Classic Poem

After the general had broken the blockade at Hsüan-chou,
'Midst triumphal songs he sped along the road;
Marching eastward until he reached the Lai river,
He constructed an opulent encampment.
Portable screens ten layers deep were arrayed with fine silks,
Feathery tassels by the hundreds were hung with strings of pearls;
Carpets with mythical creatures were spread on the ground,
Trees of coral and jade reflected brilliantly in the lamplight.
There were bowls made of tortoise shell and cups fashioned from mollusks,
Pepper flower wine was brewed and lambkins were fatted;
Seated in their furs and embroidery were the toast of the time,
The assembled grandeur of those present was rare for that age.
'Twas said that the general would conclude a wedding ceremony,
The damsel whose betrothal was arranged long ago would join him today;
A matchmaker sent to distant Lan-ling to fetch her
Directed the Soochow boatmen along the rivers swollen with spring rain.
On a beautiful morning with a bright sun and a gentle breeze,
The snow had melted on the warm sandbanks and the waves shone aquamarine;
The children at Twin Bridges vied in their cries of joy,
The new year's plum and willow were suffused with spring.
At the stroke of noon, from afar were heard the sounds of bugle and drum,
The vanguard announced that the lady would soon arrive;
Smiling, the general came down the terrace steps to meet her,
Silent, the guests waited in a walled circle around him.
No sooner had her gaily decorated boats docked at the general's gate,
Than a maiden debarked with simian swiftness and hawkish determination.
She was dressed plainly yet elegantly, eschewing ornamentation,
Her expression was as ingenuous as that of a divine being;
If she were not a princess in the retinue of the Queen Mother of the West,
She surely was the Weaving Maid come down from her heavenly palace.
Her tall, slender body standing erect,
A look of troubled apprehension on her face,
She smoothed her dress politely and spoke to the assembled guests:
“You who have come to this hall are all from high-ranking families,
And I am not without my own upbringing;
Allow me to explain clearly from the very beginning.
I am the daughter of an official from Lan-ling,
Whose family encountered many difficulties in these troubled times;
Now I have just my mother and two brothers,
Trying to make do in an out-of-the-way place.
A while back, as I was watering the vegetables on our meager plot,
The general fixed his gaze upon me as he was passing by;
Carrying my buckets, I returned home quickly and closed the door,
Not having exchanged a single word with him.
Yesterday, two officers came to our house,
Bearing coffers overflowing with gold and other presents;
They said that we were already engaged,
And that my mother had previously given her consent.
Today they came a-rowing to bring me here,
Saying that the wedding would be soon and that I should take care not to resist.
When my brother merely asked what was going on,
They rebuffed him with loud voices that shook the foundations;
Several dozen soldiers brandished their swords,
Then milled about menacingly like wolves and tigers.
A command was barked and they swiftly regrouped,
Frightening the travelers on the road outside our door;
The situation was so intimidating that,
Even if I had wings, I would not have been able to get very far.
Had I not agreed to come with them,
The startled souls of our whole family would not have died in peace;
Now that I have come with them,
I wish to ask the general what this is all about.”

Seething with anger as she unleashed this torrent of words,
The maiden suddenly reached out with one hand and grabbed the general;
With her other hand resting on a sword that she was about to draw, she continued:
“Have I spoken the truth or not?
Have your ears heard me or not?
I want to take you to Soochow,
To accuse you point by point before the governor's tribunal,
Entreating him to inform our sage ruler on behalf of a commoner.
From old, how many famous generals have had their glorious deeds inscribed in bronze?
Aside from all of the feudal titles, estates, and rewards of money and silk presented by the nation to show its gratitude,
Have they ever been permitted to ravish innocent, defenseless women in recognition of their achievements?
When an imperial proclamation comes from the capital, which seems far but is actually quite near,
Supposing that it instructs me to marry you,
Wouldn't you be content?
Without the mandate of the Son of Heaven,
There's absolutely no way to solve this dispute.
In your rage you may kill me,
Like a wee, tiny flea or mosquito that has landed on a pile of manure;
Or perhaps I shall take your life with my sword,
And before I have gone five steps, the blood gushing from your neck will instantly splatter my homespun skirt.
On the long embankment outside the gate, there are countless wild crabapple trees,
Beneath them there's lots of empty land for us to build you a lecherous general's grave;
Make up your mind fast whether you want to live or die,
What's the point of hanging your head in abject silence as though you were shy?”

The general, who usually shouted thundrously,
And who could casually toss a stone weighing hundreds of pounds,
At this moment wore a deathly, ashen pallor,
Then flushed red like a man in a drunken stupor.
His subordinates and bodyguards boiled with fury,
Clenched their fists, bared their claws, and gnashed their teeth;
But the general was in the maiden's hands,
And they could not be separated rashly.
“When throwing something at a mouse, watch out for the plates and saucers”—
It was impossible for them to unleash their spears and lances.
Flailing his arms left and right, the general directed his men to back off,
And looked beseechingly at the assembled guests as though pleading with them to intervene.

After their initial shock, the guests regained composure
And went forward to bow before the maiden, saying,
“Listening to your ladyship's words,
We were so outraged that our hair stood on end;
In the end, we can only hope
That this was originally not the general's intention.
To seek your hand in marriage is one thing,
But would he dare be so unprincipled as to take you by force?
Because of their ineptness and lack of understanding,
The fault lies with the people he employed;
Those two officers, for example,
Will certainly be severely bastinadoed for feigning orders.
Now there's nothing else to say,
But that you should be sent back to your village.
The general will himself go to your gate,
Where, baring his shoulders, he will beg a thousand pardons;
He will present some humble gifts,
Delicacies to offer your mother.
The matter will pass over like the misty clouds
That leave no stain upon the sky;
Please return to the boat at once,
And then it will be plain as day if he goes back on his word.”

The maiden frowned at the assembled guests and said with a laugh,
“Sirs, do you take me for a child?
I've lost all confidence in him now;
How could anyone with such a wild nature become gentle?
Even mountain spooks always search for their enemies,
So it's unlikely that someone who harbors evil thoughts will turn humane.
How painful to think that, since the armed uprisings,
Troops have been killing the people everywhere;
They consider that killing the people is like killing thieves,
And this poisonous attitude has spread across the land.
On the highway to Lan-ling,
They come and go in droves;
If it's not on a frosty evening,
Then it's on a rainy morning.
Our house is but a few rooms,
A pile of kindling buffeted by the barren winds;
Our family is but a few kin,
Pitiful fish confined to a cauldron.
At a snap of the fingers, turmoil arises,
In the blink of an eye, all becomes dust and ashes.
Would one rather that the seeds of disaster be sown,
To end up a grieving will-o'-the-wisp?
Who knows whether Yama exists,
And who can you complain to in the tomb of endless night?
Better to cry out before the ninefold empyrean,
Heaven will certainly not make a partial judgement;
Perhaps if I take decisive action,
Public opinion will naturally prove true.
I knew clearly when I came here,
That I was like a mantis trying to block a huge chariot with its forelegs;
Do you think that I would seek to preserve my life at the expense of my honor,
Or that I cherish this insignificant, little body?
Your efforts to mediate, sirs,
Are but so much verbiage that I cannot go along with.”

The assembled guests again went forward and bowed, saying,
“Please do not be so angry.
The general has a worthy name
And has all along treasured his plumage;
His every thought is to emulate the Confucian literati,
His broadminded character is particularly sincere.
This affair was most improper;
Once news of it gets out,
Ten thousand mouths will proclaim the injustice,
And will surely rebuke him endlessly.
A bad reputation will come of its own accord—
He may wish to defend himself, but he'll scarcely be able to open his mouth;
A piece of white jade that has sullied itself
Is not worth a string of cash.
Realizing that there may be no time to regret his error,
He laments the fact that he has nothing to cover his face with.
The elders of the lower Yangtze
Will be too ashamed to recognize him when they meet,
How much less would he be willing to confront the anger of the masses,
And raise troops because of a marriage!
His crime would be so great that it obliterates the teaching of the sages—
He would no longer be counted a human being.
This man is by no means ordinary,
He fights the bandits tirelessly in all directions;
Though his great talent may not be equal to that of Kuan Chung and Yüeh Yi,
His heroism is a match for Chao She and Lien P'o.
Since your ladyship comes from an old family of officials,
Be so kind as to pardon a brave servant of the court.
As to the affairs of another day, we can assure you with one voice,
That so-and-so will be appointed to government office and so-and-so will be made a member of the gentry.
Together we kneel before you and beg for the general's life,
May your ladyship be forgiving as a transcendent, a Buddha, or a heavenly spirit.”

The maiden realized that it would be difficult to ignore the sentiments of the guests, so she said,
“For you, sirs, I will yield.
For the moment, let us set aside all that you have just said,
I ask only to borrow one thing from you, sirs.
I have heard that the general owns an excellent steed named ‘White Fish,’
Who can travel a thousand tricents per day with ease.
From the time I left Lan-ling
And said goodbye to my family, it has already been more than four days;
My old mother must be leaning against the village gate crying bitterly,
My two brothers must be clasping their arms in our courtyard sighing vainly.
If I ride this horse back to my home,
I can reach there by early nightfall.
Henceforth, we will abandon our humble hut,
And take up residence in a Peach Blossom Spring not of this world;
There I shall wait upon my mother attentively,
And read Yellow Stone's book on strategy with my brothers—
No foolish fisherman from Wu-ling will be able to find us.
Three or four days later,
After we have moved,
From the shrine of Chiang Tzu-wen,
I'll send you back the horse, all right?”

The general seldom rode this horse,
But now his only fear was that she would not leave on it;
Hurriedly, he called out to his attendants to bring the horse forward,
Its four legs white as snow and flossy hair dangling from its ears.
Verily, not in vain was it a Soochow stepper,
'Twas descended from the wind that Master Lieh used to ride.
As soon as the maiden took one look at this horse,
Her brows unfurled with a touch of joy;
Finally releasing the general's clothes from her grasp,
She was already in the saddle before anyone saw her leap.
With a long, drawn-out “Thanks!” she burst through space and was gone,
Like a flash of lightning or a shooting star, she left not a trace.

For several days after the girl had gone, the army did not stir,
Because the general displayed courage and prowess in restoring them to order.
His encampment encircled the sides of Mount Chung;
There guests and advisers came to pay their respects to the general,
Encouraging him to quaff the new vintage,
While gongs and pipes continuously blared forth a medley.
Out of the cloudy distance appeared a lone horse in a dusty clatter,
Glistening and without blemish it came onrushing;
Her word was as good as gold, the contract was redeemed,
The general went forward to take the reins and led the horse back to its stable.
Covered with bloodlike sweat, it gave a long whinny;
On its back was bound crosswise a bulging, twisted object three feet high,
'Twas the bundle of betrothal presents brought that day by the two officers,
Returned with its seal unbroken and not the slightest thing missing.
When the bundle of betrothal presents was unloaded, beneath it there lay
In addition, like the single slip of a shallot, a knife,
Light flashing from its razor-sharp blade.
Transfixed by the sight, for many nights the general did not sleep soundly.