Frank Owen

“ Through his dependence on the soil, he has a kinship with the lowliest beggar crouched at the approach to a temple and exhibiting his festering sores for all to view.
The swallows returned to Changan, on the very morning of the day of worship.
As Ming Huang emerged from the palace, he murmured: "When the mind is not present, we look and do not see; we hear and do not understand. We eat and do not know the taste of food." ”

“ Why the whole brittle pomp and majesty of government might falter. Without the pageantry of Imperial functions, the prestige of China, beyond doubt, would shrink—this in addition to the tawdriness of their ornate costumes and uniforms and the tarnished appearance of their jewels and their medals. They shone by the reflected light of the Emperor. Without him, the Court was without brilliance. An Emperor should not weep tears of blood, he should tower like Tai Shan, the Sacred Mountain before which men of many faiths bow in reverence. ”

“ A man may bellow like a lion, strut like a peacock, conquer his weak neighbors, suppress his own people, be a legend like unto a dragon snorting fire, yet he cannot create one simple garden flower, nor a single grain of rice. ”

“ That is why they are able to reign over all the mountain streams." To fight against the inevitable, was like fighting the wind with a bamboo sword. The flood would bring blessings to the farmer. With increased crops, would come increased profits. Increased profits would mean more money to spend at the bazaars.
In the Palace gardens, the flowers looked despondent. The eunuch, Lan Jen, the Imperial Gardener, gazed about in bewilderment. Deprived of natural love, he gave all the passion of his heart to flowers. Under his care, flowers bloomed for the round of the year. ”

“ They believed that beauty was born with the earth and that poetry was the voice of the heart. It was as natural for a man to quote poetry as to breathe, and none so poor that he could not learn new songs. In every lilac bush, there was a lyric, a song of winter snow like willow-flowers falling, or almonds blooming in ecstasy for spring. ”

“ Rich indeed must be the man who can afford to accept gifts. But an Emperor must accept the things he does not need from those who cannot afford to give, lest he disturb the strange harmony of nations which so easily is worn threadbare. Like Mencius, the sage, all that Ming Huang desired was to live in harmony with the age in which he had been born. ”

“ Ming Huang was a patron of every artistic enterprise whether it was concerned with poetry, painting, calligraphy, printing, music or religion. He classified religion in the same group because to live righteously is a fine art. Religion is the thing to which man clings when he is frightened, though he may be careless with his gods at all other times. ”

“ Though Ming Huang missed him tremendously, even more acute was the worry occasioned by his departure. It is not a good omen for a cat to leave a house, though it be a grass-hut or a palace. A cat is a domestic fox, no animal as wise as he. Did his flight portend disaster for Mei-fei? Was he fleeing from evil influences? He was faithless to leave when Mei-fei was ill. He was a scoundrel, deserving death nine times over. Mei-fei had always treated him well.
Many priests of widely separated faiths were praying for her—Taoists, Buddhists, Nestorians—by Imperial order. ”

“ Musingly, he took a rose, caressing the soft petals as though they were the warm cheeks of Mei-fei, his favorite concubine. Soon she would bear him a child. Perhaps it would be male—his nineteenth son. out her caresses, how could he endure the bitter two-edged tongue of the Empress? Bitter indeed was the tea which on rare occasions he was forced to drink with her. She was a good woman. He accepted the fact without demur. But it hurt violently when it was flung unexpectedly in his teeth. Yes, Mei-fei was a refuge to which he could flee from the cares of Empire or his wife's discord. ”

“ Almost a thousand years before the reign of Ming Huang, a Bureau of Music had been established in the Han Dynasty. It was given the task of selecting and editing folksongs to be preserved in ink so that they could be swallowed by generations far in the future. The songs, rough though many of them were, were diligently studied and polished. Most folksongs originate in the hearts of the people. Genius is not the sole province of scholars. Nor is it necessary for a man to be educated to have great thoughts. ”

“ Few poets knew of her existence. No one in China lived a more sheltered life. To Prince Shou she was precious, to be loved and caressed in the secret watches of the night.
In spite of himself, Ming Huang listened. The honey of Li Lin-fu's voice was imbued with an intoxicating quality. ”

“ At once, the cat leaped into his arms, mud and all, and commenced licking his cheek.
The officers and ministers were thankful that such a catastrophe had not happened to them, to spoil their elaborate, embroidered costumes. As for the Emperor of China, he looked as though he had been made Emperor of India as well.
That afternoon, the rain ceased. The sun tore aside the clouds. Mei-fei improved so much that that very night she was able to play a game of chess with the Emperor. ”

“ What good the Gods of Medicine to mankind if they had no friends among mortal priests? The Emperor's own faith lay with Tao, for "it engenders all things, nourishes them, develops them and fosters them, perfects them, ripens them, tends them and protects them." ”

“ Without being able to manufacture even a flea, he boldly molds new gods, which, strangely enough, are in his own image. Yet, when all his glory is stripped from him, without the gifts of the soil he is nothing. ”

“ On one occasion Wu had journeyed to a certain Buddhist temple and was rudely received by the priests. Wu was religious but not sufficiently religious to bow before a slight. He pondered over the matter, finally deciding on a course of action. On one of the temple walls he drew the picture of a donkey. That night all the furniture in the temple was kicked to pieces. The priests were victims of badly ruffled nerves. Wu fanned himself gently. He fanned the back of his neck and his heels. It is good to cool one's heels while one watches the distraught antics of those who have caused affront. ”

“ In the T'ang Dynasty, under Ming Huang, music received its greatest impetus. The Bureau of Music gave way to the Chiao Fang for popular music and the Pear Garden for Palace Music. That section set aside for young women was called the Everlasting Spring Garden. However, at musicals and festivals, they both took part with the result that the term Pear was used in a broad sense to cover all secular music of the Palace. As a rule young women chose string instruments. Drums and reed instruments were for men. ”

“ Ming Huang was a music lover. Not infrequently he led the orchestra, or became one of the musicians, playing a reed pipe for which he had composed a special song entitled "Inverting the Cup." For drum music, he composed ninety-five pieces. The repertoire of the Pear Carden included martial songs, dirges of war, repetitive choruses and love songs. Many were derivatives of peasant music wrought under the impact of overwhelming emotion. ”

“ From a habit the Chinese have of sucking their writing brushes to a fine point, the phrase "to eat ink" has become a synonym of "to study."
Ming Huang gave great impetus to calligraphy when he founded the Hanlin Academy, "The Forest of Pencils," oldest cultural institution in the world.
Paper was already in general use throughout the Empire. It was made of a wide range of substances-rice straw, hemp, mulberry, bamboo. That used for painting was typically white with a fine pattern of parallel mold marks. ”

“ Repetition endlessly. Over and over again all the tenets and prayers until new converts could repeat them by rote. Largely through Buddhistic zeal, printing was developed into a fine art. In the beginning scrolls were hand written, each copy passed about from hand to hand. Then the priests used little seals, either of wood or stone, portraying the Buddha, which they stamped on paper or silk times without number. It was but a step from this to block printing, a long step, perhaps, but a step none the less. Block printing led to the problem of ink, an ink that would lie evenly on a flat surface. ”

“ But Ming Huang frowned upon violence if humane methods were possible. He was in accord with the precepts of Lao Tzu: "In governing men or in serving god there is nothing like moderation."
The Emperor was opposed to capital punishment and frequently suggested that it be abolished. Li Lin-fu collaborated to the point where the Criminal Judge reported that within the year only fifty-eight executions had taken place and the Head Executioner was growing fat. However, three times fifty-eight had died, but the report was issued in compliance with Imperial wishes. ”

“ That is why he always kept him near the room of Mei-fei. Wang Wei was deeply concerned about her condition. Her lassitude was extreme. Nevertheless, he did not divulge his forebodings to the Emperor. After all, there was nothing he could do. There was nothing anybody could do but wait.
Fortunately, during those days, few envoys came to the Court because of the rigors and difficulties of travel. Li Lin-fu was able to attend to most of the official routine.
Two days after the coming of the snow, Mei-fei gave birth to a son, a son upon which her eyes never gazed ”

“ However, he suggested that they consult Lan Jen, the old gardener. "A man who knows flowers," he said, "knows women."
Li Lin-fu, President of the Board of Rites, had undertaken the task of negotiation, with the aid of Ts'ui Lin, a Minister of State. So exhaustive was his knowledge of affairs, that it gave rise to the saying: "About ancient times, ask Kao Chung-shu (a colleague) ; about the present day, inquire of Ts'ui Lin." But Ts'ui could not think of any girl with sufficient enticement to arouse Ming Huang. ”

“ They had never before ridden a horse, with the result that they were totally inadequate. They fell off their horses with such force that they were breathless. It is bad form to fall from one's polo pony. ”