The Khwun-ming Lake
By Tu Fu
In ancient times the flags of Wu49
Made gay the Khwun-ming Lake,50
On which his ships in mimic strife
The decks of foemen rake.
But now deserted is the scene,
And in the moon’s pale light,
The Spinning-Maid51 upon the shore
Sits silent in the night.
The Autumn breezes seem to move
The mammoth stony whales,52
And send a tremor through their frames
Vibrating all their scales.
The Ku-mi53 seeds float on the waste,
As clouds of sombre hue;
The lotus-flowers are crushed beneath
The weight of frozen dew.
While from the cloud-capped Pass54 above,
The eagle’s eye aglow,
Sees but an aged fisherman
Midst lakes and streams below.
The whole poem has a political signification implying that revolution had turned the country into a wilderness, and desolation taken the place of former prosperity and greatness.
Notes
49 The Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ascended the throne 140 b.c.
50 A lake probably situated to the south-west of Chang-an, the capital of China in the Han Dynasty. This city is now the provincial capital of Shen-si and better known as Si-an.
51 A stone image of the Spinning-Maid stood on one shore of the lake, and another of the Cowherd on the opposite shore.
52 A stone image of an immense fish covered with finely carved scales was also placed by the side of the lake.
53 A kind of rice.
54 Probably the celebrated ‘Tung’ Pass near Chang-an.