In ancient times the flags of Wu[49]
Made gay the Khwun-ming Lake,[50]
On which his ships in mimic strife
The decks of foemen rake.
But now deserted is the scene,
And in the moon's pale light,
The Spinning-Maid[51] upon the shore
Sits silent in the night.
The Autumn breezes seem to move
The mammoth stony whales,[52]
And send a tremor through their frames
Vibrating all their scales.
The Ku-mi[53] seeds float on the waste,
As clouds of sombre hue;
The lotus-flowers are crushed beneath
The weight of frozen dew.
While from the cloud-capped Pass[54] above,
The eagle's eye aglow,
Sees but an aged fisherman
Midst lakes and streams below.
[49] The Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ascended the throne 140 B.C.
[50] A lake probably situated to the south-west of Chang-an, the capital
of China in the Han Dynasty. This city is now the provincial capital of
Shen-si and better known as Si-an.
[51] A stone image of the Spinning-Maid stood on one shore of the lake,
and another of the Cowherd on the opposite shore.
[52] A stone image of an immense fish covered with finely carved scales
was also placed by the side of the lake.
[53] A kind of rice.
[54] Probably the celebrated 'Tung' Pass near Chang-an.
The whole poem has a political signification implying that
revolution had turned the country into a wilderness, and
desolation taken the place of former prosperity and greatness.
_Reflections_