts for its name. The
feathers are so close and soft that garments made of them feel exactly
like fine fur.
_Note 135. _
_In the Ninth Heaven, the Ch'ang Ho Gate opens. _
The Ninth Heaven is the centre from which the points of the compass
radiate, and it is there that the first of all the entrances to Heaven,
the Ch'ang Ho Gate, stands.
_Note 136. _
_The immediately-arrived sun tips the "Immortal Palm. "_
The "Immortal Palm" was a very tall bronze pillar which the Emperor Wu
of Han erected in the grounds of the Variegated Colours Palace. On the
top was a colossal hand, with the fingers curled up so that the falling
dew might be caught in the palm, for, of course, the ancient Chinese
firmly believed that dew fell. As dew was the drinking-water of the
Immortals, to drink it was to advance a step on the road to Immortality.
The hand was brightly polished, and was one of the first objects about
the Palace to glitter when the sun rose.
SEEKING FOR THE HERMIT OF THE WEST HILL
_Note 137. _
_On the Nothing-Beyond Peak, a hut of red grass. _
Huts were built of a certain hill grass, now very rare. It turns red in
the Autumn, and is fine and strong like wire.
_Note 138. _
_I look into the room. There is only the low table and the stand for
the elbows. _
Much of the furniture in the T'ang period was like that used now by the
Japanese. It was customary to sit on the floor and write at a low table,
and the use of the elbow-stand was general.
_Note 139. _
_I have received much--the whole doctrine of clear purity. _
The principles of Taoism are called literally "the clear pure
doctrines. "
_Note 140. _
_Why should I wait for the Man of Wisdom? _
An allusion to the eccentric Wang Hui-chih (A. D. 388), who made a long
journey through the snow to see a friend, but missed him.
FAREWELL WORDS TO THE DAUGHTER OF THE HOUSE OF YANG
_Note 141. _ The sacredness with which the Chinese regard their family
ties is well known, but it is perhaps not realized that the Chinese
conception of the duties owed to friendship entails very great
responsibilities. If a friend dies, it is a man's duty to see that his
family do not suffer in any way. Wei Ying-wu is probably addressing the
daughter of some dead friend whom he has brought up in his own family,
or she may be a poor relation on his mother's side, but that she is not
his own daughter is clear from the fact that her clan name differs from
his, which is Wei.
ONCE MORE FIELDS AND GARDENS.
_Note 142. _
_But for thirteen years it was so I lived. _
The text reads "three ten," which is the way the Chinese say "thirty,"
but native commentaries state that it should read "ten three," or
thirteen. This is far more in accordance with the facts of T'ao's life.
He lived A. D. 365-427, and although he became an official, he soon
resigned his post, saying that he "could not crook the hinges of his
back for five pecks of rice a day. " (See Note 54. )
_Note 143. _
_Mine is a little property of ten_ mou _or so. _
A _mou_ is a Chinese land measurement which is equal to about one-sixth
of an acre.
SONG OF THE SNAPPED WILLOW
_Note 144. _
A very famous song written during the Liang Dynasty (A. D. 502-557).
Allusions to it always suggest homesickness.
THE CLOUDY RIVER
_Note 145. _
There seems to be no doubt that although King Hsüan of Chou (876-781
B. C. ) is not mentioned by name in the poem, which appears in the "Decade
of Tang" division of the "Book of Odes," he is the King referred to.
All the old Chinese commentators agree in ascribing the authorship to a
certain Jêng Shu, an officer of the Court during the reign of that
monarch, who is known to have had a profound admiration for the King.
Opinions differ as to the exact date of the great drought, but the
standard chronology places it in the sixth year of King Hsüan's reign,
821 B. C. This ode illustrates the Chinese conception of kingship
described in the Introduction.
_Note 146. _
_How the Cloudy River glitters. _
The Chinese call the Milky Way the "Cloudy" or "Silver River. " Stars are
peculiarly bright and glittering during a drought.
_Note 147. _
_My stone sceptres and round badges of rank. _
The badges of office were made of nephrite. There are references in both
the "Book of History" and the "Book of Odes" to the fact that, after
certain sacrifices, they were buried in the ground. In this case, the
sacrifices had been performed so often that the supply of these tokens
was exhausted.
_Note 148. _
_I myself have gone from the border altars to the ancestral temples. _
According to Confucius, the sacrifices to Heaven and Earth were
performed at the border altars, and those to the ancestors took place at
the temples especially provided for the purpose.
_Note 149. _
_Hou Chi could do no more. _
Hou Chi is the deity of grain, and from him King Hsüan was supposed to
be descended.
_Note 150. _
_Shang Ti does not look favourably upon us. _
Shang Ti, literally the "Above Emperor," is the supreme ruler of the
universe. Earthly Emperors receive the decree which empowers them to
rule from him.
_Note 151. _
_Why should I not be terrified
Since all the ancestral sacrifices will be ended? _
To the Chinese, this is the greatest calamity that can be conceived,
since without these sacrifices the ancestral spirits would suffer
greatly, and might visit their wrath upon their descendants.
_Note 152. _
_Drought, the Demon of Drought, has caused these ravages. _
The "Book of Spirits and Prodigies" states that in the Southern regions
there is a hairy man, two or three cubits in height, with eyes in the
top of his head and the upper part of his body bare. His name is Po. He
runs with the speed of the wind, and in whatever part of the country he
appears a great drought ensues.
_Note 153. _
_I offered the yearly sacrifices for full crops in good time. _
It was the custom for the King to pray and make offerings to Shang Ti
during the first Spring month (February), in order to propitiate this
chief of the Chinese pantheon and ensure good harvests from the grain
then being sown. During the first Winter month (November), other prayers
and sacrifices were offered to the "Honoured Ones of Heaven" (the sun,
moon, and stars) for a blessing on the year to follow.
_Note 154. _
_I neglected not one of the Spirits of the Four Quarters of the
Earth. _
Sacrifices of thanksgiving to the "Spirits of the Four Earth Quarters"
were offered at the end of the harvest season.
SONG OF GRIEF
_Note 155.
