Stories Old and New: A Ming Dynasty Collection

15. The Dragon-and-Tiger Reunion of Shi Hongzhao the Minister and His Friend the King

15 The Dragon-and-Tiger Reunion of Shi Hongzhao the Minister and His Friend the King Tired of the academy, you asked to leave; Gaily you look for West Lake’s red-tailed fish, As worthy a prefect as the past two or three; In you Ouyang Xiu would have found his match. With hoary hair and wide-spread fame, Did you wear flowers on the Double-Ninth day? Who arrived first at the Hall of Stars To hold the gold vessel and the jade jar?1 This poem was written by Liu Jisun, a literati o‹cial of the Song dynasty, on the occasion of the departure of Su Shi [Su Dongpo] from the Hanlin Academy to assume his post as prefect of Hangzhou.2 As it happened, Su Dongpo, academician of the Hanlin Academy, had been to Hangzhou twice, the first time as controller general of Hangzhou in the second year of Emperor Shenzong’s3 Xining reign period [1069], and the second time as magistrate of the greater Hangzhou region in the Yuanyou reign period [1086–93]. Hence the many historic sites in Hangzhou with inscriptions of Su Dongpo’s poems. Among the multitude of fine scholars converging into the region after the imperial court relocated to the south, there was none but Hong Mai,4 a member of the Hanlin Academy, whose talent could match that of Su Dongpo. Author of the thirty-two volume Records of Yijian [Yijian zhi], he was a leading historian of the time. However, as it was mostly the emperor’s protégés who occupied positions of power in the court of Emperor Xiaozong [1163–89], it was not until after Hong Mai repeatedly sent memorials to the emperor from the Hanlin Academy requesting a position outside the capital that the emperor granted him the o‹ce of prefect of Shaoxing in Yuezhou. To commemorate the occasion of Hong Mai’s assumption of the post one spring during the Chunxi reign period [1174–89], the poet Xiong Yuansu of the Yuan dynasty composed an ingenious poem that could be read both backwards and forwards: 252 Warm is [the] sun and clear is [the] sky. Fine is [the] horse, saddle and reins embroidered. With soft winds and falling flowers, red is [the] ground. Light is [the] rain, gentle and green are [the] willows. Lush meadows and winding rivers, White-tipped branches and jadelike steps. Alas! Rarely occur reunions, however good is [the] scenery. Flittingly fly [the] swallows, nimble and swift. It is another poem if read backwards: Swift and nimble, [the] swallows fly flittingly. [The] scenery is good; however, reunions occur rarely. Alas! Steps jadelike and branches white-tipped, Rivers winding and meadows lush. [The] willows are green and gentle, [the] rain is light; [The] ground is red, flowers falling and winds soft. With embroidered reins and saddle, [the] horse is fine; [The] sky is clear and [the] sun is warm. Hong Mai held a banquet in the Zhenyue Hall in Shaoxing in honor of the entire assembly of o‹cials. It was a most impressive sight, with all the runners of the yamen and members of the catering service standing in attendance at the side.The fruits were most fresh and the food most exquisite. After three rounds of wine, one of the courtesans present, a certain Wang Ying, with fingers as delicate as spring bamboo shoots and tender buds, played a tune on a flute inlaid with gold threads and a dragon head. The resounding and melodious music greatly enthralled the audience. Hong Mai ordered his attendants to bring him the four treasures of the scholar’s study5 and, in the presence of the o‹cials as well as the courtesans, wrote in a joyous mood, without the slightest pause in the movement of his brush-pen, a lyric poem to the tune of “The Beautiful Lady Yu.” The poem read, Suddenly, the flute, on the jade terrace, A sound rising to heaven on high. The notes glide up and down the scale, Stirring the green pond dragon, a wondrous sight. In sobs it flies up to the sky, Loath to part from the Liangzhou tune, Vanishing into clouds with a rock-splitting clap, Making plum blossoms fall like pieces of jade. the dragon-and-tiger reunion 253 Improvisation of such a poem was no challenge for a talented scholar like Hong Mai, who was capable of the...