More Translations from the Chinese. Anonymous

on its waves and heaving with its tides

       The hornless Dragon of the Ocean rideth:

       Clouds gather low and fogs enfold the sea

       And gleaming ice drifts past.

       O Soul go not to the East,

       To the silent Valley of Sunrise!

      O Soul go not to the South

       Where mile on mile the earth is burnt away

       And poisonous serpents slither through the flames;

       Where on precipitous paths or in deep woods

       Tigers and leopards prowl,

       And water-scorpions wait;

       Where the king-python rears his giant head.

       O Soul, go not to the South

       Where the three-footed tortoise spits disease!

      O Soul go not to the West

       Where level wastes of sand stretch on and on;

       And demons rage, swine-headed, hairy-skinned,

       With bulging eyes;

       Who in wild laughter gnash projecting fangs.

       O Soul go not to the West

       Where many perils wait!

      O Soul go not to the North,

       To the Lame Dragon’s frozen peaks;

       Where trees and grasses dare not grow;

       Where a river runs too wide to cross

       And too deep to plumb,

       And the sky is white with snow

       And the cold cuts and kills.

       O Soul seek not to fill

       The treacherous voids of the north!

      O Soul come back to idleness and peace.

       In quietude enjoy

       The lands of Ching and Ch‘u.

       There work your will and follow your desire

       Till sorrow is forgot,

       And carelessness shall bring you length of days.

       O Soul come back to joys beyond all telling!

      Where thirty cubits high at harvest-time

       The corn is stacked;

       Where pies are cooked of millet and bearded-maize.

       Guests watch the steaming bowls

       And sniff the pungency of peppered herbs.

       The cunning cook adds slices of bird-flesh,

       Pigeon and yellow-heron and black-crane.

       They taste the badger-stew.

       O Soul come back to feed on foods you love!

      Next are brought

       Fresh turtle, and sweet chicken cooked in cheese

       Pressed by the men of Ch‘u.

       And pickled sucking-pig

       And flesh of whelps floating in liver-sauce

       With salad of minced radishes in brine;

       All served with that hot spice of southernwood

       The land of Wu supplies.

       O Soul come back to choose the meats you love!

      Roasted daw, steamed widgeon and grilled quail—

       On every fowl they fare.

       Boiled perch and sparrow broth—in each preserved

       The separate flavour that is most its own.

       O Soul come back to where such dainties wait!

      The four strong liquors are warming at the fire

       So that they grate not on the drinker’s throat.

       How fragrant rise their fumes, how cool their taste!

       Such drink is not for louts or serving-men!

       And wise distillers from the land of Wu

       Blend unfermented spirit with white yeast

       And brew the li of Ch‘u. O Soul come back and let your yearnings cease!

      Reed-organs from the lands of T‘ai and Ch‘in

       And Wei and Chēng

       Gladden the feasters, and old songs are sung:

       The “Rider’s Song” that once

       Fu-hsi, the ancient monarch, made;

       And the harp-songs of Ch‘u.

       Then after prelude from the flutes of Chao

       The ballad-singer’s voice rises alone.

O Soul come back to the hollow mulberry-tree![1]

      Eight and eight the dancers sway,

       Weaving their steps to the poet’s voice

       Who speaks his odes and rhapsodies;

       They tap their bells and beat their chimes

       Rigidly, lest harp and flute

       Should mar the measure.

       Then rival singers of the Four Domains

       Compete in melody, till not a tune

       Is left unsung that human voice could sing.

       O Soul come back and listen to their songs!

      Then women enter whose red lips and dazzling teeth

       Seduce the eye;

       But meek and virtuous, trained in every art;

       Fit sharers of play-time,

       So soft their flesh and delicate their bones.

       O Soul come back and let them ease your woe!

      Then enter other ladies with laughing lips

       And sidelong glances under moth-eye brows;

       Whose cheeks are fresh and red;

       Ladies both great of heart and long of limb,

       Whose beauty by sobriety is matched.

       Well-padded cheeks and ears with curving rim,

       High-arching eyebrows, as with compass drawn,

       Great hearts and loving gestures—all are there;

       Small waists and necks as slender as the clasp

       Of courtiers’ brooches.

       O Soul come back to those whose tenderness

       Drives angry thoughts away!

      Last enter those

       Whose every action is contrived to please;

       Black-painted eyebrows and white-powdered cheeks.

       They reek with scent; with their long sleeves they brush

       The faces of the feasters whom they pass,

       Or pluck the coats of those who will not stay.

       O Soul come back to pleasures of the night!

      A summer-house with spacious rooms

       And a high hall with beams stained red;

       A little closet in the southern wing

       Reached by a private stair.

       And round the house a covered way should run

       Where horses might be trained.

       And sometimes riding, sometimes going afoot

       You shall explore, O Soul, the parks of spring;

       Your jewelled