Frank Owen

“ Unperturbed, the poet quickly found speech, "My name is Li Po. Not knowing that I was to be honored in so signal a manner by being presented to your Majesty, I have been indulging in wine to a limited extent. As a plant takes stains from silk, so doth wine remove sadness from the heart. Even your Majesty must admit that when one has good wine, a graceful boat, a maiden to adore, one has everything."
The Emperor smiled. "Wine needs no defence. Its curative powers to obliterate melancholy are universally known. ”

“ Here we are, eight companions, sages worthy of a magnificent title. From henceforth let us be called 'The Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup.'"
His seven parched companions cheered as their host brought wine. They drank lustily, a few so eagerly that they gurgled.
"Today we drink," said Li Po, "until the sun grows weary. And men will envy us. We have shaken the gloomy dust of officialdom from our feet. We are beyond the influence of eunuchs. Great poets, great singers, all except Chiu Sui who stammers so badly that when sober he cannot say a word. ”

“ If Yang Kuei-fei should learn the magnitude of the power she held over him, there would be no managing her.
He thought of the words of Confucius: "Don't become a fool while trying to be a great scholar."
"It is far worse," he reflected bitterly, "to be a fool while striving to be a good Emperor."
One morning, Tai Shan loomed up before them like an island floating in the sky. They quickened their pace and by evening they had reached its base.
At dawn the next morning, Ming Huang, attended only by Kao Li-shih and Li Po, set out on the Great Pan Road that leads to the top of the mountain. ”

“ They'll chant your songs to their children, sing them to the moon on a summer night, and in sleep they will sweeten their dreams."
Li Po was stirred by emotion as he said, "You are now called 'The Brilliant Emperor,' the ruler who recaptured poetry from oblivion. Henceforth this reign shall always be known as 'The Golden Age of China.' count myself blessed to be alive in such an era."
"Before your noble words I am humbled. The culture of China some day will be a light to which all men look up. And the poet who will add great luster to it, is Li Po. ”

“ However, this blending of religions is a pretty thought to muse over. Why should it not be done? Sometimes in the peaceful solitude of mountains, I say, 'Certainly a profound religion is in the air, a feeling such as one might have who was able to walk about the roads of the sky, but I've never been able to discover the name of the religion responsible for this sublime feeling that life is good and all is well."
Night dropped over them. The sky was perfumed with stars. The breeze made way for a wind of aweinspiring cold.
At moonrise, Li Po said, "The moon is a mirror flying across the sky." ”

“ Nowhere in the world could people be found who would risk their necks in such foolhardy undertakings, except these mountain tribesmen who unfortunately were already equipped.
But in Changan that winter, skiing was popular. Li Po sped along as though in pursuit of the wind. His great voice boomed out sonorously. As he marched up hill again, he chanted his poems. Then came the plunge downward like leaping into the sky. Suppose the stars were silver hooks, he thought, and he could fly up and grab on to one. How amazed would the Emperor be to see him dangling nonchalantly in the sky. ”

“ Kao Li-shih was astonished. He turned to the Emperor.
"I have spoken," declared Ming Huang. "Do as the poet requests."
Kao obeyed. He felt hurt that his Majesty should so humiliate him in the presence of all the officers of the Court.
He pulled off Li Po's boots and replaced them with new buckskins which he laced on firmly.
Kao was still on his knees.
"Arise, Kao Li-shih, Generalissimo of the Empire," said the Emperor. "You have been with me ever since I mounted the throne. There is no one I trust more, nor whose elevation has caused me more pleasure." ”

“ He turned and surveyed his companions, the small coterie who had preferred Li Po and the uncertainties of a wandering minstrel's life, to the lush splendor of an Emperor's court.
"No care exists," observed Li Po, "that a hundred cups of wine will not banish. If the gods had not loved wine they would not have placed a wine star in the sky. With wine, we drink wisdom. ”

“ Our sleeves grow heavy with dew. We turn to see how far we have come, but the country has been swallowed by a white mist.' Afterwards I grew lonely. I began thinking of my old home. I thought of the first poem I ever wrote when I was ten:
'Rain cannot quench thy lanterns light,
Wind makes it shine more brightly bright;
Oh, why not fly to heaven afar,
And twinkle near the moon—a star?'
I still think that is my greatest poem though I have scattered verses like leaves over half the mountains of China, for no poem has ever thrilled me as much or remained so firmly entrenched in my memory. ”

“ Ho Chih-chang bided his time. When the opportune moment arrived, he stepped forward quickly and prostrated himself before the Emperor. Ming Huang was alert at once. After all, was not Ho Chih-chang a poet? Poets were deserving of complete attention.
"Arise, Chih-chang," he said cordially. "See, I step down from my throne. I, too, am a poet. I meet you on common ground."
"That is impossible when men and mountains meet." ”

“ Ho Chih-chang observed.
"When I'm sober," mused Li Po, "I write of mountains with passionate fervor, when I am drunk I leap over them with ease. But sometimes it is only my soul that leaps to mountain tops. Then I permit the tip of my brush to write what it wishes. In grass characters I write the spell of solitude. Last night I wrote: 'We leave the blue mountains behind us, and go forward followed by the moon. ”

“ It is not pleasant to have the consciousness of being akin to a broken necklace.
Yang Kuei-fei finished her descent gracefully. Then, laughing, back up the hill she went, her skis slung over her shoulder.
For almost an hour, with sparkling eyes, she continued the sport. Never once did she fall. Perhaps the balance and rhythm she had learned in dancing helped her now.
She would not leave the hillside until the Emperor declared his feet were frozen and threatened to return to the Palace without her. That day marked the first occasion when she had ever been really friendly toward Li Po. ”

“ Ho Chih-chang sat near by, abundantly pleased at the informality with which Li Po had been received by Ming Huang. His interest was intense. He was thankful for the privilege of being permitted to listen. Being a true poet, there was no jealousy in his being; being a true statesman he was inordinately pleased that his introducing Li Po to the Emperor was having such a happy effect.
And Li Po said, "Tu Fu is like an Elder Brother. Who strikes one of us, wounds both. Who honors one of us, honors both. ”

“ My Emperor has sent it to you in humility. You have given my people a new impulse."
"I am honored," declared the Emperor, "doubly honored—by having a subject like rare Wang Wei and by receiving this scroll inspired by his works. We, of China, are always honored when other nations are mirrors reflecting the wisdom of our philosophers, the charm of our poets, or the brilliance of such artists as Wang Wei."
Far in the rear of the Pavilion, Li Po watched the proceedings unobserved. He was greatly interested.
"Is it true," he whispered, "that the men of Japan are descended from monkeys?" ”

“ It was saddening to be deprived of so gallant a maker of songs. But Yang Kuei-fei was unhappy. There were tears trembling on the edge of her eyelids. Above all else, happiness must return to this loveliest of women. As a parting gift, he gave Li Po a large sum of money.
Although Li Po accepted the gift, his gratitude was seasoned with bitterness. When he had angered the Grand Eunuch, he had offended an army of eunuchs. Eunuchs never forgot a slight. And now that Kao Li-shih had been made a Generalissimo, there was an outside chance that all the soldiers of China were also his enemies. ”

“ Ming Huang was interested. "Ah, by Wang Wei."
"No," replied the Envoy, bowing low, "by one of the lesser artists of my country. A hundred such have taken Wang Wei for their teacher. He leads, they copy. Culture can be built up in like manner. Diligently they have sought to saturate themselves in his teachings. They have at last arrived at the level where they know that mountains without clouds or mist are comparable to spring without flowers; to perceive that one night's rain in the hills is a hundred thousand fountains in the treetops. ”

“ The eunuchs scurried away like white mice. This time their search was quickly over, for they found Li Po sleeping in a lonely road while near by Ho Chih-chang was propped against a tree snoring magnificently.
Without waiting to awaken Li Po, they lifted him up and hurried him back to the Palace, while he dreamed that he was floating through the sky, drawn by six white clouds.
The eunuchs took off his clothes. He opened his eyes and gazed dully about him. Nothing to worry about. These people had no beards. No beards, no enemies. Why fight if a man have no beard? ”

“ I saw things in a different light."
"From the eyes of a frog," chuckled Li Po. "In my dilemma, I fell asleep."
"Sleep levels the fool and the wise man."
"A line of thought I leave to you. I care not to walk on dangerous ground again. But to go on with my report, when I awakened, far above I beheld one bright star. In ancient days Confucius ascended Tai Shan and esteemed the world small. In modem times, I tripped and fell down a well and the world is still small. Does that not lend itself to meditation? If falling down a well or struggling to mountain peaks is all one, why toil?" ”

“ Often Li Po spent long hours in the Pear Garden, writing words for which the Emperor composed music. When the Pear Garden played the tunes, Yang Kuei-fei danced divinely. When she danced for the Emperor, her fears vanished. His eyes were for her alone, even though occasionally Li Po claimed his ears.
Sometimes she sang as she danced:
"The birds are nesting in the rustling trees,
White clouds float gently in the sky.
Alone I sit and gaze toward Ching-ting—
We never grow tired of each other—the mountain and I."
14. ”

“ Never had he had so good a customer as Li Po.
"What would you have?"
"Warm wine and Ho Chih-chang!"
"What's that?"
"My friend. I was sleeping, with my head pillowed on his stomach. I awakened violently. He had disappeared. What have you done with him?"
"Nothing, my friend. I have been sleeping."
"A good shop-keeper never sleeps."
"That is true, but my eyes are not good shop-keepers. Since your friend is lost, you need not pay for the wine."
"Good, I shall drink till he returns."
"Without paying?" quavered the tavern-keeper. ”

“ The paroxysmal manifestations of malaria are due to disruption of the state of balance between the Yang and the Yin. Wise doctors know there is no cure save one that contains arsenic. As for myself, I write of mountains in the moonlight. There is no greater poetical inspiration under heaven."
"The Imperial Court is blessed indeed," Ming Huang reflected. "We have Wang Wei who writes and paints mountains in the snow, Tu Fu who writes exquisitely of mountains in the rain, and Li Po whose poems have the brilliance of moonlit mountains. Truly you are needed at Changan. ”

“ The frosttipped treetops crackled like an orchestra of wood instruments. But flowers still bloomed, and there was enchantment in their perfume.
Overhead the bright stars that were known as the Cowherd and the Spinning Damsel glowed brightly. According to folklore they had been doomed by the gods to dwell on opposite sides of the River of Stars which some call the Milky Way. Since there is no bridge across the river, the lovers are eternally separated except on one night of the year, the seventh night of the seventh month. ”

“ Li Po believed it would have been far better for the Empire if Li Lin-fu of the honeyed words had been turned over to the President of the Board of Punishments for decapitation.
20.
Seven of his boon companions followed Li Po into self-imposed banishment. Wine was mixed with the blood of all of them, making them brothers. They journeyed onward until they discovered a tavern near which a Judas-tree bloomed, for they believed the tradition that where there is such a tree, there is also good fellowship. Near by was a small lake. In a boat, at anchor, an old man sat fishing. ”

“ That enemy was Ch'i-ch'i, the magician, who felt as though he were losing his grip on the Court since the arrival of Li Po, for the poet took so much of the Emperor's time, there was little left for itinerant magicians. Ch'i-ch'i, however, refused to be brushed aside. He peered deeply into his bag of tricks. He consulted the stars. He also consulted magicians of his acquaintance. He journeyed as far as Loyang. He distributed? many pearls and jade amulets but when he returned to Changan his face was distorted by a broad smile. Through Kao Li-shih he reached the ears of the Emperor. ”