“Waiting for the Unicorn” | Open Indiana

Chin Ho (Kung-shu; YA-P’AO) was born in Ch’üan-chiao, Anhwei province, and was distantly related on his mother’s side to the famous eighteenth-century novelist Wu Ching-tzu (1701–1754). He spent the greater part of his carefree youth in Nanking where he and his family were trapped when the Taiping rebels captured the city in March, 1853. When government troops arrived outside Nanking, Chin began plotting with his friends to stage an uprising within the city to coordinate with an attack from without, and Chin himself escaped to the government camp to inform the general in charge, Hsiang Jung (d. 1856), about his plot. Hsiang did not have confidence in Chin’s stratagem, and after his wife and other relatives managed to escape, Chin left Nanking in disgust to return to Ch’üan-chiao. In the meantime the plot was discovered, and many of Chin’s friends were executed by the Taiping rebels.

By 1856 Chin was employed as a clerk to collect the new likin tax, and in 1859 he failed the provincial examinations in Hangchow. As the territory of the Taiping rebels expanded, he was forced to flee to Shanghai in 1860. Later he spent approximately six years in Kwangtung province serving in various minor secretarial posts, but by 1867 he was back in Nanking, which had been recovered from the Taipings in 1864. After residing in a number of southern Chinese cities, he passed away at Shanghai in 1885. Although his poems were widely read in manuscript during his life, they were not printed until 1892, when a collection was published under the title Lai-Yün-ko shih-kao (Poems from the Pavilion of Advancing Clouds). A definitive edition under the title Ch’iu-hui yin-kuan shih-ch’ao (Poems from the Hall of Humming Autumn Cicada) did not come out until 1914. Even so, most of Chin Ho’s earlier works have been lost.

Chin Ho was one of the most daring innovators of mid-nineteenth century China, writing in a highly colloquial style strongly indebted to the folk ballad tradition. Chin himself wrote:

Although what I write is not the purest of the pure;

In short, every word is natural and true to life.

No contemporary man is capable of this;

And I can’t be called an ancient either!

In addition to injecting much more colloquial language into his verse than other nineteenth century shih poets, Chin’s style is quite prosy and breaks practically all of the traditional rules of line length and rhyme. His works are distinguished by his long narrative poems, a form relatively uncommon in the Chinese poetic tradition. Some of his finest poems relate his harrowing experiences during the Taiping Rebellion or satirize the corruption and ineptness of the government forces with a scathing, mordant humor.

Liang Ch’i-ch’ao (q.v.), one of the major political and intellectual figures of late Ch’ing China, considered Chin Ho and Huang Tsun-hsien (q.v.) to be the two major poets of the nineteenth century, and Hu Shih (1891–1962), one of the leaders of the early twentieth century vernacular literature movement, ranked him in the same class as the T’ang giants Tu Fu and Po Ch’ü-yi. Since the Communist Revolution in 1949 Chin Ho’s verse has been largely ignored, possibly because of his hatred for the Taiping rebels, whom the Communists consider their spiritual ancestors. In any case, Chin Ho had a major impact on Huang Tsun-hsien and other late nineteenth-century poets.

(J.D. Schmidt)

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1.Chao-ying Fang, ECCP, 1:163- 164.

Strolling in Simplicity Garden for the First Time

All of spring’s colors are found inside a brushwood gate;

How I regret sticking my feet in this Red Dust¹ by mistake.

A burst of bird songs is enough to urge us to our drinking;

Round about, flower scents make do to perfume our clothes.

A few ill-shaped rocks are brought in; the mountains look more seductive;

Newly covered with sparse duckweed, the water serves to fatten the soil.

It’s not that your host is known for hospitality:

I just wait for the night to deepen, so I can return by moonlight!

(Ch’en, p. 450)

(Tr. J.D. Schmidt)

Ballad of the Girl from Lan-ling

Soon as the general broke Hsüan-chou’s seige,

He traveled swift as a bird, cymbals clanging all the way.

Marching, marching, east to the River Lai,

And built a gold house fixed with jade gates.

Ten-layered screens, covered with silk and gauze;

Hundreds of hanging tassels, heavy with pearls.

Sea monsters, purple phoenixes stitched on his carpets;

Corals, jade trees flash beneath his lamps.

Magic tortoise trays, huge conch shell cups;

Pepper flowers ferment, lambs fatten.

At his table, sable, brocade, the age’s nobility for the time;

Before his eyes, pomp, luxury, rare in our world.

They say the general consummates his wedding today;

The noble lady comes to marry, previously betrothed.

Far, the road to Lan-ling, matchmakers gone thither;

Along the vernal river, boats of Wu travel by his command.

On this auspicious occasion, wind and sun, fresh, charming;

Snow melts, sands warm, waves sparkle in the clear weather.

The children on Double Bridge vie in their joyous shouting;

New Year plums and willows intoxicated in spring feelings.

At high noon the clamor of drums and horns is heard afar;

From upriver Milady’s approach already reported.

The general smiles and descends his stairway;

His guests surround him, waiting in silence.

Just as the gay boat docks by the general’s gate,

A girl swoops out like a hawk, running fast as an ape.

Her dress is elegant yet plain, avoids decoration and ornament;

Her manner meek and modest, honored in heaven and earth.

If she isn’t a fairy princess attending Jasper Pool’s heavenly chariot,²

She must be the immortal who weaves in Jade Palace at night.³

Her tall frame stands firm and erect;

Her jade countenance grieved, not warm.

She straightens her sleeves to address the guests:

“All you present in this hall ride in tall carriages;

I, too, am not without culture.

Listen as I tell everything from the very beginning;

I am the daughter of an official family of Lan-ling;

In this disorderly age, most people are crafty by nature.

I have but one mother and two elder brothers;

We live in the country, at an isolated spot.

One day I watered vegetables in our icy plots;

When the general passed by and stopped to stare.

I carried my bucket home, quickly barring the door;

I didn’t even give him the time of day.

Yesterday came two of his officers,

Baskets brimming over with gold coins.

They said our marriage had been made in heaven,

And my mother had previously given assent.

Now they’ve come by boat to take me;

The wedding is soon, better not delay.

When my brother asked them who they were,

Their loud roar shook our house to its foundation.

Several dozen men drew their swords,

Standing in a pack like wolves and tigers.

With one shout they quickly surrounded our house,

Terrifying all passersby outside.

Their manner was exceedingly violent

And there was no place for us to fly from them.

If I would not go with them now,

My frightened family knew we were finished.

Now that they have brought me here,

I ask the general what he means by this.”

The words burst from her heart, sentence by sentence;

Suddenly her arm shot out, she grabbed the general.

In her other hand, a sword, still unsheathed, ready for action.

“Is what I have said true or not?

General, have you heard what I said?

I want only to drag you to Soochow,

Accuse you in the governor’s court;

Request him to appeal to the emperor for me;

From ancient times famed generals’ deeds were inscribed on bronze;

They were given titles, land, money, silk, all rewards by the nation,

But when could they kidnap women of good family to repay their valor?

When an imperial command comes from the five-layered clouds,

If the emperor commands me to marry you,

Wouldn’t you be satisfied then?

But if you don’t have the emperor’s decree,

Our dispute will never be settled.

If you are angry then kill me!

Just like crushing tiny fleas and mosquitoes on a pile of manure.

Otherwise, I’m taking your life with my sword;

Blood gushing from your throat will spatter these blue silk dresses for five full paces.

Outside your gate on the long dike are plenty of wild crabapple trees,

With enough space to bury a lecherous general tomorrow.

Quickly decide if you want to live or die;

What use lowering your head, speechless, politely embarrassed?”

The general usually bawled and cursed with a thunderous roar;

His arms could easily hoist a thousand-pound stone.

But now his face and eyes were dead as ashes;

Flushed as if drunk, his expression tipsy.

The toughs under his command fumed with anger;

Clenched fists, fingernails biting flesh, teeth grinding.

Now their general was in someone else’s hands,

Suddenly there was nothing they could do.

When you strike a rat, you fear smashing the furniture;

There’s no way for them to make use of their weapons.

The general waved his troops to back off;

His eyes stared at the guests, pleading with them to say a good word.

Soon as the guests had recovered from fright,

They came and bowed before the girl.

100

“After hearing Milady’s speech,

Our hair stands straight with indignation.

In short, the general’s idea,

Was not that things should come to this.

Of course, he asked your hand in marriage.

105

But he wouldn’t dare be so unreasonable as to force you.

Rash and rude, they didn’t understand what they were doing;

The fault was entirely with the messengers.

As for those two officers of his,

If they’ve disobeyed his command, they will be soundly thrashed.

110

And today, without further ado,

You’ll be sent back to your village home.

The general himself will walk you to your gate,

Bare to the waist, to beg a thousand pardons.

He will respectfully present a humble gift,

115

To help you care for your elders.

This matter will pass like clouds and mist,

The sky return to its pristine purity.

Let us send the boat back right now,

And God forbid we should break our word!”

120

The girl observed the guests, smiled, then frowned;

“Gentlemen, you take me for a rosy cheeked babe!

Your general has been foiled today,

Will his vicious temper now be tamed?

Like a mountain demon, he’ll seek vengeance;

125

The more he fumes, the crueler he’ll become.

Alas! Since the army was sent into action,

Everywhere soldiers murder the people.

They murder people as if they were the bandits,⁴

This vicious poison spreading far and wide.

130

On the official road near my Lan-ling,

You people constantly march to and fro;

Sometimes on frost-laden evenings,

Sometimes on mornings of rain.

The few rooms in my lowly house,

135

Would burn crackling like firewood on the plain.

There are only a few souls in my home,

Now anxious as fish in a cooking pot.

If in a moment trouble broke out,

We’d be instantly turned to ashes and dust.

140

Who wants to cultivate future disasters,

And become an avenging ghost in the end?

Who knows there really is a King of the Dead,

To whom we can appeal for vengeance in Hades?

Why shouldn’t I shout to the ninth heaven above,

145

The celestial emperor must remain impartial.

I think I’ll carry through this violent deed,

For public opinion will approve my right.

I clearly knew that in coming here,

I was like a praying mantis boxing with a wheel.

150

I have no wish to live in shame;

What do I care for this frail body of mine?

Gentlemen, all these compromises of yours,

Are far from the mark, I won’t give in!”

The guests all came forward bowing;

155

“Don’t let your face glare with such anger!

The general is famed for his great virtue,

For he has always treasured his reputation.

He’s single-minded in devotion to the scholar’s etiquette,

Especially dignified and trustworthy.

160

He was certainly wrong in his actions,

And when news of this gets out,

Everyone will complain of his unfairness.

You can imagine how people will curse him;

His bad reputation won’t be without reason.

165

He will be hard pressed to speak in his defense,

Like a white jade that has soiled itself.

His name won’t be worth a copper penny;

He won’t have enough time to repent his errors.

If the elders east of the river see him,

170

They will be mortified to recognize him.

How would he dare arouse the masses’ wrath,

Using military force to take a wife?

After breaking all the Confucian proprieties,

He wouldn’t be thought a human being.

175

Our general is not your ordinary fellow;

He’s suffered hardship battling bandits everywhere.

He may not be a great talent like Kuan Chung or Lo Yi,⁵

But his heroism is equal to Chao She or Lien P’o.⁶

Milady is the descendant of a noble stock;

180

We hope for the court’s sake you’ll forgive its brave soldier.

As for the future, we solemnly guarantee your safety,

Some of us are government officials, some local gentry.

Together we deeply bow, begging for our general’s life;

Oh! Milady! Be compassionate as immortals, Buddhas, gods!”

185

The girl knew they’d be hard to defy,

And replied: “I’ll give in a bit.

What you just said, let’s ignore for a while;

I only want to borrow something from you.

I’ve heard the general has a fine steed named White Fish,

190

Galloping slowly, he can run a thousand miles a day.

Since I left my village Lan-ling,

My family has waited more than four days.

My old mother leans against our gate, crying bitterly;

My two brothers, fists clenched, stand in the courtyard, sighing.

195

If I ride this horse back home,

I can arrive today before sunset.

From now on I’ll abandon my lowly house,

And seek a dwelling with men of Ch’in times.⁷

In their Peach Blossom Grove I’ll serve Mother;

200

With my brothers I’ll read the books of Hermit Huang;⁸

Isolated in Wu-ling even foolish fishermen won’t find us.

Within three or five days,

I’ll move from our old house.

At Chiang Tzu-wen’s⁹ Temple in Mo-ling,

205

I’ll return the horse, all right?”

The general’s horse was rarely ridden;

All they wanted was the girl to leave.

They quickly ordered soldiers to lead the horse forward,

Its four feet, white as frost, two ears, cotton strands.

210

Soon as the girl set eyes on the horse,

Her brow beamed with radiant joy.

Her hand let go of the general’s robe,

And with one leap she mounted the saddle.

She bade farewell, seemed to dash into the sky;

215

A flash of light, a meteor, she vanished.

Several days after the girl left, the army settled down;

The general marshaled his ranks, his bravery recovering.

By the side of the Bell Mountain he built barracks around;

Guests, underlings visited, congratulating his efforts.

220

They urged him to sip ladles of new grape wine;

Gongs and horns mixed together roared with joy.

From beyond the clouds came a dusty horse, neighing loudly;

Of the same pure radiance, galloping with flowing gait.

Her word good as gold, more reliable than cash;

225

The general met his horse, led it back to its trough.

The horse sweated blood, neighed without stop.

On its back something tied up, bunched together, nearly three feet tall:

The betrothal gifts presented by the officers on the day before his wedding!

Returned sealed, not a hair lost;

230

Beneath the gifts as they were being untied,

A single knife, sharp as the leek’s leaf, appeared.

The knife sparkled, sparkled, blade razor-sharp;

And for the next few nights, the general lost sleep!!

(Ch’en, pp. 470–472)

(Tr. J.D. Schmidt)

NOTES

1. A term used to describe the mundane world. (It is possible that the word red also refers to flower blossoms lying on the ground, hence, turning to dust.)

2. I.e., an attendant of Hsi-wang-mu, the Queen Mother of the West, a fairy queen who resided to the west of China according to popular mythology.

3. A reference to the Chih-nü or Weaving Girl, an immortal who weaves in the constellation Lyra.

4. I.e., the Taiping rebels.

5. Kuan Chung was a famous prime minister of the Spring and Autumn period, Lo Yi, a great general of the Warring States period.

6. Chao She and Lien P’o were both well known generals of the Warring States period.

7. The references to men of Ch’in times, Peach Blossom Grove, and Wuling are all allusions to the poet T’ao Ch’ien’s well known preface and poem on the Peach Blossom Grove, which describe a fisherman who stumbles upon a paradise inhabited by men who deserted the Chinese empire during the Ch’in dynasty to escape political disorders of that period. The fisherman foolishly left the paradise to tell the outside world of its existence but could not find it when he attempted to return.

8. Hermit Huang or Huang-shih-chün (Man of Yellow Stone) was a recluse of late Ch’in times who wrote a book on military strategy supposedly used by Chang Liang to assist Liu Pang in founding the Han dynasty. See Wu Wei-yeh, note 26.

9. Chiang Tzu-wen was a general of the Three Kingdoms period.

Waiting for the Unicorn