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| Pipa ie. the Chinese lute in Tang Dynasty Era. Image Source: Akhak gwebeom (Hangul: 악학궤범, Hanja: 樂學軌範, "Musical Canon"). |
Variation on the theme of T'ao Yüan-ming's poem
Once upon a time there was a poor fisherman who lived in Wu-ling during the dynasty of Chin. One day he went on a fishing trip on the river where he had fished so many times before, but this time he rowed farther away from his home than he had ever been. Then he found a small stream that united with the great river. The poor fisherman saw that there were peach trees beautifully flowering on the skirts of this smaller stream. The poor fisherman rowed upstream on this small stream until he came to a place where there was a rock. He noticed that there was a large crack in the rock and that the water of this small stream flowed through this crack.
The poor fisherman rowed inside the crack and came to a dark cave. Yet, the darkness lasted for only a moment and soon he noticed that he had come through the cave to sunshine and truly an amazing place. Everything in this place was wondrously lovely and alive. Under the beautifully flowering peach trees he saw children merrily playing, and smiling adults of all ages. He also saw that the folk of this valley were singing and dancing in the rhythm of the music that was played by skilled troubadours. Nowhere in this land he saw a human being that was labouring hard. Soon he met a charming young lady and started a conversation with her.
-Everything that I see in this valley is wondrously alive and pleasant. Tell me, o lady, what is the name of this wondrous place? asked the poor fisherman.
-We call this place simply Peach Blossom Valley. Do I understand this right that you are visiting here for the first time in your life? Believe me, my friend, the wonderful power and energy of the Mysterious Dao is hidden in this valley and this stream that splits our dear valley in two parts: the eastern and the western, said the maiden.
-Tell me, please, what do you mean by that? asked the poor fisherman.
-Well, let me tell you. On the grounds of this valley, where you have arrived, there has never been seen illness or death or even a slightest bit of annoyance. Every soul that you see here has reached immortality and also the state of perfect stillness and painlessness, which namely the blessed Buddha taught and preached.
-How is all this possible? asked the poor fisherman.
-All this is because of the wondrous Peach Blossom Stream, which splits our blessed valley in two parts: the eastern and the western. While we drink the water of this stream and while we eat the sweet and tasty fruits of peach trees nourished by this stream in this blessed valley our limbs strengthen again and again and we are healed from all our illnesses, and at the same time we reach the state of perfect spiritual tranquility and immortality. All this happens in this valley throughout the yearly cycle without any interruption and also without any effort from ourselves.
-How can this be? asked the poor fisherman.
-Look, it is always both the spring and the autumn in this valley: When there is autumn and the time of harvest in the eastern side of our valley, it is spring in the western side of our valley and also vice versa: When the spring and the flowering rule in the eastern side of our valley, the autumn and the harvest rule in the western side of our valley.
-This is utterly amazing! exclaimed the poor fisherman.
-We live here in perfect harmony with each other, the nature and the Will of Heaven. Believe me: Our immortality is a great and carefully protected secret, but it is completely according to the will of the Mysterious Dao.
-Tell me, o lady, could it be that also I would reach immortality by tasting the water of this blessed stream? asked the poor fisherman.
-Surely you could do so – if that is your wish. But I warn you also: If you drink this water of immortality, you will never wish to return to your previous home again, because after that this place will be your new home and you will wish to dwell only here from eternity to eternity.
-Very well, I will ponder on this matter carefully in my heart, since back home I have my wife and my child waiting for me, said the poor fisherman.
-Let us do so. Yet, I warn you also about this: If you utter even one word to any outsider about what you have learned about this place today, you will not be able to return to this valley ever again, and the memory of your visit here will grow dimmer and dimmer through the years and finally it will disappear completely.
-I will try to keep that in mind, said the poor fisherman.
Soon after the poor fisherman had heard those words of the maiden he decided to row back to his home. The journey of the poor fisherman was rather long and it was already pitch black night when he finally arrived back to his home. Yet, he did not feel tired at all, because the memory of the mysterious words of the lovely young lady and her even more mysterious eyes glowed in his mind. Then he felt overwhelming desire to write a poem, which expressed his innermost feelings.
CHRYSANTHEMUM
(a warble in the night)
i slip chrysanthemum
in the midst of your locks
as i feel your flaming desire
before the sleep of lotus flowers
i put my arms around your hips
wet and hot is the taste of your kiss
into your eyes i concentrate - and i fall
they sing: golden is the sorrow of tomorrow
and the myriads are the arms of Guanyin: just like
the myriads of tiny little sunbeam arms of the sun
my hand is united
with yours as i play the lute
i play the lute of your silky locks
i play the silky locks lute of yours
mmmmm-mmmmm-mmmmmm
the silky locks lute of your hair
the parfymed silk of your locks
i play the lute of your silky hair
mmmmmmm-mmmmmmmm
Is our love forbibben?
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| Anonymous: Lady and Pipa. A painting in style of Chen Yifei. Image Source: Invaluable. |
After writing those lines he hid this poem in a drawer, where he believed he could keep it as a secret. Then he laid down beside his wife, who was in deep sleep. Soon he fell asleep too.
Yet, within a few days the wife of the poor fisherman understood that her husband was hiding something important from her. The wife searched for clues amongst the belongings of the husband and soon found the poem recently written by him, which only strengthened her suspicions. So, the wife decided to give her husband intoxicating rice wine so she could fish information from him. The plan was carried out smoothly, because the poor fisherman surely liked to drink rice wine. As the poor fisherman was heavily drunk he forgot the promise that he had made to the lovely young lady, and so he told his wife the wondrous story about the Peach Blossom Valley and its inhabitants.
Very soon after this the wife of the poor fisherman went to discuss this matter with the local governor, who was famous for his interest in alchemy. The governor understood right away the importance of these news and so soon he sent a delegation to seek the wondrous place described by the wife of the poor fisherman and the secret of its vitality: The Peach Blossom Stream.
Some days later the delegation sent by the governor found the very same small stream that united with the great river, which also the poor fisherman had found some days earlier. Yet, the members of the delegation soon noticed that the stream had dried and the peach trees that just recently had bloomed so beautifully on the skirts of the stream, were now all withered and dead. A moment later the members of the delegation arrived in front of the rock where the poor fisherman had noticed the crack and rowed inside it. Yet, the members of the delegation did not find any kind of crack in the rock whatsoever. So, the delegation had to return to the governor empty-handed and with disappointing news: It seemed as if the wondrous Peach Blossom Valley and its blessed inhabitants had disappeared from the face of the Earth.
Some years later the son of the poor fisherman ended up rowing upstream on that very same great river where his father had rowed so many times before him. In those days the poor fisherman and his wife had already been dead for years. After rowing a while, the son found a small stream that united with the great river – just like his father had found years before him. Soon the son noticed that the peach trees on the skirts of the small stream were flowering so very beautifully to him. A moment later the son arrived in front of a rock and he noticed a large crack in it. Then the son rowed inside to the crack into the cave and after that he never looked back to return.
2013.
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Chen Hongshou: "Picking Chrysanthemums" from the hand scroll 'Scenes from the Life of T'ao Yüan-ming'. 1650. Honolulu Musuem of Art. |
