The works of Li Po, the Chinese poet | ||
[OMITTED]
92. BEREFT OF THEIR LOVE
Huang and Yin, the royal ladies of old,
Ranged the banks of Hsiao and Hsiang, south of Tung-ting.
They wandered by the fathomless waters of the deep.
All the world tells the tale of their misery.
Demons howl in the fog and infernal spirits whistle in the rain.
Ah, me! What would it avail me if I dared to speak?
High heaven shines not, I fear, on the loyalty of my heart.
Clouds gather clouds,—they would roar aloud in anger.
Even Yao and Shun ruling, the scepter would pass to Yui.
A king, deprived of his minister, is a dragon turned to a fish;
A minister usurps power, lo! a mouse is become a tiger.
The Nine Hills of Perplexity stand in a row, one resembling another—
How could they find the solitary mound of the Double-pupiled One?
They wept and moaned, and gazed into the distance.
Gazed longingly toward the deep mountains of Tsang-wu.
Their tears on the bamboo leaves will not fade forever.
Huang and Hu Yin (24th century B.C.) were two daughters of Emperor Yao, who gave them in marriage to his successor, Shun—the Double-pupiled One. Shun, while traveling south in the district of Tsang-wu (Hunan Province) died and was buried in the field. The two wives arrived too late to meet their husband, and their tear-marks produced a new species of bamboo with speckled leaves. Yui succeeded Shun as emperor.
The original of this poem, much prized for its verbal beauty and its classic allegory, is quite obscure. The native commentators have a great deal to say on the significance of the second stanza. At any rate, it is clear that Li Po, while retelling the well-known legend, alludes to his separation from the emperor and to the unhappy state of affairs at the court that was infested with unworthy and wicked men.
The works of Li Po, the Chinese poet | ||