A History of Chinese Literature

Name: A History of Chinese Literature
Author: Giles, Herbert Allen

Giles, Herbert Allen

Chinese literature -- History and criticism

BEAUTY.--_From the Yang family came a maiden,
                   just grown up to womanhood,
           Reared in the inner apartments,
                   altogether unknown to fame.
           But nature had amply endowed her
                   with a beauty hard to conceal,
           And one day she was summoned
                   to a place at the monarch’s side.
           Her sparkling eye and merry laughter
                   fascinated every beholder,
           And among the powder and paint of the harem
                   her loveliness reigned supreme.
           In the chills of spring, by Imperial mandate,
                   she bathed in the Hua-ch‘ing Pool,
           Laving her body in the glassy wavelets
                   of the fountain perennially warm.
           Then, when she came forth, helped by attendants,
                   her delicate and graceful movements
           Finally gained for her gracious favour,
                   captivating his Majesty’s heart._

  REVELRY.--_Hair like a cloud, face like a flower,
                    headdress which quivered as she walked,
            Amid the delights of the Hibiscus Pavilion
                    she passed the soft spring nights.
            Spring nights, too short alas! for them,
                    albeit prolonged till dawn,--
            From this time forth no more audiences
                    in the hours of early morn.
            Revels and feasts in quick succession,
                    ever without a break,
            She chosen always for the spring excursion,
                    chosen for the nightly carouse.
            Three thousand peerless beauties adorned
                    the apartments of the monarch’s harem,
            Yet always his Majesty reserved
                    his attentions for her alone.
            Passing her life in a “golden house,”[16]
                    with fair girls to wait on her,
            She was daily wafted to ecstasy
                    on the wine fumes of the banquet-hall.
            Her sisters and her brothers, one and all,
                    were raised to the rank of nobles.
            Alas! for the ill-omened glories
                    which she conferred on her family.
            For thus it came about that fathers and mothers
                    through the length and breadth of the empire
            Rejoiced no longer over the birth of sons,
                    but over the birth of daughters.
            In the gorgeous palace
                    piercing the grey clouds above,
            Divine music, borne on the breeze,
                    is spread around on all sides;
            Of song and the dance
                    to the guitar and flute,
            All through the live long day,
                    his Majesty never tires.
            But suddenly comes the roll
                    of the fish-skin war-drums,
            Breaking rudely upon the air

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

A History of Chinese LiteratureGiles, Herbert Allen

History

A History of Chinese Literature

Giles, Herbert Allen

Chinese literature -- History and criticism

BEAUTY.--_From the Yang family came a maiden,
                   just grown up to womanhood,
           Reared in the inner apartments,
                   altogether unknown to fame.
           But nature had amply endowed her
                   with a beauty hard to conceal,
           And one day she was summoned
                   to a place at the monarch’s side.
           Her sparkling eye and merry laughter
                   fascinated every beholder,
           And among the powder and paint of the harem
                   her loveliness reigned supreme.
           In the chills of spring, by Imperial mandate,
                   she bathed in the Hua-ch‘ing Pool,
           Laving her body in the glassy wavelets
                   of the fountain perennially warm.
           Then, when she came forth, helped by attendants,
                   her delicate and graceful movements
           Finally gained for her gracious favour,
                   captivating his Majesty’s heart._

  REVELRY.--_Hair like a cloud, face like a flower,
                    headdress which quivered as she walked,
            Amid the delights of the Hibiscus Pavilion
                    she passed the soft spring nights.
            Spring nights, too short alas! for them,
                    albeit prolonged till dawn,--
            From this time forth no more audiences
                    in the hours of early morn.
            Revels and feasts in quick succession,
                    ever without a break,
            She chosen always for the spring excursion,
                    chosen for the nightly carouse.
            Three thousand peerless beauties adorned
                    the apartments of the monarch’s harem,
            Yet always his Majesty reserved
                    his attentions for her alone.
            Passing her life in a “golden house,”[16]
                    with fair girls to wait on her,
            She was daily wafted to ecstasy
                    on the wine fumes of the banquet-hall.
            Her sisters and her brothers, one and all,
                    were raised to the rank of nobles.
            Alas! for the ill-omened glories
                    which she conferred on her family.
            For thus it came about that fathers and mothers
                    through the length and breadth of the empire
            Rejoiced no longer over the birth of sons,
                    but over the birth of daughters.
            In the gorgeous palace
                    piercing the grey clouds above,
            Divine music, borne on the breeze,
                    is spread around on all sides;
            Of song and the dance
                    to the guitar and flute,
            All through the live long day,
                    his Majesty never tires.
            But suddenly comes the roll
                    of the fish-skin war-drums,
            Breaking rudely upon the air

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

A History of Chinese Literature

A History of Chinese Literature

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