According to the Bamboo Annals of Chi Chuen, and the records of King Müh,
it is said that when that King went to visit the Fairy Queen of the West,
he took with him as gifts to her, beautiful jade stones, and the best of
raw and embroidered silks; while, on the other hand, the Fairy Queen gave
a banquet in honour of the King, on the banks of the lake formed by white
jade stones. During the banquet they composed and spoke their thoughts in
verse, and the sentiments embodied therein were beautiful. Then the royal
pair repaired to the hillock adjoining the Küen Lun mountain, and roamed
over the palaces of King Hsüen Yüan, which were situated there, and thence
to the artificial terraces of the Chung hill, and gazed on the precious
and wonderful things collected by that king. Returning to the residence of
the Fairy Queen, King Müh had a stone tablet engraved recording the event,
and erected it in the Queen's magic garden. On King Müh's return home, he
brought with him to the Middle Kingdom beautiful wood and magnificent
flowers, precious stones and elegant jades, golden oils and silver
candles. In his travels, King Müh rode in a chariot drawn by eight
splendid horses; the right-hand horses were of a dark colour, while those
on the left hand were greenish. Tsao Fu was the charioteer, and Pen Yung,
who stood on the King's right, was the body-guard. Myriads of _lis_ could
thus be traversed. They went over barren wastes and over celebrated
mountains and large rivers, yet none of them barred their onward course.
To the east they came across the Halls of the Giants; to the west they
arrived at the mansions of the Fairy Queen; to the south they crossed over
a bridge composed of immense tortoises; and to the north they drove over
streets made of layers of feathers. Traversing these, then, King Müh
commenced his journey homeward full of joy. History informs us that "King
Müh, riding in a chariot drawn by eight magnificent horses, with Tsao Fu
as charioteer, made a journey to the west, in search of adventures in
hunting, and, coming to the Fairy Queen of the West, was so happy, that
he almost forgot to return home." These words are similar to those
recorded in the "Bamboo Annals" of Chi Chuen. The classic called "Spring
and Autumn," says that "King Müh was a man of vast ambition, and desired
that the whole world should bear the tracks of his cart-wheels, and
receive the imprints of his horse's hoof," and the "Bamboo Annals"
illustrate this ambition.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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