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Song 26 The Moon on the Rim of the Sky
- Hong Kong University Press, HKU
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The Songs Song 26 The Moon on the Rim of the Sky The moon, a sickle, hangs on the rim of the sky, And ripples along the Yangtze waters. o moon! Men will wait for you to wax round, But hard it is not to feel sad as we see you waning. I think life is long and things may not go smoothly. 97 Even though a man's life be one of virtue, he will still have his share of sorrow: Man Gwaan, recently widowed, looks for another partner;78 Baan Gei inscribes on her fan the lament that one day she would be cast aside like a fan in autumn.79 78 Man Gwaan (XB"), who lived in the 2nd century BC, was the daughter of the wealthy Cheuk Wong-suen (£j[If*'). A certain Si-Ma Seung-yue ( p'L~f§~D ), in ill-health, and reduced to poverty because of the death of his prince, wandered back to his horne in Seng Do (m1'l~), where he was introduced to Cheuk Wongsuen . Later at a banquet, Si-Ma Seung-yue's singing so fascinated Man Gwaan that, although her husband had but recently died, she left her father's house that night and married Seung-yue. The pair then fled to Seng Do but having no resources to live on, returned to Lam Ngon ( bill;.cD ) where they set up a small tavern. Man Gwaan served the customers; Seung-yue washed the bowls. His father-in-law, the wealthy Cheuk Wong-suen, shamed by the work Seung-yue had to do, gave them a large sum of money, with which the happy pair returned to Seng Do, to lead an affluent life. Mayers, # 658, 852; Giles, # 1753. 79 Baan Gei ( fJH& ), whose full name was Baan Jit Yue ( fJI~~T ), was for long the chief favourite of the Hon emperor Sing Oai OJmw) who reigned from 32-6 BC, and who conferred on her the title of ~~T, jit yue, in recognition of her literary ability. Later, however, when the more famous Jiu Pei-yin (jl:EH~~) - a pet name for a famous Hon beauty, who was so petite that she could dance on the emperor 's palm - ousted her from the position of 'favourite', Baan Gei sent the emperor a fan inscribed with a lament that she had been cast aside, 'Thy loving care abruptly broken off', like a fan discarded in autumn. (See also Songs 89, line 4; 92, lines 1-4.) The words 'autumn fan' (f)(m ,chau sin) now mean 'a deserted wife'. A Chinese phrase recalls this episode: f)(mJ!m ,chau sin kin guen. It means literally 'laid aside as an autumn fan', and refers to one who is discarded (as a lover, etc.). Mayers, # 538; Giles, # 1599. Baan Gei's Lament contains many of the themes treated of in these Songs, so I give it in full: Resentful Song White silk of Chi, newly torn out, Spotlessly pure as the frozen snow, Cut to make a fan of conjoined happiness, Round as the moon at its brightest. It is ever in and out of my master's sleeve The Songs Song 26 The Moon on the Rim of the Sky 97 The moon, a sickle, hangs on the rim of the sky, And ripples along the Yangtze waters. o moon! Men will wait for you to wax round, But hard it is not to feel sad as we see you waning. I think life is long and things may not go smoothly. Even though a man's life be one of virtue, he will still have his share of sorrow: Man Gwaan, recently widowed, looks for another partner;78 Baan Gei inscribes on her fan the lament that one day she would be cast aside like a fan in autumn.79 78 Man Gwaan (XB"), who lived in the 2nd century BC, was the daughter of the wealthy Cheuk Wong-suen (£j[If*'). A certain Si-Ma Seung-yue ( p'L~f§~D ), in ill-health, and reduced to poverty because of the death of his prince, wandered back to his horne in Seng Do (m1'l~), where he was introduced to Cheuk Wongsuen . Later at a banquet, Si-Ma Seung-yue's singing so fascinated Man Gwaan that, although her husband had but recently died, she left her father's house that night and married Seung-yue. The pair then fled to Seng Do but having no resources to...