essay

Traditional Chinese Culture

Edited by

Victor H. Mair

Nancy S. Steinhardt and Paul R. Goldin

University of Hawai'i Press

Honolulu

84 | Y u Yonghe, Small Sea Travelogue (Excerpts)

I N 1 6 9 7 , M E R E L Y F O U R T E E N years after the Qing (Manchu) conquest of Taiwan, an adventur- ous traveler, Y u Yonghe (literary name, Canglang, fl. 1697), volunteered for a sulfur expedition to the island. A private secretary serving in Fujian, Y u was among the first Chinese literati to travel to Taiwan. Although Taiwan is located less than a hundred miles o f f the southeastern coast of China, prior to the troubles surrounding the end of the Ming dynasty it was considered a "remote island far beyond the seas," and few besides fishermen and pirates had ever traveled there. Orig- inally inhabited by various indigenous peoples of hypothetical "Austronesian" descent, Taiwan was a colony of the Dutch between 1624 and 1661. In 1 6 6 1 , the Ming loyalist Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga) ousted the Dutch and established Taiwan as a base for a war of resistance against the Manchu Qing dynasty. Sending the Admiral Shi Lang against these rebel troops, the Qing con- quered the island in 1683. T h e Qing court officially annexed the island in the following year, mak- ing Taiwan a part of Fujian Province.

Yu Yonghe's travel route

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Taiwan was thus still a wild frontier—inhabited by "savages" (fan)1 and remnants of the rebel troops in mountain hideaways—at the time when Y u made his arduous journey. It was also a place known for malarial "miasmas" and other environmental dangers. Yet, as Y u tells us in his diary, his lust for adventure had sparked a desire to see this new frontier ever since it had been annexed to the Chinese empire. His opportunity came in 1697, when he joined an expedition to Taiwan to obtain sulfur, a vital strategic item. Y u traveled to Taiwan from Xiamen (Amoy) via Penghu (the Pescadores), taking four days to cross the treacherous Taiwan Strait. Arriving in a southern port near Taiwan prefectural city (now Tainan), Y u spent ten months on the island, trekking north over land to the sulfur mines in the area of Danshui and Jilong (Keelung). H e composed a diary record- ing his experiences, which is now known as the Small Sea Travelogue (Pihaijiyou).

As one of the earliest first-hand accounts of frontier Taiwan, this work was highly regarded by both Qing frontier officials and Japanese colonial officials w h o took the island in 1895. Qing read- ers valued Yu's account not only for the information he recorded, but also f o r his vivid descrip- tion and prose style, which is unusually lively for a travel diary. Small Sea Travelogue is thus one of the most important texts for the study of Qing Taiwan. Unfortunately, the details of the author's life are obscure, and we know litde about him other than his composition of this celebrated text. It appears that he was a rather ordinary private secretary, w h o produced a vivid and fascinating account of an extraordinary journey. In this selection, some of the highlights of Yu's travelogue, which is divided into three volumes, are introduced, translated, and a n n o t a t e d . — E T

Small Sea Travelogue, vol. 1

(In the first section, Y u describes the circumstances surrounding his journey and the details of his voyage outward from Fujian towards the Pescadores and Taiwan. H e describes at length the perils and the wonders of being at sea. Once he reaches Taiwan, he establishes himself at Taiwan prefectural city, the seat of the local Chinese frontier administration.)

I entered Min [Fujian] in the spring of 1 6 9 1 , passing through Jianning and Yanjin to reach the City of Banyans (Rongcheng), Fuzhou. In the beginning of autumn I left Fuzhou and traveled through Xinghua and Quanzhou to Shima in Zhangzhou. B e f o r e long, I also went to Zhangpu, Haideng, Longyan, Ningyang, all subordinate towns, as well as various villages along the shore, and then returned to Shima. A l s o I crossed to Xiamen (Amoy) by skiff, returning after five days. In 1 6 9 2 , 1 returned again to Fuzhou and stayed at they amen2 of Wang Zhongqian. So I had trav- eled through six of the eight prefectures of Fujian. In the autumn of 1 6 9 3 , 1 went on duty to Tai- ning. I moored my boat beneath the city walls of Shaowu, spent two nights there, and returned. T h e next year I went to Wuping in Dingzhou, going upstream from Yanjin. I climbed the heights of Tieyan and crossed the dangers of Jiulong. In the space of half a year, I went back and forth four times. O f all the mountains and streams and hidden depths, there was not a single one that I didn't walk through and see with my own eyes. Thus, I completed my travels of the eight pre- fectures of Fujian.

The prestige of our dynasty is spread far and wide. T h e rebel Z h e n g (Koxinga)3 has rendered his allegiance. Taiwan lies far beyond the Eastern Ocean; since antiquity until the present day, there has never been a tribute mission sent to China. N o w we have divided the land into districts and counties, established governmental offices, levied taxes and tribute, opened sea routes for continuous traffic back and forth, and added a ninth to the eight prefectures of Fujian;4 it is truly a feat. B y nature I am addicted to travel, and don't avoid obstacles or danger. I had often said that

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since Taiwan has already been put on the map, if I couldn't survey the place, I wouldn't be satis- fied. In the winter of 1696, there was a fire at the gunpowder storehouse at Fuzhou; more than 500,000 [jin] 5 of niter gunpowder were destroyed with not a shred left. T h e person in charge was reprimanded and ordered to compensate for the loss. Jilong and Danshui in Taiwan produce sul- fur rocks, and we were to go in search of it. I laughed joyfully and said, "It's my dream come true!" In the first month of 1 6 9 7 , 1 packed my luggage and observed the abstinences in prepara- tion for travel. My colleagues, Master Yan Shengping (Youtao), Master Qiu Shaoyi, Master H u Shenfu, Master He Xiangchen, Master Chen Ziwei, my cousin Z h a o Liizun, and my nephew Z h o u Zailu, all bid me fond farewell. T h e servants X u Wen, Y u Xing, and L o n g Dexi were asked to accompany me. Master Cao Luyang sent me o f f , and Master Wang Yunsen traveled with me.

[First month] 2 4 t h — N o o n , I went out of South Gate. I arrived at the Great Bridge [of Nan- tai], and met with rain. I stayed at Liiyang's lodging place.

25 t h — T h e weather cleared slighdy; I traveled thirty tricents and crossed the Wulong River. A f t e r the night, the f o g began to clear, and the river glistened like silk. L o o k i n g out at the reflec- tion of the N e t of Stars Pagoda in the harbor, it was like a needle hanging upside down in the water. Therefore, I composed a quatrain:

The billowing waves of the river flow day and night, From a distance I look at the summit of Mount Five Tigers. From Haimen gazing three thousand tricents, All you can see is the floating N e t of Stars Pagoda.

B y night I arrived at Fangkou, and saw a certain Master Shi and Master D o n g Zanhou. Master D o n g was the eldest son of the magistrate of Zhuluo, and Shi was his uncle. So I agreed to travel together with them.

26th—We passed Longing Peak and I recalled that I had passed this peak six times since I had come to Min. In recent years my teeth have become soft and my hair gray. I was suddenly inspired and wrote this poem:

For seven years I've been a servant in Min, Six times I've been dyed by the dust of Longing Peak. All I have is the gray color of my temples, Going past once and returning anew again.

That night I stayed on Fisherman's Creek.

27th—We set out at dawn. We traveled by sedan chair in the morning light of a lighdy cloudy sky. The villagers carried ploughs and led oxen, going back and forth over the mounds. The time when I would withdraw from service was drawing near, and I could not contain my excitement. I composed this poem:

The color of the mountains is clearer in the dawn, The sound of the creek is quiet as it flows naturally. People speaking on the other side of the bank, The barking of dogs emerges from the secluded [a corner o f ] village. A light rain wets my clothes, A slight chill makes the traveler melancholy. White clouds are really to be envied, Rolling over the mountain peaks.

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By noon we got to Puwei; the sedan-chair bearers placed the sedan chair in the boat. Although I was taking a boat, I was actually sitting in the sedan chair. T h e boatman held a bamboo pole and pulled the boat while walking on the shore; the boat moved very quickly. Poling a boat from shore and sitting in a sedan chair on a boat, two strange things at once. This could only be seen at this place. Along the bank were many old banyan trees; the roots and trunks were all twisted in knots, in all sorts of strange configurations. There were more than ten trees lined in a row for half a tri- cent which actually belonged to a single trunk. I once moored the boat beneath these trees, and remember it to this day. I still cherish its dense flourishing as I did in the past. . . . 6

[Second month] 2 3 r d — . . . A f t e r a while, black clouds spread in all directions, and the stars were totally covered. I remembered that my friend Master Yan Youtao had said, "At sea, in the pitch of night, you can't see a thing, but when you strike the water, you are able to see." I struck it and water splashed up, sending rays of light flying like dozens of bushels of bright pearls, spreading out over the surface of the water, like crystals shimmering. A f t e r a long time it began to fade. What a wondrous sight! In the middle of the night a slight breeze began to stir. The cap- tain set the rudder in order preparing to set out. Then I went to bed.

24th—Rising in the morning I saw that the color of the sea had turned from dark emerald to light black. Looking back, I could still faindy see the islands of the Pescadores. A f t e r a while, they slowly faded beyond the clouds. In front of us we could hazily see the various mountains of Tai- wan. As we went on, the water turned pale blue, then became white, and then we saw the moun- tain peaks of Taiwan's prefectural city laid out in front of us. On the shore it was all shallow sand. On the beach there were numerous fishermen's huts. Small skiffs were continually going back and forth. Looking at Lu'er Gateway, we could see it was the place where the sand spits of both shores came together. T h e " g a t e w a y " was more than a tricent wide. L o o k i n g at it there didn't seem to be anything terribly strange or dangerous. . . .

25 t h — . . . A f t e r two days, I began to pay calls. I saw Prefect Master Jin, Vice-Prefect Master Qi, Registrar Master Y i n , Prefect of Zhuluo Master D o n g , and Prefect of Fengshan Master Zhu. Also through Vice-Prefect Master Qi I met my friend Mister Lii Hongtu. We grasped each other's hands eagerly. He had not expected me to suddenly make an overseas journey and thought that I had fallen from the sky. I was really excited to meet an old friend in a strange land. We spent many a full day together and were even closer than we had been when we served together in Fuzhou. We wrote, did archery, composed songs, played pitching pots; there was nothing we did not do. In our leisure we discussed the ancient and the modern. We appreciated the strange and resolved doubts. Also we obtained a copy of the Taiwan prefectural gazetteer and investigated Taiwan's conditions, poring over it together.

Taiwan is to the southeast of the eight Min, separated by more than a thousand tricents7 of sea. In past dynasties there were no links to China (Zhongguo [the Middle Kingdom]); the Chi- nese did not know that this piece of land existed. E v e n geographic maps, comprehensive gazetteers, and other such books, which contain very detailed records of all the barbarians, do not include the name Taiwan. Only "Admiral Zheng He's8 Ocean Travels" in the Ming compilation of state documents mentions "drawing well water at Chikan," and it doesn't specify where this "Chikan" is. Only the Pescadores, in the Ming, belonged to Tong'an County of Quan district in Fujian. Fishermen from Zhangzhou and Quanzhou all gathered there to pay the annual fishing taxes. During the Jialong period (1522—1573), Liuqiu (the Ryukyus)9 occupied it. In the Ming, peo- ple held this territory in contempt and simply abandoned it. We have no means of verifying whether or not Liuqiu ever had sovereignty over Taiwan.

As for the people of Taiwan, the locals are savages. Their language cannot be understood in

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China. Moreover, they have no written language and no way to record events of earlier times. During the Wanli reign (1573-1620), the island was occupied by the Dutch ([original note:] the Dutch are what we now call the " R e d Hairs"). They built the two cities of Taiwan and Chikan ([original note:] Taiwan is today called Anping, and Chikan is now Tower of the Red Hairs).10

From research we know the year was 1621. The two cities appear much like those in the pictures of buildings drawn by the Europeans. They are not more than ten sixth-acres in area.11 Their pur- pose is primarily for stationing canons and defending the port. There are no parapets or watch- towers as there are on the city walls of China to secure the inhabitants. When our dynasty was established, those in the four directions submitted [to the dynasty]. Only Koxinga held out at Jin- men (Quemoy) and Xiamen (Amoy), making numerous raids. . . .

. . . Fengshan County is located to the south [of the Taiwan prefectural capital—present-day Tainan]. Southward from the border of Taiwan County, it extends to the ocean by Shama jetty, a total of 495 tricents. From the shore eastward to Dagou'a harbor at the base of the mountains, it is 50 tricents wide. There are eleven villages of pacified savages, called Upper Danshui, Lower Danshui, Lili, Qieteng, Fangsuo, Dazeji, Yahou, and Dalou. T h e preceding are eight plains vil- lages, which remit taxes and perform corvee. There are those called Qieluotang, Langqiao, and Beimanan. These three are in the mountains. They only remit taxes and do not perform corvee. In addition, there are the Kuilei savages and the wild savages in the mountains, whose villages have no names. Zhuluo district is located to the north. T h e pacified savage villages are Xin'gang, Jialiuwan (pronounced Gelawan), Ouwang (pronounced Xiaolang), Madou, etc., 208 villages, aside from which there are Ge'anan (pronounced Geyalan), etc., 36 villages. Although these are not wild savages, they do not remit taxes. It is hard to record everything [about them]. North from the border with Taiwan County, to the northwest corner, then turning to the great ocean by Big Jilong village at the northeast corner, it extends 2,315 tricents. T h e [territory] under the adminis- tration of the three counties is only the plains between the mountain range and the shore. T h e wild savages in the deep mountains do not communicate with the outside world. Outsiders can- not enter; it is impossible to know the conditions there.

Small Sea Travelogue, vol. 2

(After having setded in the prefectural city, Y u begins to make preparations for the sulfur expe- dition. In order to obtain this precious product, Y u is compelled to travel north to Danshui and Jilong, where the sulfur mines are located. To get to these remote regions, Y u must travel through indigenous territory and dense mountain jungle. What he encounters there is so strange to him that he calls it " N o - M a n ' s - L a n d . " 1 2 He is led on this trek by local Chinese and indigene guides.)

Due to my sulfur mission, I've spent over two months living in Taiwan prefectural city, buying cloth, oil, sugar; smelting large ketdes; getting knives, axes, hoes, and ladles made; ordering large and small wooden pails; making scales, rulers, peck and bushel measures; and making all sorts of other preparations. T h e cloth is to trade with the savages f o r sulfur ore. T h e oil and large ketdes are for refining sulfur. T h e sugar is necessary because the workers must frequendy drink and bathe with sugar water in order to counter the poisonous sulfur fumes. T h e hoes are to level the earth and build platforms. T h e knives and axes are to chop firewood and clear weeds. The ladles are for removing the sulfur from the pots. The small buckets are for solidifying the sulfur. The large buckets are for storing water. T h e scale, ruler, peck, and bushel measures are for weighing and measuring various items. I also bought millet, salt, baskets, cauldrons, bowls and chopsticks, etc. for one hundred people. I estimated that I spent about 980 gold. I bought a large boat to

5 5° | Y u Y o n g h e , Small Sea Travelogue

transport it all. Having put about 70 percent of the supplies on board, I felt that the boat was overloaded and privately began to worry. So I halted the loading and bought another boat in order to transport the remainder; the cost was half that of the first boat. Someone said, " T h e r e are large and small boats, which can transport various amounts. N o w you haven't filled this one nearly to capacity; why have you spent more for no reason?" I said, " I suddenly became worried. I'm about to divide the cargo in two and have each boat transport half. It's not just for transporting the remainder." The speaker laughed to himself and left. Master Wang felt that the plans were already set and didn't want to rearrange things. I thus dropped my plan to split the cargo in two.

My affairs having been setded, I planned to board the boat at dawn. T h e Prefect Master Jin (name Zhiyang, sobriquet Dounan) and the Vice-Prefect Master J i (name Tiwu, sobriquet Cheng'an) said to me, "Haven't you heard how horrible the environment at Danshui is? When- ever people go there, they fall ill. Whenever they fall ill, they always die. Whenever the workers hear that they are being sent to Jilong or Danshui, they all sigh in despair as though being sent to the "end of the world." T h e custom is for navy men to change duty in the spring and fall, and they consider it great luck to return alive. If these tough workers are like this, how will you be able to bear it? Why don't you order a servant to go along while you yourself stay at the prefectural city to oversee operations from a f a r ? " I said, " F o r this journey we have hundreds of savages and craftsmen. Moreover, we will be going close to the wild savages. If we have no means by which to quell them, I'm afraid that there will be difficulties, causing trouble in the territories [which we control]. Moreover, I have accepted this mission; how can I refuse to g o ? " T h e next day, Lieu- tenant-Colonel Master Y i n (name Fu), and Captain Qi of Fengshan (name Jiacan), both from my native place, came to stop my journey. They said, " L a s t fall Z h u Youlong tried to plot sedition. Brigade-General Master Wang ordered a captain low-ranking military officer to lead a hundred men to guard Danshui. A f t e r only two months, not a single person returned. If it's like this going to Danshui, it will be even worse going to Jilong, which is beyond Danshui." Again they said, " A certain county functionary went with four companions but returned alone. These are all recent events; why don't you look out f o r yourself, Master?" I laughed, " M y life is governed by fate. Heaven controls it. What is the environment to me? I have thought it over carefully; I must go." Master Y i n and prefectural military officer Master Shen (name Changlu) made herbal medicines and various other remedies such as poison antidotes and prescriptions to ward o f f pestilence for me and bid me over and over to take care of myself.

Then there was my fellow-provincial, Master G u (name Fugong) from Huangyan, who had followed his father, Mr. [Gu] Nanjin, to take up a post as regional commissioner in Jiangnan and live in Jingkou. In 1659, w a s abducted and taken to Taiwan. He lived in Taiwan for a long time, becoming very familiar with the terrain. He and I had been like old friends since the first time we met. He too came to me and said, " T h e environment harms people, and the demon creatures cause trouble beyond what the expert can prepare for. If you wish to avoid difficult terrain and seek level ground, stay safe and avoid danger, you must consider everything. D o you know the sea routes? All seafaring boats do not fear the open ocean, but fear close mountains; they are not troubled by deep waters, but are troubled by shallow waters. Boats are floating objects by nature, with masts to ride the wind and rudders to navigate the waters. E v e n though it is not easy for strong winds and waves to sink them, if you run into reefs they will sink, and if you get stuck on sand bars they will break up. Disaster will be immediate. Now, going from the prefectural city to Jilong, the boat must pass through sand and rapids, and if you meet with winds there are no ports in which to harbor. It is twice as dangerous as the open seas. H o w can it be better than going by land? N o w you want to take me along, but if we must go by boat, then I wish to decline."

I said, " I ' l l follow your instructions."

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Master Wang's plans were set, and in the end he boarded the boat. We couldn't convince him otherwise. I went with Master G u and led a bunch o f slaves; w e took to the road in heavy carts. Fifty-five workers followed. It was the seventh day o f the fourth month. We passed a savage vil- lage and changed carts. T h e carts were pulled by brown calves. We ordered local savages to drive. T h a t day w e passed D a z h o u Creek, X i n ' g a n g village, Jialiuwan (pronounced Gelawan) village, and M a d o u village. Although these were all the dwellings o f savages, there were fine trees and shady woods. T h e houses were tidy and clean, not inferior to our o w n villages in China.

I said, " W h o says that the savages are vile? H o w can you trust what others s a y ? " Master G u said, " X i n ' g a n g , Gelawan, Ouwang, and Madou were all major villages during the

time of the rebel Zheng. H e issued an order exempting all youths w h o could g o to the town and study f r o m forced labor, in order to gradually civilize them. T h e savages o f the four villages thus know the value o f agriculture, and o f saving and storing g o o d s ; every household is industrious and prosperous. Moreover, they are close to the prefectural city, and are used to seeing the man- ners of the market town. T h e r e f o r e , among all the savage villages their customs are superior. Ouwang is close to the ocean. It's not on the thoroughfare, but is especially prosperous and thriv- ing; it's a pity you can't see it. A f t e r this I ' m afraid that the farther w e g o the more vile it will become."

Indeed I could see that the m e n and women o f the f o u r villages had u n c o i f f e d hair and went without pants, still following their old customs. It was really vile. A t M a d o u w e changed carts and headed f o r D a o l u o g u o . T h e savages could not understand the language o f the servants. I saw that the officers had set out a meal f o r me while w e were on the road and thought that I should g o over to them. We drove to Jialixing, and by the time that w e arrived it was already the second watch. I asked where the sleeping quarters were to be, and they were in the camp. B e f o r e long, I went to Commandant Master Z h a o ' s place. Master Z h a o ' s personal name was Z h e n . H e was a native o f Tianxiong. H e was filial and honest, and was on g o o d terms with my friend Master H o u Jingzhi. We talked about various old friends in Tianxiong, Pinggan, Yexia, and Pingtai. H e [remembered] everything. T h e s e were all the affairs o f the past thirty years. I heard the water clock drip f o r half an hour, and then I went to bed.

[Fourth month] 8 t h — W e still rode the same cart, and returned to M a d o u village. We changed carts and crossed Maogangwei Creek and Tiexianqiao Creek, and arrived at D a o l u o g u o village. It was almost dusk. I thought o f Master Wang sailing on the large junk, riding the southern wind and covering a thousand tricents in a flash. I estimated that I would arrive behind him. So I traveled by night, crossing creeks such as Jishui (Swift Water) and Bazhang (Eight Palms). It was already dawn when w e reached M o u n t Z h u l u o . I was so tired I fell asleep sitting up. J u s t w h e n the day was get- ting hot, we crossed Niutiao (Cow J u m p ) Creek. We passed D a m a o (Hit Cat) village and crossed Shandie (Piled Mountains) Creek. 1 3 T h e n w e passed Taliwu village and arrived at Chaili village, where we spent the night. I estimate that w e traveled two days and nights by cart. O n the cart I was tired and wanted to sleep, but every time w e got to a sheer cliff or a deep ravine, I would be startled awake again. T h e savage cart drivers I saw were all covered with blue tattoos. O n their backs were outstretched wings o f birds. F r o m their shoulders to their navels they had net patterns cut in slanting strokes. O n each shoulder there was the likeness o f a human head, revolting and terrifying. F r o m their wrists to their elbows, they piled tens o f iron bracelets. A l s o there were some w h o used them to make their ears large.

i o t h — W e crossed Huwei (Tiger Tail) Creek, and X i l u o (Western Conch) Creek. T h e creeks were two or three tricents wide. O n e could walk on the sand flats, and when the carriages passed they left no tracks; it was like a kind o f "sheet-iron" sand. T h e sand and water were all black, due

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to the fact that the Taiwanese mountains are all colored by black earth. Another thirty tricents and we came to Dongluo (Eastern Conch) Creek. It was exacdy as wide as Xiluo (Western Conch) Creek, but the water was deeper and more rapid. The buffaloes hitched to the shafts were afraid of drowning. They simply lay down and floated. Ten or so savage boys supported the wheels in order to get them across. Thus most of them did not sink below the surface. Once across, we met with rain. We galloped for thirty tricents and arrived at D a w u township, where we stayed the night. A s for the savages that we saw that day, many more had tattooed their bodies. Their ear- rings became as large as plates. But they tied back their hair. Some had braids, some had litde buns. Also they used three feathers from the chicken's tail as tassels, which they stuck in their buns. The feathers swayed in the breeze. They thought it looked beautiful. There were also three young girls working with mortar and pesde. One of them was rather attractive. They appeared in front of outsiders naked, but their composure was dignified.

n t h — W e went thirty tricents and arrived at Banxian village. T h e host of the inn greeted the guests respectfully, setting out f o o d and drink. He said, "Past this point it is mosdy stone roads. Traveling by cart is not easy. Rest for a while to get rid of your fatigue." So we stayed overnight there. From Mount Zhuluo to this place, many of the savage women that we saw were white and pleasing.

12th—We passed Yasu village and reached Dadu village. All along the route were large and small clusters of rocks. T h e carts drove on top [of them]. Crouching all day we were extremely fatigued. On top of that there was the overgrown jungle. T h e grass buried you up to the shoul- ders. . . . The appearance of the savages turned increasingly vile.

13th—We crossed D a Creek, passed Shalu village, and arrived at Niuma village. T h e village huts were very cramped. When it rained, they got totally wet. I borrowed a sleeping platform that the savages had set up outside the windows of the huts. I climbed a ladder and went up. E v e n though there was no door or railing, I was pleased that it was high and clean.

14th—It was cloudy and foggy, and rained hard. We couldn't travel. A f t e r noon the rain stopped. I heard the sound of the ocean roaring; it was like the sound of the raging tidal bore at Hangzhou. It did not stop all day. A villager said, " T h e roar of the ocean is the evidence of the rain."

T h e fifteenth and sixteenth it rained all day. The creek in front was agitated with new water. We did not dare proceed.

1 7 t h — A slight clearing of the skies. My bed faced the mountains, but they were blocked by f o g for five days. I was disappointed at not being able to see the foothills. Suddenly I saw it clear- ing, and was ecstatic. I thought of wild savages jumping from ridge to ridge. This mountain really is like a hedgerow; you can't tell what the mountains which lie beyond are like. I was going to climb the foothills to see the view. A villager said, "Wild savages often hide in the jungle hunting deer. When they see people they shoot arrows immediately. B e prudent and don't g o ! " I nodded to him, but took my walking stick, and pushing aside weeds and thorns, made my way up. When I ascended the peak the weeds were thick and tangled, and there was nowhere to place my feet. T h e trees in the forest were like hedgehog brisdes—branches connected and leaves overlapped. T h e shade was so dense it was like night during the day. When I looked up to the heavens it was like peering at the sky from the bottom of a well; from time to time you could just get a glimpse. Although there was a mountain directly in front of my eyes, the dense foliage blocked it, so that I couldn't get a view. There were only wild apes jumping and squatting above and below, making noises at the people, like old people coughing. Also there was an old ape, like a five-foot-tall child, squatting and glaring angrily. When the wind swept across the tops of the tress, it made a sough-

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ing sound which chilled one to the bone. The water from the waterfall flowed by. I looked f o r [the waterfall] but couldn't find it. A long snake slithered out beneath my ankles, giving me a fright. So I went back.

18th—It rained heavily again. It was the weather of a strong typhoon. M y clothes were soaked through. In front of the steps it was all mud. One couldn't step through it. I paced up and down depressed, then composed a poem:

The savage huts are like ant hills, The thorny underbrush hangs down on the road. The typhoon wind invades the low window, The sea mist attacks the stairs. Avoiding the rain, I wear clogs everywhere, To the bed supported on tortoise shells is added a ladder. The stream in front has newly risen, I hesitate and wish to find a roosting place.

After a while, a savage woman arrived. Hair tangled and bone-thin, her appearance was inhuman. She raised her hands and made hand signals, as if she wanted something. I looked for some food and gave it to her. When the villagers saw, they quickly waved her away, saying "This woman knows magic; she is skilled at putting curses on people; don't let her get close."

25 t h — I took a cart together with Master Wang. We proceeded in double stages.14 We crossed three high peaks and arrived at Zhonggang village, where we ate lunch. We saw a very fat ox, locked in a wooden cage, outside of the gate. Its head was lowered and feet were cramped; it was unable to stand up. T h e villagers said, " T h i s ox is just beginning to be put to the harness. We train it by this means." They also said, "at Zhuqian and Nankan on the route ahead there are many wild oxen in the mountains. . . . "

[Beginning of the fifth m o n t h ] — A f t e r several days, all the heads of various villages arrived, namely from twenty-three villages including Balifen, Mashaoweng, Inner Beitou, Outer Beitou, Mount Jizhou, Mount Dadong, Litde Jilong, Big Jilong, Jinbaoli, Nan'gang, Walie, Baizhe, Limo, Wuliuwan, Leili, Laoli, Xiulang, Balangpan, Qiwuzu, Dadayou, Lizu, Fang'ayu, Mailizhekou. They were all led by the head village of Danshui. T h e local leaders were divided into head [chief] and vice-chief. We gave them cheap wine, fed them sugar cubes, and gave them one %hangXb or so of cloth, and they all left happily. Moreover, we traded cloth with the savages for ore; for each seven feet of cloth we obtained one basket of ore.16 Weighing it, altogether we got about 270 or 280 catties.17 The next day, savages, both men and women, arrived in a continuous stream carry- ing ore in mangge [canoes].

The ore was variously brown and black. The color was rich and the quality heavy, and there were sparks. When you rubbed it between the fingers, there was a wonderful soughing noise. If it is not like this, then it is inferior. T h e refining method: pound it into a powder and let it dry in the sun. First put ten or so catties of oil into the ketde; slowly add the dry ore. Make a frame in the shape of a cross with large bamboo, and have two people hold each end and stir. The sulfur in the ore comes out upon contact with oil. As the oil and ore melt together, frequendy add ore and oil until the ketde is full. Y o u use approximately eight hundred or nine hundred catties of ore, and as for oil, the amount depends on the quality of ore. T h e workers from time to time scoop out some of the liquid with a metal spade and let it run down the side in order to examine it. If it's too much, they add ore; not enough, they add oil. If there is either too litde or too much oil, then you will ruin the sulfur. If the ore is good and you use the appropriate amount of oil, then from one ketde you can get four hundred or five hundred catties of pure sulfur. If not, you can get any-

5 5° | Y u Y o n g h e , Small Sea Travelogue

thing from about two hundred or so to a few dozen catties. E v e n though the key to the process lies in the oil, the workers attend to the strength of the fire; it seems as though this makes a slight difference. I asked the savages where the sulfur ore was produced, and they pointed to the foothills behind the thatched hut. T h e next day I dragged Master G u to g o there.

We took a mangge and ordered two savage boys to row. We entered by the stream; at the end of the stream was Inner Bai village. We called for some locals to guide us. We turned east and went half a tricent, then entered jungle. T h e stalks of the weeds were over one %hang high. We parted them with both hands and entered sideways. T h e hot sun touched the tips of the weeds, and the hot summer air was steaming; it was oppressively humid. T h e path under the grass twisted and turned and was only wide enough for a snake to crawl on. G u was well equipped for hiking and walked with the guide. They suddenly advanced; I followed behind with the attendants. I was only five paces behind him, yet we could no longer see one another. I was afraid we would lose each other. We would call to one another to gauge the distance of our separation.

We walked about two or three tricents, crossed two small streams (which we waded across), then again entered the deep jungle. T h e trees were dense and shady. Large or small we could not distinguish their names. Old vines wound around them like coiling dragons or serpents. When the wind passed leaves would drop, some as big as one's palm. Also there were giant trees which grew up splitting the earth. With two leaves sprouting, they were already ten spans big. The guide called these "cedar." When cedars begin to grow, they already have an entire trunk. Over many years they grow solid, but never increase in size. So they are the same in principle as bamboo. From the tops of the trees came the sounds of myriad types of birds. Though the ear could hear them, the eye could not see them. A cool wind struck the flesh, almost making you forget the swelter- ing heat. Again we crossed five or six hills, and reached a large stream. T h e stream was four or five %hang wide. T h e water flowed over bare rocks, giving it an indigo color. T h e guide said that this water originally came from the sulfur caves, where there was a bubbling spring. I tested it with one finger and it was still quite hot. I leaned on my walking stick and crossed over by stepping on bare rocks. We went two or three more tricents and the forest suddenly ended; for the first time the mountains in front could be seen. Then we crossed a small peak, and I felt that the ground beneath my shoes was gradually getting hot. I saw that the color of the vegetation was a withered lifeless brown. A s I gazed at the lower foothills of the mountain in front, I saw strands of white vapor rising, like mountain clouds being suddenly spit out, shaking and waving amid the blue peaks. The guide pointed and said, " T h a t is the sulfur cave." When the wind passed, the sulfurous odor was horrible. We went another half tricent. N o plants grew here, and the ground was broil- ing hot. The mountains on both sides had giant rocks which had been eroded by sulfur fumes, eaten away into powder. There were fifty or so streams of white vapor, all rushing out from under the ground. Pearl-like bubbles were spit up, flying up over a foot in the air. I hitched up my clothes and went over to the side of the cave and looked in. I heard an angry thunderous noise rocking the earth, and the sound of crashing waves and boiling cauldrons. T h e ground was pre- carious, as though it were about to shake. It struck fear in my heart. Within an area of a hundred sixth-acres, it was really like a giant boiling cauldron, and I was walking on the lid. The only thing that was keeping me from falling in was the fact that the hot air was causing it to swell up. A m o n g the giant rocks on the right was one particularly large cave. Thinking that giant rocks would not fall, I climbed atop a rock and looked down. Poisonous flames assaulted one from the cave, mak- ing it impossible to look at it direcdy. When they hit my head it felt as if my brain would split. I quickly retreated a hundred paces. On the left was a stream which made a sound like a toppling mountain. It was the source from which the bubbling spring came. I went back to the deep for- est for a short rest. Then I followed the old path and returned. My clothes were infused with sul-

558 | Y u Y o n g h e , Small Sea Travelogue

fur fumes, which would not disperse for days. For the first time I realized that the ceaseless mountain-toppling, cliff-crumbling, ear-splitting noise was the sound of the bubbling in the sul- fur caves. I wrote two poems to commemorate [my visit]:

The Creator gathered these strange structures, A surging, bubbling spring in the high peaks. Angry thunder will flip the earth over on its axis, A poisonous f o g shakes the cliff tops. In the emerald torrent the pine grows withered, In cinnabar mountains plants are about to go up in flames. Fairy mountains Peng and Y i n g are far o f f in my gaze, The boiling rocks welcome the gods.

In May there are few travelers, On the western slope there is a volcano. Who knows where the bubbling spring lies? So I set out on a difficult journey. Falling powder melts the precarious rocks, The sulfur stains in script-like blotches. A rumbling noise spreads for ten tricents, It's not the echoing of the current.

People had said that the environment of this place was harmful, with contagious diseases and numerous perils. That was the judgment of the various gendemen of Taiwan prefectural city. A t first I did not believe them, but having been here only a short while, the slaves became sick, and nine out of ten of the workers fell sick! E v e n the cook got sick. There was no one to take charge of the cooking. Master Wang had barely escaped from drowning, and now had come down with dysentery and couldn't keep any fluids down. Day and night there were about seventy or eighty rows [of sick men] until gradually they overflowed the beds. B y the side of my bed, there were sick men all around. All I could hear was their moaning and trembling, as though singing an end- less chorus. I resented not having superhuman strength. H o w could I nurse all of them? So I sent them all back on a boat. Moreover, Master G u had to return to the provincial capital on other business. I alone could not l e a v e . . . .

Looking out over the plain, [you see] nothing but luxuriant grasses. T h e vigorous vegetation covers your head; the feeble vegetation comes up to your shoulders. When the carriage passes through this growth, it is like being in the Underworld. T h e tips of the grasses graze your face and cut your neck. T h e mosquitoes and flies suck your flesh like starving vultures and hungry tigers; you can't beat them o f f . T h e blazing sun beats down on you, and your neck and back are about to split open. You've already exhausted the suffering and toil of the human world. Then, when you get there, instead of four walls and a tiled roof, there is only thatch; from all sides the wind enters like arrows. In bed you constandy see the sky. T h e green weeds grow up into the bed; as soon as you pull them up they sprout again. When it rains, it is like a flood in the hut. A f t e r the rains have passed, you still have to wear clogs to bed f o r ten days. T h e strumming of the cicadas and the piping of the worms rise up from beneath the bed, and the tide reaches the steps from time to time. [When you] g o out of the hut, the weeds bury your shoulders, and the old trees are gnarled; it is indescribable. Horrid clumps of bamboo grow up in their midst. Within a foot of you not a thing can be seen. A t night, cobras with their swollen necks make noises next to the pillows in every room. From time to time they snort like cows. T h e y have the strength to swal- low deer. Small snakes chase people and are as fast as flying arrows. A t night, I don't dare go

5 5° | Y u Y o n g h e , Small Sea Travelogue

beyond the threshold of the house. T h e sea wind howls angrily; everything resounds. T h e forests and valleys shake and rock. T h e hut and bed are on the verge of collapsing. In the middle of the night the apes howl, sounding like ghosts crying. A single lamp flickers, and I sleep next to those who are on the verge of dying from malaria. What are Ziqing's remote frontier and Xinguo's marshes next to this?18

Liu Zihou 1 9 said, " B o z h o u is not a place fit for humans to live." Let Z i h o u know of this place, and he would regard Bozhou as a paradise. T h e night that I arrived, there was a fisherman who had built his hut south of the harbor, separated from my dwelling by the water. He had folded some cloth as a mat and pillow and had gone to sleep. In the middle of the night, arrows came in from the outside, piercing the top layer of the pillow twenty-eight times. Luckily, his brain was not injured. He remained in dreamland when another arrow entered, penetrating his arm. His companions pursued the bandits, but failed to capture them. When they examined the arrow, it turned out to be the type that the savages use to shoot deer. Also there was a villager killed on the road. This all happened within the space of a few days. My thatched hut is in No-Man's-Land. From time to time I see savages coming and going in the jungle; no one can make out where they come from. When there are arrows being shot in the depths of night, how can I not be on guard? In this place, there are threats all around, and every minute I am on the verge of death! My body is not made of metal or stone; my strength is no greater than that of a mouse or rat. Moreover, I'm in my hoary years, and have an aged mother at home. H o w can I then forget the warning I received when I was getting ready to set forth, about remaining too long in a land of danger and death? It's just because I am resolute and brave by nature. I always advance and never retreat; in planning for others and planning for myself, I earnesdy hope to accomplish something. More- over, all my life I have been through dangers and encountered difficulties; why should I stop with just this one undertaking? N o w I am old! If I were willing to stop in the middle of this endeavor, because of one thought of shame, wouldn't I lose my former self? Now, those w h o have fallen ill have left, and those w h o haven't fallen ill have also left out of fear of disease and danger. Who was left to complete this task? Wouldn't it have been better not to have come then, rather than to leave early now? W h o could force me? Now, since I've come, isn't it useless to regret anything else? My will is habitually resolute. My spirit is so true that the mountain ghosts yield and the demon of disease also keeps far away from my sojourner's dwelling. Moreover, it was indeed due to my passion for travel that I came. I once said, " I n searching for the exotic and visiting scenic spots, one must not fear risky inclinations: if the voyage is not dangerous it will not be exotic; if the inclination is not risky, it will not be exhilarating." Taibo [Li Bo] climbed Mount Hua,20 and regretted not taking along one of Xie Tiao's 2 1 startling couplets; he scratched his head and com- plained to Heaven. Changli [Han Yu] 2 2 climbed to the summit of Mount Hua and, crying bitterly, composed a letter taking leave of his family. T h e Magistrate of Huayin used a hundred stratagems to get him down, and only then was he able to descend.23 They were all obsessed with a passion for travel. Although I would not dare to compare myself with the worthies of the past, what I have passed through on this journey would make Changli and Taibo envious. Moreover, Penglai Island is in sight, and the waters of the Ruoshui can be cupped in the hand.24 If Qin Shihuang and Han Wudi were to hear of this, would they not roll over in their graves?2 5

Small Sea Travelogue, vol. 3

(In the last section, Y u describes the completion of his expedition and his return to China. This section is filled with his observations about the relation between China and Taiwan, an island that had long been considered " b e y o n d the seas" and remote from " C h i n a proper." He finally makes

560 | Y u Y o n g h e , Small Sea Travelogue

a plea both for the humanity of the native "savages" and f o r the benefits of colonizing Taiwan. Y u bases his arguments on the need to civilize the "savages," and the need to strengthen China's position in the international arena. Upon arriving back in China, Y u gives his final judgment on the exotica he has seen and expresses his pleasure at returning to his home and old friends.)

Since I have come overseas, and moreover have traveled to the farthest and most remote areas, personally traveling through No-Man's-Land, walking over hill and dale, through the mountains and rivers, seeing the conditions, savage customs, and popular sentiment of all of Taiwan (not just being there myself but actually exploring), how can I not write something in order to leave a record by which to let people know of this world and these people? A t the time, I would often go out at dawn with my walking stick, then take a boat at dusk, in order to survey the surround- ings and explore the terrain.

. . . People argue that Taiwan is simply " a ball of mud beyond the sea, that is unworthy of development by China. It is full of naked and tattooed savages w h o are not worth defending. It is a daily waste of Imperial money for no benefit. It would be better to evacuate the people and vacate the land." Don't they know that if we abandon it, someone else will take it? If we vacate it, they will not have difficulty bringing in immigrants to populate it. Ai!

. . . The wild savages rely on their ferociousness and f r o m dme to time emerge and plunder, burning houses and killing people. Then they return to their lairs, and no one can approach them. Every time they kill someone, they remove the head and go back and cook it. They scrape the flesh from the skull and apply red and white paint to it. They place it in the doorway, and their fellows regard those with the most skulls as heroes. They live as if in a dream, as if drunk. They don't know to civilize [themselves]. They are really mere beasts! But they are just like tigers and leopards; if you come across them, they will bite. Like snakes and vipers, if you run up against them, they will bite. If you don't approach their caves, they have no intent of poisoning you.

. . . If we could civilize them with rites and righteousness; refine them with the Book of Odes and the Book of Documents; cultivate them in the way of storing what they have and preparing for short- ages; regulate them with clothing, f o o d and drink, marriage and funeral customs; make them all understand love for relatives, respect for elders, obedience to their lords, and affection for superi- ors; enlighten their minds to the enjoyment of life and repress their obstinate and hostile natures; then, at the longest, it would take one hundred years, and at the fastest, thirty years, to see their customs change and see them comply with the rites and teachings. H o w would they be any dif- ferent from the Chinese?

. . . Because they are of a different kind, people discriminate against them. They see them with- out clothing and say, " T h e y don't know cold." They see them walking in the rain and sleeping under the dew and say, " T h e y don't get sick." They see them running for long distances with heavy loads and say, " T h e y really have endurance." Ai! Aren't they also human?! L o o k at their limbs, their bodies, their skin and bones; in what way are they not human, so that you say these things? You can't gallop a horse all night; you can't harness an ox crookedly, or else they will get sick. If oxen and horses are this way, how much the more so f o r people? . . . Enjoying fullness and warmth, suffering f r o m hunger and cold, hating labor and delighting in idleness and pleasure, this is human nature. Y o u may consider these people different, but what need is there to consider their nature different? T h e humanitarian gendeman will know not to reject my words.. . .

[Tenth month] 1 2 t h — R i d i n g the slight breeze, I helped the boat along with a paddle. I could see the great Nantai Bridge. Young Z h o u Xuanyu led several servants in a small skiff to welcome me. When I saw them I was overjoyed. Xuanyu and I took the small skiff together and went to the great bridge, where we went ashore. Entering the city, we went to meet those good friends who had seen me o f f so long ago. Only Qiu Shaoyi, He Xiangchen, and my nephew Z h o u Zailu were

5 5° | Y u Y o n g h e , Small Sea Travelogue

in. T h e others had either returned h o m e or g o n e to other places, and w e couldn't see them. Only Lii Hongtu crossed the ocean and returned before me. I was quite happy. Seeing once again the sights of the city, I remembered that f o r half a year I had been living in N o - M a n ' s - L a n d . It was a world apart. I wonder h o w it compares with changing into a crane and going back [to Heaven as an immortal]. In the past I desired to travel overseas. I said that the waters o f the Ruoshui could be held in the hand, and that the three mountains o f the immortals could be reached.26

N o w that my eyes have seen all o f the vast wilderness, and my feet have exhausted the solitary precipices, I know that these so-called immortals are no more than a naked, tattooed race! E v e n if this is the elysium o f the immortal islands Peng and Y i n g , it can't compare to my hometown with its misty hazes over boundless waters, and the fife and drum o f painted pleasure boats. T h e s e are extraordinary and w o n d e r f u l rain or shine—quite enough to keep my thoughts attached [to them no matter where I go].

— E T

Notes

1. The word "savage" is used here as a translation of the Chinese fan. Qing writers employed this pejo- rative term to refer to the indigenous peoples of Taiwan.

2. Government office. 3. Zheng Chenggong, or Koxinga, took Taiwan as a base for his Ming loyalist rebel army in 1661, oust-

ing the Dutch, who had colonized the island in 1624. Zheng's descendants held the island until 1683, when they were defeated by Qing forces.

4. Fujian was divided into eight prefectures. When China first took possession of Taiwan, the island was made part of Fujian Province, thus adding a ninth prefecture.

5. Approximately 660,000 pounds (300,000 kilograms). 6. In the pordon of the text that has been omitted, the author explains that he transfers to an ocean-

going sampan. 7. Taipei is actually only about 150 miles (241 kilometers) from Fuzhou. The figure of 1,000 tricents

(approximately 330 miles [531 kilometers]) thus exaggerates by more than doubling the distance. As a mat- ter of fact, although Yu Yonghe cites many distances, some of which seem to be of a precise nature (e.g., 2,315 tricents from the south to the north of Taiwan, which is nearly four times the actual length of the island), they are highly unreliable and inaccurate throughout.

8. Admiral Zheng He, the great eunuch Muslim commander of the Ming fleet, led seven major naval expe- ditions between 1405 and 1433, exploring the seas as far as Africa.

9. Now Okinawa, a part of Japan. 10. Tower of the Red Hairs is located in Tainan, Taiwan. 11. One sixth-acre (mu) is equivalent to approximately 733.5 square yards (677 square meters). 12. What is translated as "No-Man's-Land" here is literally "Non-human land." The author uses the

phrase to describe Taiwan as a place unfit for habitation by civilized men. 13. All of the place names have meanings. A few of them are translated here to give an idea of what they

are like. 14. This means that they skipped every other rest stop that would normally have been scheduled. 15. One %hang is equivalent to approximately 141 inches (3.6 meters). 16. A Chinese foot is equivalent to approximately 14.1 inches. 17. A catty is equivalent to approximately 1.33 pounds (0.6 kilograms). 18. Ziqing is the sobriquet of Su Wu, a famous statesman of the second century B.C.E. who was sent by

the Han emperor Wudi on a mission to the Xiongnu (Hun) Khan. He was imprisoned by the Khan and later sent into the wilds, where he lived for nineteen years as a shepherd. Xinguo refers to Wen Tianxiang

562 | Y u Y o n g h e , Small Sea Travelogue

(1236-1282), who was famous for his loyalty to the Song dynasty (960-1279) and his resistance to the invad- ing Mongols w h o overthrew the Song. In 1276 he was sent on a mission to a Mongol camp, where he was imprisoned. Later he escaped and fought with the imperial forces in Zhangzhou, Fujian. He was known for leading troops into the barbarian wilderness. He was honored with the tide L o r d of Xinguo (True to the State).

19. Liu Zihou is the style name of Liu Zongyuan (773-8 19), a famous Tang-dynasty (618-907) literatus who is often credited with establishing the travelogue genre. Bozhou is in present-day Guizhou.

20. Li B o (701—762) was a famous Tang-dynasty poet and inebriate. Mount Hua is one of the five sacred mountains of China. It is located in today's Shaansi Province, in the south of Huayin County. It was tradi- tionally renowned as a Taoist holy place and as a scenic spot.

21. Xie Tiao (464-499) was famous for the originality of the couplets in his landscape poems. 22. Han Y u (768-824) was one of the most eminent poets and essayists of the Tang dynasty. 23. In 803, Han Y u climbed Mount Hua with some companions. It is said in L i Zhao's Supplement to the

State History of the Tang that when Han reached the summit, he became afraid that he would be unable to descend. He then wept and made out a last will to his family. T h e magistrate of Huayin eventually reached him and helped him to descend.

24. Penglai is one of three mythical islands of immortals fabled to be located in the middle of the East- ern Sea. See note 25. T h e Ruoshui is the name of a river said to run near the dwelling place of the goddess, the Queen Mother of the West.

25. According to legend, the ancient Emperor Qin Shihuang, founder of the Qin dynasty, had sent a mis- sion overseas in search of the three islands of the immortals and the magical herbs of immortality. Another legend has it that Han Wudi, E m p e r o r Wudi of the Han, once met with the Queen Mother of the West and attempted to obtain the secrets of immortality from her.

26. T h e three mountains of the immortals are the mythical mountains Fangzhang, Penglai, and Ying- zhou, said to be located in the middle of the Eastern Sea.

85 | Miao Albums

" M I A O A L B U M S " O F G U I Z H O U Province are handpainted ethnographic manuscripts of non- Han peoples that were first made during the eighteenth century. Under the Yongzheng emperor (r. 1 7 2 3 - 1 7 3 5 ) the administration of much of Guizhou shifted from the hereditary control of local headmen to the regular imperial bureaucracy. Confucian officials newly assigned to posts in the region found these documents a useful tool for acquainting themselves with the customs and beliefs of the non-Han peoples whom they would be governing. Each album leaf names and depicts a distinct group, enumerates where its members lived and how they dressed, and describes customs and practices by which they could be identified. T h e colorful illustrations focus primarily on themes relating to livelihood, religious festivals, courtship rituals, proclivity to violent behav- ior, and other practices of individual groups found to be of interest. T h e illustrations that follow depict a range of courtship and marriage practices.—LH

Caijia Miao are located in Guizhu, Xiuwen, Weining, Dading, and Pingyuan.1 T h e men wear felt upper garments. T h e women put their hair up using felt, and adorn it with blue cloth. The style

Figure 85.1. Songjia (untitled album, Ethnologisches Museum, Abteilung Ostasien, Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin, #46973). The woman's parents are shown wielding sticks against the "bride snatchers." Belying the kidnapping, the bride appears to be dressed up for the event, her trousseau well-prepared and packed into the basket strapped to one man's back.

564 | M i a o A l b u m s

resembles a cow's horn; it is m o r e than a f o o t tall. T h e y must use long hairpins to fasten it up. T h e y wear short upper garments and long skirts. Father-in-law and daughter-in-law do not speak with each other. W h e n a woman's husband dies they bury her with him. T h e woman's family will send a group o f people to snatch her away to avoid this fate. (See plate n o . )

Songjia Miao are under the jurisdiction o f Guiyang. T h e men wear caps and have long robes. T h e w o m e n pin their hair up and wear short skirts. W h e n it is time f o r a marriage to take place, the man's family sends people f o r the bride. T h e woman's family in turn leads a group of relatives to try to prevent her departure. T h i s is called snatching a bride f r o m her parents. (See fig. 85.1.)

K a y o u Z h o n g j i a are located in Guiyang, Anshun, N a n l o n g , Pingyue, and D u y u n prefectures. T h e y are f o n d o f blue clothing. Women cover their heads with patterned kerchiefs. Their upper garments are short, and rounded at the bottom. T h e y cut the fabric to fit the body, neither increasing nor decreasing the amount even in the cold o f winter or the heat o f summer. T h e i r skirts are long and finely pleated, with panels o f alternating colors. T h e i r big festival is on the sixth day o f the sixth month. E v e r y year during the first month o f spring the unmarried men and w o m e n gather together and dance under the moon. T h e y sing and dance in the wilderness. T h e y use colorful cloth, tying it up into a small ball like a melon. It is called a flower ball (hua qiu). T h o s e whose sentiments o f deep a f f e c t i o n are in harmony toss the ball back and forth, and then become intimate. Whenever they c o m e together, whether f o r weddings or funerals, the pair is

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Figure 85.2. Kayou Z h o n g j i a ("Miaoman tu," Fu Ssu-nien Library, Academia Sinica). The Kayou Zhongjia are pictured in a natural setting in which their "moon dance" was held. Three men and three women

cavort in pairs. Note the colorful balls of cloth that are tossed back and forth between amorous couples.

In this illustration each person depicted appears to have found a mate with whom their "sentiments of

deep affection are in harmony."

M i a o A l b u m s | 565

always joyful and contented. T h e y cut pieces f r o m their clothing and exchange belts. Thus engaged, they elope. Only after the w o m a n bears a child does she b e c o m e part o f her husband's family.

When a parent dies the old custom was to divide up the flesh and eat it. N o w this has changed; they use water b u f f a l o instead. T h i s is called changing the custom (ti li). T h e p o o r use one head o f catde, the wealthy use several head. Relatives, clansmen, and friends bring chicken to sacrifice. T h e y cover their heads with white cloth, circle the b u f f a l o , cry, and o f f e r libations to it. When the sacrifice is over, they kill and dress the b u f f a l o and divide up the meat. T h e guests eat and drink until sated and inebriated and then disperse. (See fig. 85.2.)

Tooth-breaking G e l a o are located in Qianxi, Qingzhen, and Pingyue departments and counties. When a woman marries, she must first have her two front teeth knocked out f o r fear of harming her husband's family. T h e s e are the so-called chiseling-teeth people. T h e y cut their hair in front and wrap it up behind. T h i s has the meaning o f getting married (qu qimei).2

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it *

Figure 85.3. Daya Gelao ("Miaoman tu," Fu Ssu-nien Library, Academia Sinica). T h e "tooth-breaking" rit- ual, which characterizes this group of Gelao, is shown taking place within the privacy of a fenced area out-

side the house. A group of six women, including the bride, participates. The bride is seated and leans her

head back; another woman supports it, holding it by the jaw. A third woman grasps the bride's right arm.

The oldest woman present—judging by her wrinkles and darker s k i n — i s responsible for breaking the

bride's front teeth. Seated next to the bride, she holds a mallet in her right hand and a chisel in her left in

preparation for the task at hand. A fifth woman, located off to the right of the group, holds a tray or bas-

ket in which the chisel and mallet are sometimes depicted in other Miao albums. The sixth woman looks

on from inside the house. The only male present is separated from these activities by the fence and gate

in the foreground of the illustration.

566 | M i a o A l b u m s

T h e G e l a o are also called Geliao. T h e r e are five different groups w h o do not intermarry. T h e y have dishevelled hair and g o barefoot. T h e y value life lightly; they will die f o r their companions. T h e y weave strips o f gingham into "barrel skirts," which they wear around their waists horizon- tally without pleats. M e n and w o m e n alike make clothes. This is so with all five varieties. (See fig. 85.3.)

— L H

Notes

1. These are all place-names in Guizhou Province. The Caijia Miao are shown in color plate n o , where the man on the right carries a hoe and a basket for moving earth as if he is ready to dig the woman's grave. The other two men appear to be holding on to the woman as if to make sure she does not get away. Some- times illustrations of the Caijia show a more hopeful scene; a man with a bedroll on his back coming over a bridge to reclaim the woman for her natal family.

2. Qimei literally means "even with the eyebrows," but it is also an expression that refers to a married couple.

86 | Yuan Mei, Champion of Individual Taste

Y U A N M E I ( 1 7 1 8 - 1 7 9 6 ) was a poet and an iconoclast whose hedonistic life mirrored the inde- pendent spirit which he championed in his writings. His ideas were forward-looking yet deeply rooted in his era. He lived by his wits, writing funeral essays f o r patrons and publishing his own works, yet he could never have succeeded without ties to men of influence, made during his early years in the Hanlin Academy and his short career as magistrate. T h e Qing was a time when schol- ars like G u Yanwu (see selection 83) were repudiating the N e o - C o n f u c i a n orthodoxy of Song thought, in favor of an evidential, pragmatic approach to the classics. Yuan Mei did not buy into the idealistic tendencies of Song thought either, but what he most objected to was the idea of an imposed Dao-lineage. Yuan Mei was interested in forming a rewarding personal synthesis, and his sole criterion for any philosophy was whether it could contribute to one's emotional wholeness. He did not care for Buddhism, yet karma was a key part of his worldview, and much of his favor- ite poetry incorporates a Chan (Zen) aesthetic. He even named his garden "Suiyuan" (Garden of Mi. Sui), which is a pun on " g o along with karma."

To the extent that was possible in his times, Yuan Mei was an advocate of independent wom- anhood. He stood against the practice of footbinding, but judiciously confined his opinion to his personal letters. He praised educated women, accepted women students, some of them unmar- ried, and even published a book tided Poems by the Female Disciples of Sui Garden (Suiyuan niidi^i shixuan). Although some later moralists (Liang Qichao [1873-1929; see selection 90] among them) found his loose behavior disgusting, he was fairly scrupulous in his relations with women students from good families. He met with them in groups or with chaperones, during social vis- its at his garden. His relations with them helped created a carefree, romantic aura around Sui Gar- den which probably helped him sell Suiyuan Poetry Talks (Suiyuan shihua) and other books. Because the Sui Garden was a famous literary gathering spot, perhaps Yuan Mei was partiy justified in claiming that his Sui Garden was a prototype for the Daguan Garden in Cao Xueqin's Dream of the Red Chamber.

As for Yuan Mei's behavior with singing girls and handsome male actors, of which he made no secret, that was wholly a different story. One can understand the viewpoint of moralists when reading, in his collection of letters, that he " f o u n d oblivion while lying atop a woman, rather than on a meditation mat."

A s an arbiter of taste, Yuan Mei was a tireless promoter of other people's poetry. He wrote pref- aces and arranged f o r publication of much work. He had little interest in rules, conventions, and cumbersome metrical technique. This can be seen in the selections f r o m his Suiyuan Poetry Talks below. Yuan Mei looked f o r a fresh, individual oudook; he believed each true poet says certain things that no one else can say better. T h e other two selections below, which reflect his opposi- tion to overarching philosophies, are taken from his letters and his essays.

Yuan Mei's literary career points to a revolution in personal taste that was already changing Chinese classical literature f r o m within, even as powerful external forces were bearing down upon i t . — D M

568 | Y u a n M e i , C h a m p i o n o f I n d i v i d u a l T a s t e

Y u a n Mei's Letter to X i a n g J i n m e n

I appreciate the concern shown in your recent letter, in which you clarified some points on the Lankavatara-sutra f o r me. I n view o f certain serious fallacies, I must pen a f e w more lines to explain myself to you. I once remarked that people d i f f e r in their natures just as much as in their faces. S o m e have a taste f o r jujubes, and roast meat does not appeal to them; some have a taste f o r lychee fruit, and wild greens do not appeal to them. L i u Y o n g was said to be f o n d o f nibbling scabs. [ T h e Annals of Master Lii tells us that] a man with bad b o d y odor was once banished to the seaside, only to be chased by someone w h o found that appealing. E v e n if the gourmet Y i Y a came to life, he could not tell us w h y this is so.

Buddhism has been in China f o r two thousand years, so it w o u l d be impractical to suppress it and foolish to elevate it. E m p e r o r J i n g o f the Han said, " A meat eater w h o abstains f r o m horse liver cannot be accused o f narrow tastes."1 G a o Qianzhi o f the N o r t h e r n Q i said, " B u d d h i s m is one of the nine subsidiary teachings." T h e s e two statements were right on the mark. B y my inborn nature I am not f o n d o f B u d d h i s m or D a o i s m , or even N e o - C o n f u c i a n i s m . D o w n through the years I have not let a day g o by without opening a book. I still have not delved far enough into the classics and dynastic histories, so h o w would I find time to pursue heterodox studies? This would only drain my energy and take up precious time. Since I don't have time to read about it, I also don't have time to refute it. It's enough to " k e e p myself empty and g o along with it," as Zhuang Z i says. When I was forty, my old friend Cheng Mianzhang suddenly urged me to read the Lankavatara-sutra. H e thought that a person o f my intelligence would feel at home with this book. W h o would have thought that partway through I would be dozing over its pages! T h e places he thought marvelous seemed humdrum to me; what he thought p r o f o u n d I f o u n d to be turgid. Why was this? Our natures are different, and I have no incense-burning karma f r o m my past life. A s f o r the word karma, though it comes f r o m Buddhism, after a lifetime o f experience I am convinced o f it, and it is the one thing f r o m B u d d h i s m which I believe fills a gap in our sagely classics. Obvi- ously I am empty o f preconceptions in this; in all things I only seek what makes sense. I don't have an us-and-them mentality about Confucianism versus Buddhism. W h e n you heard me using the word "turgid," you rose to the defense o f the Buddhist religion. Y o u quoted the phrase fei-hu-xi2

f r o m an old Music B u r e a u p o e m , and you mendoned Y a n g X i o n g ' s Scripture of Great Mystery to prove that ancient Chinese books also have unclear passages. O f course there is no lack of obscure phrases in old Chinese books. M a n y o f these are scraps o f old dialect or proverbs that lost mean- ing over time. T h e y are not turgid f o r the sake o f turgidity, but the mantras and dharanh in Bud- dhist scriptures are turgid f o r the sake o f turgidity. Y o u tell me that all these mantras have mean- ings that can be written d o w n in plain language. What about obscure lines in the old Music Bureau songs? T h e y are scraps o f Qi or L u dialect, and I challenge you to tell me what they mean now. A s for Y a n g Xiong's Classic of Great Mystery, it is like the Classic of Wondrous Archery by L i a o X i o f N o r t h e r n Wei: both o f these b o o k s exploit obscurities and parade oddities, so they have been ignored by later generations. C h e n Q u f e i o f the S o n g said, " Y a n g X i o n g was f o n d o f marvels, which is why his w o r k is not marvelous." Su D o n g p o judged it even m o r e harshly: " H e tries to decorate shallowness with profundity." Opinion on this is already setded.

Moreover, you caution me that my arguments have certain weak spots; you are concerned that believers will spy them out and attack me, to the point that I won't have any ground to stand on. O n this point you are wrong. I f I thought o f Buddhist doctrine as ground to stand on, then I would w o r r y about being attacked, and your concern would be justified. H o w e v e r , I do not draw on Buddhism f o r my grounds o f argument: I fear I would be tempted by it to set o f f on a way-

Y u a n M e i , C h a m p i o n o f I n d i v i d u a l T a s t e | 569

ward path. When it comes to grounds of argument, I have my own place to stand. Why should I worry about coming under attack? If I am attacked as an ignoramus, I will be pleased to hear it. If I am attacked as a "deluded man with no concept of Buddhist truth," I will be even more pleased. Why? Followers of different paths do not make plans together. Yan Yuan was laughed at for not understanding birdcalls as well as Gongyechang; Zigong was laughed at for lacking Jiegelu's abil- ity to understand the mooing of cows.3 Neither of these worthies was bothered in the slightest.

What is more, given your admiration for the subdeties of Buddhist scriptures, you yourself are a believer. If you want to attack me, then attack me. Why must you put words in the mouths of others who will direct hypothetical attacks against me? A phoenix soars a thousand fathoms above the earth, while an oriole frets over being driven from his crack between roof-tiles. I humbly sug- gest that this line of argument is not worthy of you.

At the close of your letter you say, "All the gentry and court officials nowadays pay honor to the Buddha. You alone, Sir, come forth to preside over the teaching of names, trying your utmost to reverse its decline." 4 Again, I take issue with what you say. All my life I have acted according to my Heaven-given nature, and I don't like making statements to put myself on a pedestal. I stand on the worth of my own opinions. I dislike Buddhism in the same way that I push aside a piece of meat that, to me, seems tainted. I avoid listening to mantras and chanting, simply because they do not appeal to my sensory preferences. I make no claim to perfect discrimination in sound and taste, and I don't set myself up as a high-minded arbiter. It has always struck me that King Wen sought the Way all his life and never thought he found it, but Mencius and Han Fei Z i both assumed the mande of the Way-lineage. Self-important people have set out to refute Yang Z h u and Mo Z i in one era,5 and similar people have tried to refute Buddhism and Daoism in the next. They have grieved over the Yellow River's murkiness and tried to clear it with their tears. This shows the tem- perament of a bookish dreamer and contributes litde to society. I am not like them. I don't play up to the Buddha, and I don't refute the Buddha. I do not believe the nine subsidiary teachings, and I don't suppress them. Why? Variation is in the nature of things. Zixia said, " E v e n a minor path has something worth looking into, but if I take it too far, I fear getting bogged down. A superior man does not do this."6 Buddhism and Daoism are examples of minor paths. To allow them to preach Dharma and attract followers, giving a livelihood to many unoccupied people—this is part of the greatness of Heaven and Earth. If Confucius and the Duke of Z h o u came back to life, they would not disagree with this statement. (Chidu [Letters] chap. 7, no. 178)

From "Approaches to Writing for Exam Candidates"

. . . What we call the D a o is something empty and formless. People say that so-and-so transmit- ted the Dao and so-and-so received it. Has anyone ever seen it resting on someone's shoulders or carried on someone's back? Yao, Shun, Yu, and G a o lived in the same era. Does this mean that there were four lineage-bearers in one era? Wouldn't that be a bit crowded? From the time of Confucius and Mencius to the time of Cheng Y i and Z h u Xi, a thousand years passed without a lineage-bearer. Wasn't that spaced a bit too widely? There are people who draw diagrams of trans- mission to show the trunk and branches of the Dao-lineage. But how do they handle those who seclude themselves for a higher aim? How do they handle the ones who withdraw from society without regret? Some may say, "We base the lineage on those who leave written works." But how would they handle worthy men who do great deeds yet don't repose their ideals in empty words? Won't we need to get rid of the notion of Dao-lineage before the teaching of sages can truly expand? {Wenji [Collected prose] chap. 24, p. 2)

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Remarks f r o m Suiyuan Poetry Talks

From the Book of Odes right up to today, any poem which gets passed down has to possess xing- ling7 It has nothing to do with cobbling things together. {Shihua, chap. 5)

Mr. Xi'ai said, "As the genre of 'poetry comments' flourishes, poetry dies." Formerly I did not know what he meant, but later I read Poetry Talks from Yuyang, and I sighed to find that although Song poetry is worth keeping, we might as well dispense with poetry comments from the Song. Pi Guanye has these lines: " T h e stroller breaks a willow wand to stir the floss / A swallow flies with fallen petals daubed in mud." This is a fine couplet, but Pei Guangyue says, "When willow floss is in the air, the ground should not be muddy." A Tang poet has these lines: "Outside of Suzhou City at Cold Mountain Temple/Bells in the night reach the traveler's boat." This is a fine couplet, but Ou G o n g ridicules it because temple bells don't ring at night. Other writers of "poetry comments" mention temple bells rung at night to support these lines. This kind of dis- cussion causes inspiration to die on the vine. If people indulge in such poetry comments, they might as well give up on poetry! (Shihua, chap. 8)

Once I visited a monastery and saw this poem written in small characters on the wall: "A man returns through flowers to a girl's pealing voice / His wife buys wine, wants a poem for the occa- sion / She tells of early blooms, more lush than years gone b y / Fragrant glimmer even lovelier at n i g h t / I n storm at dawn wondering can they l a s t ? / ' H a d you returned in triumph three days s o o n e r / Y o u r eyes could have feasted on splitting buds.'" A t the end was written "Viewing peonies with my w i f e " without signature. Some laughed at the simplicity, but I said, " I t has xing- ling through and through: it must be by an accomplished poet." {Shihua, chap. 12)

Li Xiaocun was adept at writing quatrains, but he was criticized for reaching after unusual imagery. This does not allow for what Wen Zisheng said: "A line of text is easy to write; a craggy ridge is hard to trace." A poet like Xiaocun lives up to the word "craggy." Here is his "Taizhou Boat Lodgings": "Misty sandbar haloed moon, a hard-to-make-out shape / Is that someone's night-dress skimming past the reeds?/ Long-haired maid with ready hand at o a r / This dewy night agrees to take a person home." Here is his "Night Passing Red Bridge": "Sky vaults and moon rises, trailing its jade rope / Wine like agate lantern ruddy along both b a n k s / Singing voices down the line, wind stirs w a t e r / L i g h t boats in clusters, west of painted bridge." Also, here is his "Waste Garden": "Whose courtyard consummates its own spring?/Moss on windowsill, dust on d e s k / At least the dog next door still cares / Over the fence barks at a flower thief." Also, here is his "Clear Stream": "Whitewashed wall brushed by fallen petals/Pavilions through the gloomy shade of trees/ Wind-driven drizzle on unraised b l i n d / N o one there, but haunting just the same." Also, here is his "Refusal to Sit for a Portrait": "Having a shape, I only care to hide i t / L a c k i n g talent, I know this body's an encumbrance." These are Xiaocun's best pieces, but Cullings of a Fool's Retirement only chooses "Remembering Whitegate," which has this couplet: "Willows in late wind, wine in deep alley/Peach blossoms near spring stream, woman behind curtain." This is nothing but a lineup of pretty-sounding words, at the lowest level. People who give up xingling for style let the best things go by the wayside. (Shihua, chap. 13)

As for the two poets of Tongcheng, Fang Funan and Fang Nantang are equally well known. Yumen likes Funan and I am partial to Nantang. Why? Because the bones of his poetry are pure. Funan studied L i Shangyin and D u Fu,8 but in the end he was encumbered and his xingling was closed o f f prematurely. {Shihua, chap. 13)

Inspector Liu Tingji of the Han army was a poet during the Kangxi emperor's reign. Some thought his poems too frivolous, but the xingling running through them cannot be denied. Look at his "Fisher folk": " T o each family its own fishing boat / A marriage made to float upon the

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w a t e r / G i r l of thirteen boy of fifteen / Lower their eyes whenever they meet." Look at this cou- plet from "Random Lines": "Idle flowers are best viewed idly / Snapped o f f to take home they are no longer fresh." (Shihua, chap. 14)

Huang Yunxiu says, "Having no poems, you busy yourself over books." Fang Ziyun says, "Stud- ies neglected, you get xingling poems." Liu Xiashang says, "Reading too long, poetic thoughts get bogged." These statements could only have been uttered by persons who knew reading and poetry well. {Shihua, chap. 3)

Chan Master Whitecloud wrote this gatha: "A fly drawn by the light bumps the window paper/ Unable to pass it tastes much suffering / Suddenly it chances on the route it came b y / And knows its eyes have fooled it all through life." Chan Master Xuedou wrote this verse: " A rabbit exposed on a r o a d / Is borne away by a passing h a w k / Then the hawk for lack of awareness/Vainly sniffs the log where it stood. . . . " Though these are Chan discourses, they are compatible with poetry. {Shihua, chap. 4)

In the past when reading Sun Yuanru's poems, I felt he was a rare talent. Later on seeing his recent works, I found his brilliance much diminished. Looking into the reason, I found that he had retreated into textual studies. Sun knew of my feelings and wrote the following for me: "Pile books body-high to learn the writer's craft / From a cul-de-sac reach heaven then make xingling poems/Judgment of ages can hardly fall on m e / D e e p into the classics I flee from your genius pen." {Shihua, chap. 16)

In the final years of the Kangxi reign, among commoners good at poetry, there were Qu Siqi of Nanjing and L i Keshan of Suzhou. Unlike the style of Strawcoat Zhu, both were forlorn and high- minded. I have seen few poems by Li Keshan. Qu was good at five-word lines in the old-style, with technique superior to Strawcoat's. In terms of xingling, he could not equal Ma Qiutian, Shen Fangzhou, Qiu Huajing, and the poet I mentioned who wrote on a monastery wall. Here is Qu Siqi's "Viewing Fall Colors": " O n Mount Censer's layered peaks / Hard-won view at rim in set- ting light/Bells resound to the world b e l o w / Voices close to deva-realms9/Red leaves vie in color-riot / Autumn blooms quiedy lovely/ Wind-swept slope above wooded valley/ Bird bound home through chill mist." Here is a couplet from "Mochou Lake": " E v e r since the lovely one departed/Here have grown the most fragrant herbs." From this chill, detached atmosphere, we can imagine what sort of person he was. {Shihua buyi [Poetry talks supplement], chap. 1)

X u Shuixiang of Baoshan, who concentrated on poetry and did not prepare for civil exams, died at the age of twenty-two. Ten days before his death, while lying sick in bed, he told his father, " I have been taken to see the Underworld lord of Dongting Lake. My life's blood has gone into poetry. Please have copies made for my friend Pu Xiangchun's collection." Before he heard of the young man's death, Pu dreamed he and X u were happily conversing and the young man said he had died four days earlier. Since then X u apprenticed himself to Master Zhao Qinqiu and was making great strides in learning about poetry. With a laugh he faded from Pu's sight. Pu then printed Xu's poems with the tide One Hundred Omissions. Here is Xu's "Autumn Seaside Mood": " A thousand finned families make an aquatic county seat/ High-piled jetty looms in a curve before my sight / Heaven submerges a poor city under azure waves / Lord in strife with his creatures for a foot of ground/Masts from Fusang1 0 sailing to many destinations / D i s k of sun peeking makes islands radiant / Water stretching vast to eyes' limit / Surprise that gusts of autumn stir few waves." Here is a couplet from "Mourning Han Qi": "West Lake has been here for this family of Song t i m e s / G o o d for viewing in old age from a donkey's back." Here is a couplet from "Comes the Night": "Though jade is best cherished when left uncut/Can't help picking the flowers I view." This truly comes from xingling. {Shihua buyi, chap. 1)

In the year 1736 I entered the capital, and in 1741 I tested into the Hanlin Academy. I spent

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my youthful years under the tutelage of Li Wenzhen from Anxi, and my studies were based on his standards. In poetry he did not strive for perfect technique, but he let xingling flow out here and there. L o o k at this from his " P o e m for He Yimen": " T h o u g h learned you do not hanker for a post/Writing for the occasion, you can feed a f a m i l y / Y o u r table is ringed by wine-loving guests/ Your door is thronged by booksellers' carts." This is a true picture of Yimen's life. Here are two lines from Li's "Limpid Shade": "Urging a drinking companion, I get drunk first / L e t - ting itself be taken, the pawn cares only to win." Here are two lines from "Peaceful Dwelling": "Half of those who visit fancy your calligraphy/All of those who knock have flowers for your vase." These are memorable lines from his collection Utter Beauty. {Shihua buyi, chap. 2)

Someone brought me a certain powerbroker's poems and asked if I would put them in my Poetry Talks. When reading them I could hardly keep my eyes open, so I told him, " T h e poems have clarity of diction and good technique, but if I want to find fault, there's nothing to find fault with; if I want to make fun of them there's nothing to make fun of; if I want to select some, there are none that stand out. Confucius said, 'Firm of will and woodenly silent—this is close to humane- ness.' As for your eminent friend's poems, without venturing to say they are wooden, I'll admit they're close to humaneness, but not to poetry." The friend said, "His language fits his solemn sub- jects." I said, " I don't think so. When the pen has magic, it brings loyalty and justice alive. When the pen is dull, even songs about lads and lasses will lack fascination." {Shihua buyi, chap. 2)

To make the realm of one's poems expansive and their feeling lively, it takes diligent study and thoughtfulness. You should have something to say and content yourself with the aims of poetry expressed by Confucius and Mencius. If you insist on multiplying strictures, narrowing possibil- ities, and putting your xingling in manacles, to the point that your poems lose the joy of being alive, aren't you making yourself a mannequin? {Shihua buyi, chap. 3)

Going through my old papers, I found a quatrain by Y i n Sicun: " O n a moonlit night the lamp burns on and o n / A f t e r heavy meals I rise late now and then/Pressing cares add frost around my temples / 1 fear to recall the days of my youth." This was probably a favorite piece I kept from work Yin had sent me for a critique. I also kept his verse on redeeming winter jackets from a pawnshop: " T h e sight of this familiar clothes box / Brightens my old wife's features/ Our maid appears with iron in h a n d / T o press each hem and sleeve / A l a s the wrinkles are too deep / N o iron can unrumple them." These express xingling in his own inimitable way. {Shihua buyi, chap. 4)

Xiangyan and I made an excursion to Tiantai, so we left our lakeside tower for a month. Com- ing back we found the desk covered with letters that had caught up to us in our travels, all con- nected with bygone infatuations. Xiangyan wrote this couplet: " N e w letters to greet us covering the desktop/Flowers of our absence are withered near the wall." And this couplet is from "Farewell to West Lake": "Prospects of unforgettable friendship/ Memories of uncompleted poems." These lines are full of xingling, expressed by the telling vagaries of Xiangyan's pen. {Shi- hua buyi, chap. 5)

Lady Kong Jingting of Juqu was . . . of willowy build and had the manners of one from a good family. In the Spring of 1791 she came to view flowers in my garden with her mother-in-law. Her household members raved about her. She was fond of quietude and accomplished at poetry. I remember poems she sent to her husband: "Watching phases of the moon since you have left / Alone by a lone lamp, tears thread down my cheek / Moon at edge of sky stirs my strongest feelings/Each side knows the others parting sorrow." "Wishing to confide my sorrow to a note- book / Pace in silence, lean against a w i n d o w / O dear, let us not undo our sweet v o w / What a waste of scented sheets to sleep alone." Both poems have their own way of showing xingling. {Shi- hua buyi, chap. 7)

Master Tanzun has a poem called "Excursion to Incense-Realm Monastery": "Drizzle pauses

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at the w a n e o f d a y / P i n e c o n e s d r o p d o w n f r o m steep b l u f f / C r o w d o f p e a k s l o o m o n steep m a s -

s i f / P r e c a r i o u s b r i d g e e n w r a p p e d in final rays / A u t u m n s o u n d s d i s t u r b a traveler's d r e a m / C h i l l

air against a p o e t r y - c h a n t i n g shirt / F r o m e m p t y e d g e e m e r g e s s u b d e s c e n t / H e a v e n ' s f l o w e r s f o r

sure b e y o n d this w o r l d . " H e r e is his " B l a c k B u t t e r f l y " : " Y o u f l y b e y o n d any list, tracing c u r v e o f

an old v i n e / C a r r i e d o n m e m b r a n e w i n g s u n d e r a h o r s e b e i n g g r o o m e d / Y o u fly real as l i f e into

m y L a c q u e r G a r d e n d r e a m / S u r e e n o u g h I ' v e reached the l a n d o f s w e e t d a r k n e s s . " H e r e is a c o u -

plet f r o m " A u t u m n W i l l o w " : " V i l l a g e h o u s e in w e s t e r i n g s u n — a t h o u s a n d d e t a c h e d l i n e s / A s l e e p

upstairs in east w i n d — m e m o r i e s c o m e a n d g o . " T h i s is f r o m his " W r i t t e n as a G i f t " : " C h i l l p u r e

f r o s t o n N o v e m b e r Y a n t a i b l u f f / F i n e river rain all t h r o u g h the c o u r s e o f S p r i n g . " T h e s e are rare

e x p r e s s i o n s o f xingling, utterly unlike the c o m m o n tone. (Shihua buyi, chap. 9)

M i s s Y a n R u i z h u o f W u j i a n g s h o w e d u n i q u e intelligence b y a g e e i g h t e e n . S h e p a w n e d her hair

o r n a m e n t s to p a y tuition a n d s t u d y u n d e r m e . I asked, " H a v e y o u read Cangshan Poems?" S h e said,

" I f I hadn't, I w o u l d n ' t c o m e t o study u n d e r y o u . O t h e r p e o p l e ' s p o e m s h a v e g o o d lines, but don't

h a n g together, o r they h a n g t o g e t h e r b u t d o n ' t h a v e g o o d lines. B u t y o u , Sir, c o m b i n e the two. I

especially like y o u r parallel p r o s e , s o I m e m o r i z e d y o u r t h o u s a n d - w o r d p l a q u e at the Z h o n g s u

S h r i n e . " I asked, " T h a t p i e c e has m a n y allusions; d o y o u k n o w w h e r e they c o m e f r o m ? " S h e said,

" I k n o w a l m o s t h a l f o f t h e m . P e o p l e say y o u r metrical p r o s e has allusions, b u t d o n ' t they k n o w

y o u r p o e t r y has t h e m t o o ? Y o u r p o e m s e m p h a s i z e xingling, s o the l a n g u a g e is t r a n s f o r m e d : it car-

ries ideas f r o m the p h i l o s o p h e r s , b u t p e o p l e find it f a m i l i a r a n d d o n o t notice. I t is like salt in water:

o n e can only k n o w the p r e s e n c e o f salt b y taste, but n o grains o f salt are seen. O n e w o u l d have to

read ten t h o u s a n d v o l u m e s w i t h g r e a t care to p o i n t o u t y o u r s o u r c e s . " (Shihua buyi, chap. 10)

" I n S t i l l n e s s " b y Y u a n M e i : " M a s t e r y in s d l l n e s s is w h e n y o u see xingling/Deserted w e l l

b e c o m e s a n i g h t - b u b b l i n g s p r i n g / T h r e a d o f spider silk h a n g s plainly b e f o r e y o u / U n l e s s y o u

take time it can easily b e m i s s e d . " (Shiji [Collected v e r s e ] chap. 28)

— D M

Notes

1. Emperor Jing presided over the first appearance of Buddhism in China. 2. Three meaningless syllables, like "tra-la-la," used to fill out the melody of a line of verse. However,

seduced by the surface signification of the characters used to write these three syllables, Chinese scholars came up with all sorts of fantastic nonsense about what they presumably meant, such as "concubine breathes faindy" or "concubine shouts ' h o g ' ! "

3. Zigong was one of Confucius's disciples. 4. Confucianism is sometimes called "the teaching of names" because Confucius advocated the rectifi-

cation of names to make government ethical. 5. During the Warring States period, Yang Z h u advocated hedonism and M o D i (i.e., M o Z i ) advocated

universal love. Both were treated as heterodox teachers by Mencius. 6. Zixia was a disciple of Confucius who actively propagated the master's teachings after his death. This

statement is quoted from the last section of the Analects. 7. Xingling is a key term in Yuan Mei's poetics. Though sometimes translated as "spirit and mind" or

"sensibility," it refers to the inspiration that wells up from one's individual nature. 8. Two of the most celebrated poets of the Tang dynasty. 9. I.e., the realms of heavenly beings. 10. Fusang is the world-tree, which grows beyond the eastern horizon.