by Li He
The Lady Li
7-character: 3 rhymes
Lady Li was a favourite of Emperor Wu of Han (regnet 141–87 B.C.) whose premature death plunged the Emperor into despair. He’s poems would appear to be an elegy for some favourite or other of the reigning Emperor.
1. The Purple Emperor is one of the three highest divinities dwelling in the Nine Palaces of the Great Purity.
2. Here the lonely simurgh stands for the Emperor. Shang was the note of the pentatonic scale associated with autumn and sadness.
3. See the poem Singing-girls in the Brazen Bird Tower, below.
4. The Jade Toad was a clepsydra made in the shape of that animal. For the Cock-herald, see “Ninth Moon”, note 4, above.
5. I suspect this line is a hint to the Emperor that though his favourite is dead, there are still many other beautiful women at his command.
Song of the Horseman
5-character: 1 rhyme
An allusion to the story of a certain Shu-li Mu-gong who once slew a man to avenge his father and then flew to the hills. Here he was awakened one night by the whinnying of a supernatural horse, which warned him he was in danger. This is a poem about revenge and Shu-li Mu-gong himself is supposed to be speaking.
1. During the Six Dynasties period, Xiang-yang, in Hebei, was famous for its warriors.
2. The blade was clean and cold because he had not yet slain his enemy.
The Royal Ladies of the Xiang
7-character: 2 rhymes
Legend had it that when Emperor Shun died his two wives, the daughters of Yao, buried him on Mount Cang-wu in Hunan. They wept so bitterly that their tears of blood left stains on all the bamboos of this region. They then threw themselves into the River Xiang, were changed into spirits, and became wives of the River God.
1. Possibly female shamans summoning the two goddesses.
2. Nine Doubts Mountain is another name for Mount Cang-wu. “Red flowers”: the red-speckled bamboos of this region.
3. This alludes to the deaths of Shun and his wives. The line also suggests the meaning: “…among mist-hung kolanut trees.” “Departure of Simurgh” and “Farewell of Phoenix” were tunes played on the Chinese lute (Qin).
4. “Clouds and rain”; generally a symbol of love.
5. This region was famous for its maples.
Thirteen Poems from My Southern Garden
7-character: 1 rhyme
Poems written in He’s home in Chang-gu, while he was making up his mind to take office in Lu-zhou in 814.
1. Xi Shi, most renowned of all Chinese beauties, came from Yue.
2. No respectable Chinese girl would ever get married without a go-between or match-maker.
3. The ruined Fu-chang palace in Chang-gu.
4. This refers to a type of silkworm that produced as much as eight ordinary silkworms.
5. No commentator has explained this line satisfactorily.
6. The gardener came from Yue, in southeast China.
7. Shi-ji, LV, biography of Zhang Liang (d. 189 B.C.) recounts how Zhang met a poorly dressed old man on a bridge. The old man tested him by dropping his shoe under the bridge and then ordering Zhang to pick it up. Later, after testing his patience still further, the old man presented him with a book on the art of war which brought him to success.
8. Wu-gou (Hook of Wu) was the name of a famous type of sword used by the southern aborigines.
9. Over fifty Chinese districts in Henan and Hebei were in the hands of tribal peoples at this time.
10. The portraits found in the Ling-yan pavilion were those of military men who had aided Tang Tai-zong in his struggle for power.
11. Literally: “…a marquis of ten thousand households.”
12. He has been studying all night, perfecting his literary style. (“Carving grubs” was a contemptuous expression for writing verse.) There is no point to all this, since a country incessantly at war has little use for poets. The quickest way to gain renown is to fight on some distant frontier.
13. When the poet Si-ma Xiang-ru returned home after eloping with Wen-jun, he found his house in ruins.
14. The Han statesman and philosopher Dong-fang Shuo (154–93 B.C.), styled Man-qian, was noted for his sense of humour—a trait which enabled him to criticize the Emperor yet remain in office.
15. A river in Zhejiang, famous for its copper. Ou-ye Zi cast swords there.
16. An old man who changed into a white monkey to elude his girl-opponent. This is another poem about the futility of a literary career.
17. Magnolias and pepper gave fragrance to the wine.
18. Bian Rang (floruit late 2nd-early 3rd centuries A.D.) was a brilliant young man who was given high office when still a youth, thanks to the sponsorship of Cai Yong (133–92), an outstanding poet and writer of the Later Han. Here He is referring to his relationship with Han Yu—a shade ironically perhaps, since he himself had not achieved office.
19. He will use the bamboos for fishing rods, rather than write poems on them.
20. A reference to the poet Xi Kang (223–62), who here stands for He himself.
21. Pine Stream and Cassia Cave were places in Chang-gu. Dragons always lived in deep, black water. Wang says the eggs were lizard eggs.
22. A name for purified sodium sulphate (Glauber’s salt).
23. Yu Qing (Warring States period) wrote the Yu-shi Chun-qiu when in great misery.
24. The “Wheat-rain season” begins on 20 April.
Song of the Brazen Immortal Bidding Farewell to Han
7-character: 3 rhymes
Yao interprets this poem as a protest against Xian-zong’s extravagance in building two new palaces and constructing an ornamental lake, the Dragon-head Pool. All these activities, He is saying, areas futile as the quest for immortality. Han Wu-di also sought for eternal life, surrounding himself with every luxury. Yet where is he now? Nothing remains of all his glory. Even his Brazen Immortal fell into the hands of others. The latter was a statue which Wu-di had set up on top of his Shen-ming tower. “It was placed high on a metal column, holding a bowl to catch the dew; reaching beyond the vile, clogging dust of the world to obtain the limpid elixir of the pure, translucent ether.” Wu-di was accustomed to collect the dew from this vessel and drink it, mixed with powdered jade, in the hope that this would make him immortal. Over three hundred years later, Emperor Ming tried to have the statue brought to his capital. But it proved too heavy to transport over such a distance; so it was eventually left forlornly standing on the banks of the river Ba, in Shanxi, with its dew-plate broken from its hands.
1. Han Wu-di (whose surname was Liu) was buried in the Mao-ling tomb in Xing-ping county, 80 li northwest of Chang-an. “Guest of the autumn wind” is a reference to Wu-di’s having written a song called Autumn Wind, about the brevity of life. It also suggests that his life was as brief as summer; that he is now one with the dead leaves of autumn; that instead of wine and singing-girls, he now has only the cold wind of autumn to entertain him as it whistles through his bones.
2. Cassia trees are growing among the ruins of balustrades.
3. The thirty-six palaces of Chang-an. “Earth-flowers” means moss.
4. The statue still looks on the moon as belonging to Han, though everything else has been usurped by Wei.
5. Xian-yang was the ancient capital of Qin.
6. A famous line.
7. Wei-cheng was the name given by Han to the district around Xian yang. The change of names suggests the passing of the dynasties.
Ballad: Time Goes on Forever
5-character: 1 rhyme
1. “Jasper blossom”—the moon? Or perhaps “dark blue clouds at night”?
2. Qin Shi Huang-di tried to build a bridge across the sea, to reach the islands of immortality, only to have it pulled down by spirits.
3. “Pillars of bronze”: both the pillar on which the Brazen Immortal of Han Wu-di stood and those pillars, 3,000 li in circumference, which held up the sky over Mount Kun-lun.
The Young Man with a Yellow Hat
Irregular: 3 rhymes
A boatman.
1. “South shore” suggests parting.
2. See above, the poem The Royal Ladies of the Xiang.
3. “Zither”—actually a se, a zither with twenty-five strings.
4. “Yellow arrowroot” is also the name of a ballad.
5. Lotus blooms in early summer, deer parsley in autumn. She has waited in vain for her husband’s return all these months.
6. Incense-burners in the form of ducks, symbols of conjugal love.
Twenty-Three Poems about Horses
These poems, though ostensibly concerned with horses, are in fact about the neglect and misuse of men of genius. Since He was born in the Year of the Horse (890), he saw himself as a thoroughbred, ill-treated and unrecognized. He’s patron Han Yu frequently employed this very metaphor, insisting that though there were “thousand league horses” in plenty, nobody had the wit to recognize them.
1. Suffering bitter hardship, the poor scholar finds still more misery in store.
2. The Emperor of Zhou, at least, knew a thoroughbred when he saw one.
3. The constellation Fang was said to be composed of four horses.
4. A reference to the sand-dunes.
5. Mount Yan-ran, now known as Mount Hang-ai, in Mongolia.
6. Another vivid picture of He at the end of his tether.
7. Mu Gong, or the Eastern King, is the male principle of the air, while the Mother who is Queen in the West is the female. From these two principles heaven and earth are formed.
8. High-king Mu of Zhou was said to have feasted with the Mother who is Queen in the West and the Eastern King at the Peach Blossom Banquet, which takes place at the side of the Jade Lake and is attended by all classes of Immortals. He was driven to their palace in the Kun-lun mountain by his eight famous horses. He’s prince would be unable to do this since his horses are worthless. This poem is a thrust at rulers who (a) spend their time seeking immortality, and (b) employ only third-rate men. This poem is a protest against the Emperor’s appointment of a eunuch, as Commander-in-Chief of the forces attacking Wang Cheng-zong.
9. Russet Hare was a renowned horse ridden by the hero Lü Bu, during the period of the Three Kingdoms.
10. “Fruit-tree ponies” were dwarf ponies from Korea.
11. Legend has it that a descendant of Shu An of Liao, called Dong-fu, could tame dragons.
12. Xiang Yu, defeated by the founder of the Han dynasty in the struggle for the empire, gave away his steed, Dapple, to the man who had ferried him across the river Wu. Shortly afterwards, he killed himself.
13. Another protest against wanton neglect of genius. Bo-luo, a famous judge of horseflesh, came across a magnificent horse dragging a load of salt up a steep hill.
14. A description of a newborn colt. Peach-blossom markings were the sign of a fine horse.
15. Since there are no connoisseurs of horseflesh left, the young man in question can only present the bones of a fine horse to King Xiang’s spirit; for since King Xiang has the power to dream of horses, perhaps he at least will know a fine horse when he sees one.
16. A satire on some rich, successful, and worthless young man?
17. Duke Huan of Qi (685–643 B.C.) had a piebald horse so fierce it frightened off tigers.
18. A genius labors under heavy disabilities. But when it comes to the test, he will outstrip all others.
19. Pampered horses are fed on cereals, not grass.
20. Long teeth were the sign of a horse that could run 1000 leagues in one day. The poem means that those in power are afraid of men of genius.
21. Bo-luo Sun Yang of Qin, a famous judge of horseflesh. A horse with whorls of hair on its belly was said to be capable of covering 1000 leagues a day.
22. Legend has it that the first Buddhist scriptures were brought to China on the back of a white horse.
23. Zhang-tai street, in Chang-an, was located in the quarter where the singing-girls lived.
24. “Fish-gut”: name of a famous sword.
25. A young prince wearing a belt and sword needs a fine horse. So a ruler needs a talented man around him if he is to establish a reputation.
26. Why does the emperor dismiss his patient officials simply because the empire is temporarily at peace? Gao-zhou was a malarial region in Guangdong to which many officials were banished.
27. The blood-sweating horses of Ferghana were famous throughout antiquity.
28. Bells adorned the bits of horses.
29. Li Shao-chun was an Immortal who was seen riding a black mule in Pu-ban, over three months after his supposed death.
30. Emperor Wu of Han dabbled in alchemy, trying to make gold by smelting cinnabar.
31. Emperor Wu invaded Ferghana to seize its blood-sweating horses; but even they were not truly divine.
Song: Bearded Shen Playing His Tartar Horn
5-character: 1 rhyme
Type of flageolet.
1. Li Dao-zong was Prince of Jian-xia.
2. Tao Yuan-ming (365–427) and Xie Ling-yun (385–433) were the greatest poets of the pre-Tang period.
3. A reed instrument with nine holes and a mouthpiece like the Tartar horn.
4. Ju Yin, of the Jin dynasty, was so poor that in the summer he studied by the light of fireflies which he caught himself. His host, though poor, was an assiduous student.
Song of the Old Jade-Hunter
7-character: 3 rhymes
A ballad of social protest, very much in the style made popular by Bo Ju-yi, Yuan Zhen and others.
1. One of the most sought-after types of jade during Tang.
2. A woman’s hair-ornament which shook as the wearer walked.
3. Indigo Field (Lan-tian) among the mountains of Shaanxi provided the finest “jade,” actually a type of green-and-white marble.
4. During the summer the cuckoo—believed to be the soul of a banished emperor—cried day and night, so the story went, until its mouth ran with blood.
5. Their ghosts hate the officials whose depredations drove them to their death while hunting for jade.
6. A type of creeper also called “think-of-your-children.” “Ancient terraces” means “mountains” here.
Ballad of an Aching Heart
5-character: 1 rhyme
1. The Songs of Chu.
2. The spirit, weary of journeying through endless reincarnations, lodges for a while in the body.
Song: On the Lake
7-character: 3 rhymes
1. The plum-breeze is the wind that blows down the plums in the fifth lunar month. A singing-fan was used to screen the face when singing.
2. Crown Prince Shi of Yue was sent as a hostage to the King of Anyang. The king’s daughter, Mei-zhu, fell in love with him and yielded herself to him.
3. Shu produced a very fine writing-paper. The expression rendered as “a delicate letter” reads literally “a letter in small characters.” The fineness of the calligraphy was a mark of the good breeding of her lover.
The Caves of the Yellow Clan
7-character: 2 rhymes
The region of south Guangxi and west Guangdong was inhabited by aborigines called the Yellow Cave Natives who were for long a nuisance to the imperial government. In the winter of 816 they staged a large-scale uprising.
1. Bronze drums were the finest artifacts of aboriginal culture.
2. Their war-paint was evidently reddish-purple, like the flowers of the arrowroot.
3. The alligator was said to “make a noise like a drum and sound the watches of the night.”
4. The bamboo-viper was particularly venomous. “Flying crawlers” are “flying hairy caterpillars.” The you was a fabulous beast said to spit sand onto the shadows of people, who then sickened and died.
5. “Bamboo-horse” can only have been the name of some type of vehicle, since horses could not survive in the jungles of the south.
6. While the aborigines quietly go home with thei
r plunder, the government armies wreak vengeance on the harmless inhabitants of Rong-zhou, in order to lay claim to a resounding victory.
Song: The Screen
7-character: 1 rhyme
A poem about a newly married couple whose bed is surrounded by an elaborate screen.
1. The hinges of the screen look like glass coins.
2. There were twelve screens arranged in pairs across the bed.
3. Gold cicada-shaped hairpins.
4. A type of incense.
5. The tying of wine-goblets with a sash was part of the wedding ceremonies.
Walking through the South Mountain Fields
Irregular: 2 rhymes
“Xing” here does not mean “Ballad.”
1. White was the colour assigned to autumn, being the colour of mourning.
2. Note the synaesthesia in this remarkable image.
3. The will-o’-the-wisps burn as feebly and as sinisterly as the black lacquer lamps placed in tombs.
Joys of a Princess Travelling in Battle Array
7-character: 4 rhymes
A satire directed against a princess of the time going out to a banquet in He-yang accompanied by her retinue, many of whom are her own handmaids accoutered for war to act as her bodyguard. Alternatively, a satire on a eunuch-general, here ridiculed as a “princess.”
1. “Purple Swallow”—name of a famous thoroughbred of the early Han. He-yang was renowned for its flowers.
2. A serrated pennon stood before the tent of the commanding officer. Though the general herself has not yet risen, brocade clothes are bestowed on the ladies of her retinue.
“After a Drinking Party” Zhang-Che, My Elder, Once Presented Me with a Poem on This Theme. At That Time Zhang Wa Serving as Adviser in Lu-Zhou.
7-character: 3 rhymes
Zhang Che (d. 821) was one of He’s closest friends.
1. “Dragon-head” was a sobriquet applied to the foremost of a group of friends.
2. Zhang was a descendant of the Princess Ning-qin. Bamboo tablets decorated with fish-barbs were part of the insignia of the highest officials.
3. Officials of the sixth and seventh ranks wore green robes. Hence the line means: “As you crossed the Tai-hang range to take up your first post, your (commoner’s) robes turned green.”