A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems Part 17

Heated with wine, to rinse our mouths and hands In those cold waters was a joy beyond compare!

Of gold and jewels I have not any need; For Caps and Coaches I do not care at all.

But I wish I could sit on the rocky banks of the Lake For ever and ever staring at the Stone Fish.

CIVILIZATION

By Yuan Chieh

To the south-east--three thousand leagues-- The Yuan and Hsiang form into a mighty lake.

Above the lake are deep mountain valleys, And men dwelling whose hearts are without guile.

Gay like children, they swarm to the tops of the trees; And run to the water to catch bream and trout.

Their pleasures are the same as those of beasts and birds; They put no restraint either on body or mind.

Far I have wandered throughout the Nine Lands; Wherever I went such manners had disappeared.

I find myself standing and wondering, perplexed, Whether Saints and Sages have really done us good.

A PROTEST IN THE SIXTH YEAR OF CH'IEN FU (A.D. 879)

By Ts'ao Sung (flourished _circa_ A.D. 870-920)

The hills and rivers of the lowland country You have made your battle-ground.

How do you suppose the people who live there Will procure "firewood and hay"?[43]

Do not let me hear you talking together About t.i.tles and promotions; For a single general's reputation Is made out of ten thousand corpses.

[43] The necessaries of life.

ON THE BIRTH OF HIS SON

By Su Tung-p'o (A.D. 1036-1101)

Families, when a child is born Want it to be intelligent.

I, through intelligence, Having wrecked my whole life, Only hope the baby will prove Ignorant and stupid.

Then he will crown a tranquil life By becoming a Cabinet Minister.

THE PEDLAR OF SPELLS

By Lu Yu (A.D. 1125-1209)

An old man selling charms in a cranny of the town wall.

He writes out spells to bless the silkworms and spells to protect the corn.

With the money he gets each day he only buys wine.

But he does not worry when his legs get wobbly, For he has a boy to lean on.

BOATING IN AUTUMN

By Lu Yu

Away and away I sail in my light boat; My heart leaps with a great gust of joy.

Through the leafless branches I see the temple in the wood; Over the dwindling stream the stone bridge towers.

Down the gra.s.sy lanes sheep and oxen pa.s.s; In the misty village cranes and magpies cry.

Back in my home I drink a cup of wine And need not fear the greed[44] of the evening wind.

[44] Which "eats" men.

THE HERD-BOY

By Lu Yu

In the southern village the boy who minds the ox With his naked feet stands on the ox's back.

Through the hole in his coat the river wind blows; Through his broken hat the mountain rain pours.

On the long d.y.k.e he seemed to be far away; In the narrow lane suddenly we were face to face.

The boy is home and the ox is back in its stall; And a dark smoke oozes through the thatched roof.

HOW I SAILED ON THE LAKE TILL I CAME TO THE EASTERN STREAM

By Lu Yu

Of Spring water,--thirty or forty miles: In the evening sunlight,--three or four houses.

Youths and boys minding geese and ducks: Women and girls tending mulberries and hemp.

The place,--remote: their coats and scarves old: The year,--fruitful: their talk and laughter gay.

The old wanderer moors his flat boat And staggers up the bank to pluck wistaria flowers.

A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY CHINESE POEM

Ch'en Tzu-lung was born in 1607. He became a soldier, and in 1637 defeated the rebel, Hsu Tu. After the suicide of the last Ming emperor, he offered his services to the Ming princes who were still opposing the Manchus. In 1647 he headed a conspiracy to place the Ming prince Lu on the throne. His plans were discovered and he was arrested by Manchu troops. Escaping their vigilance for a moment, he leapt into a river and was drowned.

The following song describes the flight of a husband and wife from a town menaced by the advancing Manchus. They find the whole country-side deserted.

THE LITTLE CART

The little cart jolting and banging through the yellow haze of dusk.

The man pushing behind: the woman pulling in front.

They have left the city and do not know where to go.