A Song of Princess Tze-Yuh31
By Han-Chong
(Ancient)
As Southern birds avoid a Northern snare,
My kin avoid alliances with thine;
And though my love for thee would greatly dare,
I know our clans the marriage would decline.
I would have followed thee, but evil talk
Besmirched our names and sent us far apart;
But why the world its love of slander balk?
’Tis evil fate that has despoiled my heart!
I wept for thee and mourned for three long years,
As mourns the phoenix when her consort’s dead;
And then death came and ended grief and tears;
For after thee no other could I wed.
And now you stand before my grave and grieve,
My wraith’s permitted for a moment’s space,
The confines of the Spirit land to leave
And visit earth to see thee face to face.
And, oh believe, though quick we part once more,
And in the body cannot meet and love,
Our souls are one till life and time are o’er,
And we united in the realms above.
Notes
31 Tze-Yuh, daughter of Fu-Chai, Prince of the Wu State, and Han-Chong loved each other and wished to marry, but political feuds prevented their union. Thereupon Han-Chong travelled abroad, and Tze-Yuh, after three years of fruitless mourning, died of grief. When Han-Chong returned and visited Tze-Yuh’s grave to mourn there, he had a vision of her beautiful face, which inspired him to compose this song.