A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems Part 10

THE c.o.c.k-FIGHT

By Ts'ao Chih

Our wandering eyes are sated with the dancer's skill.

Our ears are weary with the sound of "kung" and "shang."[21]

Our host is silent and sits doing nothing: All the guests go on to places of amus.e.m.e.nt.

On long benches the sportsmen sit ranged Round a cleared room, watching the fighting-c.o.c.ks.

The gallant birds are all in battle-trim: They raise their tails and flap defiantly.

Their beating wings stir the calm air: Their angry eyes gleam with a red light.

Where their beaks have struck, the fine feathers are scattered: With their strong talons they wound again and again.

Their long cries enter the blue clouds; Their flapping wings tirelessly beat and throb.

"Pray G.o.d the lamp-oil lasts a little longer, Then I shall not leave without winning the match!"

[21] Notes of the scale.

A VISION

By Ts'ao Chih

In the Nine Provinces there is not room enough: I want to soar high among the clouds, And, far beyond the Eight Limits of the compa.s.s, Cast my gaze across the unmeasured void.

I will wear as my gown the red mists of sunrise, And as my skirt the white fringes of the clouds: My canopy--the dim l.u.s.tre of s.p.a.ce: My chariot--six dragons mounting heavenward: And before the light of Time has shifted a pace Suddenly stand upon the World's blue rim.

The doors of Heaven swing open, The double gates shine with a red light.

I roam and linger in the palace of Wen-ch'ang,[22]

I climb up to the hall of T'ai-wei.[22]

The Lord G.o.d lies at his western lattice: And the lesser Spirits are together in the eastern gallery.

They wash me in a bath of rainbow-spray And gird me with a belt of jasper and rubies.

I wander at my ease gathering divine herbs: I bend down and touch the scented flowers.

w.a.n.g-tzu[23] gives me drugs of long-life And Hsien-men[23] hands me strange potions.

By the partaking of food I evade the rites of Death: My span is extended to the enjoyment of life everlasting.

[22] Stars.

[23] Immortals.

THE CURTAIN OF THE WEDDING BED

By Liu Hsun's wife (third century A.D.).

After she had been married to him for a long while, General Liu Hsun sent his wife back to her home, because he had fallen in love with a girl of the Ssu-ma family.

Flap, flap, you curtain in front of our bed!

I hung you there to screen us from the light of day.

I brought you with me when I left my father's house; Now I am taking you back with me again.

I will fold you up and lay you flat in your box.

Curtain--shall I ever take you out again?

REGRET

By Yuan Chi (A.D. 210-263)

When I was young I learnt fencing And was better at it than Crooked Castle.[24]

My spirit was high as the rolling clouds And my fame resounded beyond the World.

I took my sword to the desert sands, I drank my horse at the Nine Moors.

My flags and banners flapped in the wind, And nothing was heard but the song of my drums.

War and its travels have made me sad, And a fierce anger burns within me: It's thinking of how I've wasted my time That makes this fury tear my heart.

[24] A famous general.

TAOIST SONG

By Chi K'ang (A.D. 223-262)

I will cast out Wisdom and reject Learning.

My thoughts shall wander in the Great Void (_bis_).

Always repenting of wrongs done Will never bring my heart to rest.

I cast my hook in a single stream; But my joy is as though I possessed a Kingdom.

I loose my hair and go singing; To the four frontiers men join in my refrain.

This is the purport of my song: "My thoughts shall wander in the Great Void."

A GENTLE WIND

By Fu Hsuan (died A.D. 278)

A gentle wind fans the calm night: A bright moon shines on the high tower.

A voice whispers, but no one answers when I call: A shadow stirs, but no one comes when I beckon.

The kitchen-man brings in a dish of lentils: Wine is there, but I do not fill my cup.

Contentment with poverty is Fortune's best gift: Riches and Honour are the handmaids of Disaster.

Though gold and gems by the world are sought and prized, To me they seem no more than weeds or chaff.

WOMAN

By Fu Hsuan

How sad it is to be a woman!

Nothing on earth is held so cheap.