Part 15 (1/2)

My throat was dry with climbing and I longed to drink; And my eyes were eager to look into the cool shaft.

I walked round it; I looked right down; I saw my image mirrored on the face of the pool.

An earthen pitcher was sinking into the black depths; There was no rope to pull it to the well-head.

I was strangely troubled lest the pitcher should be lost, And started wildly running to look for help.

From village to village I scoured that high plain; The men were gone: the dogs leapt at my throat.

I came back and walked weeping round the well; Faster and faster the blinding tears flowed-- Till my own sobbing suddenly woke me up; My room was silent; no one in the house stirred; The flame of my candle flickered with a green smoke; The tears I had shed glittered in the candle-light.

A bell sounded; I knew it was the midnight-chime; I sat up in bed and tried to arrange my thoughts: The plain in my dream was the graveyard at Ch'ang-an, Those hundred acres of untilled land.

The soil heavy and the mounds heaped high; And the dead below them laid in deep troughs.

Deep are the troughs, yet sometimes dead men Find their way to the world above the grave.

And to-night my love who died long ago Came into my dream as the pitcher sunk in the well.

That was why the tears suddenly streamed from my eyes, Streamed from my eyes and fell on the collar of my dress.

PO HSING-CHIEN

[_A.D. 799-831_]

[_Brother_ of Po-Chu-i]

[65] THE STORY OF MISS LI

Miss Li, enn.o.bled with the t.i.tle ”Lady of Ch'ien-kuo,” was once a prost.i.tute in Ch'ang-an. The devotion of her conduct was so remarkable that I have thought it worth while to record her story. In the T'ien-pao era[1] there was a certain n.o.bleman, Governor of Ch'ang-chou and Lord of Jung-yang, whose name and surname I will omit. He was a man of great wealth and highly esteemed by all. He had pa.s.sed his fiftieth year and had a son who was close on twenty, a boy who in literary talent outstripped all his companions. His father was proud of him and had great hopes of his future. ”This,” he would say, ”is the 'thousand-league colt' of our family.” When the time came for the lad to compete at the Provincial Examinations, his father gave him fine clothes and a handsome coach with richly caparisoned horses for the journey; and to provide for his expense at the Capital, he gave him a large sum of money, saying, ”I am sure that your talent is such that you will succeed at the first attempt; but I am giving you two years' supply, that you may pursue your career free from all anxiety.” The young man was also quite confident and saw himself getting the first place as clearly as he saw the palm of his own hand.

[1] A.D. 742-56.

Starting from P'i-ling[2] he reached Ch'ang-an in a few weeks and took a house in the Pu-cheng quarter. One day he was coming back from a visit to the Eastern Market. He entered the City by the eastern gate of P'ing-k'ang and was going to visit a friend who lived in the south-western part of the town. When he reached the Ming-k'o Bend, he saw a house of which the gate and courtyard were rather narrow; but the house itself was stately and stood well back from the road. One of the double doors was open, and at it stood a lady, attended by her maid-servant. She was of exquisite, bewitching beauty, such as the world has seldom produced.

[2] In Kiang-su, near Ch'ang-chou.

When he saw her, the young man unconsciously reined in his horse and hesitated. Unable to leave the spot, he purposely let his whip fall to the ground and waited for his servant to pick it up, all the time staring at the lady in the doorway. She too was staring and met his gaze with a look that seemed to be an answer to his admiration. But in the end he went away without daring to speak to her.

But he could not put the thought of her out of his mind and secretly begged those of his friends who were most expert in the pleasures of Ch'ang-an to tell him what they knew of the girl. He learnt from them that the house belonged to a low and unprincipled woman named Li. When he asked what chance he had of winning the daughter, they answered: ”The woman Li is possessed of considerable property, for her previous dealings have been with wealthy and aristocratic families, from whom she has received enormous sums. Unless you are willing to spend many thousand pounds, the daughter will have nothing to do with you.”

The young man answered: ”All I care about is to win her. I do not mind if she costs a million pounds.” The next day he set out in his best clothes, with many servants riding behind him, and knocked at the door of Mrs. Li's house. Immediately a page-boy drew the bolt. The young man asked, ”Can you tell me whose house this is?” The boy did not answer, but ran back into the house and called out at the top of his voice, ”Here is the gentleman who dropped his whip the other day!”

Miss Li was evidently very much pleased. He heard her saying, ”Be sure not to let him go away. I am just going to do my hair and change my clothes; I will be back in a minute.” The young man, in high spirits, followed the page-boy into the house. A white-haired old lady was going upstairs, whom he took to be the girl's mother. Bowing low, the young man addressed her as follows: ”I am told that you have a vacant plot of land, which you would be willing to let as building-ground. Is that true?” The old lady answered, ”I am afraid the site is too mean and confined; it would be quite unsuitable for a gentleman's house. I should not like to offer it to you.” She then took him into the guest-room, which was a very handsome one, and asked him to be seated, saying, ”I have a daughter who has little either of beauty or accomplishment, but she is fond of seeing strangers. I should like you to meet her.”

So saying, she called for her daughter, who presently entered. Her eyes sparkled with such fire, her arms were so dazzling white and there was in her movements such an exquisite grace that the young man could only leap to his feet in confusion and did not dare raise his eyes. When their salutations were over, he began to make a few remarks about the weather; and realized as he did so that her beauty was of a kind he had never encountered before.

They sat down again. Tea was made and wine poured out. The vessels used were spotlessly clean. He lingered till the day was almost over; the curfew-drum sounded its four beats. The old lady asked if he lived far away. He answered untruthfully, ”Several leagues beyond the Yen-p'ing Gate,” hoping that they would ask him to stay. The old lady said, ”The drum has sounded. You will have to go back at once, unless you mean to break the law.”

The young man answered, ”I was being so agreeably entertained that I did not notice how rapidly the day had fled. My house is a long way off and in the city I have no friends or relations. What am I to do?” Miss Li then interposed, saying, ”If you can forgive the meanness of our poor home, what harm would there be in your spending the night with us?” He looked doubtfully at the girl's mother, but met with no discouragement.

Calling his servants, he gave them money and told them to buy provisions for the night. But the girl laughingly stopped him, saying, ”That is not the way guests are entertained. Our humble house will provide for your wants to-night, if you are willing to partake of our simple fare and defer your bounty to another occasion.” He tried to refuse, but in the end she would not allow him to, and they all moved to the western hall.

The curtains, screens, blinds and couches were of dazzling splendour; while the toilet-boxes, rugs, and pillows were of the utmost elegance.

Candles were lighted and an excellent supper was served.