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162 Cantonese Love Songs Song 92 The Peach-blossom Fan The peach-blossom fan has a heart-rending verse written on it; With deep passion written in this way, why even the fan itself will feel sorrowful. Fate is as frail as the peach-blossom; passion as weak as paper;235 Peach-blossoms painted on paper are the most fragile of all. My lord, since you write about flowers, you must first of all understand what it means to be a flower. It is hard to keep 'green spring' [i.e. the prime of life}; do not spoil the flower-season. I believe that even consummate pleasure is not to be trusted. The round fans of autumn are pining in the inner boudoirs/36 Where young girls paint ten thousand leaves and a thousand flowers all for the sake of 'passion'. You do not believe me? Then think of the mutual love and fidelity of the poet Hau Chiu-jung and the courtesan, Lei Heung-gwan. Had their passion been less deep, could they ever have been so happily united?237 Song 93 The Waves at the Prow At the prow of the ship, the waves meet and part. The billows of yearning surge within me. My lord, you were born in the sky of passion; I grew up in the sea of lust. I should think when the sky meets the water, the water will rely on the sky. 235 See Songs 22, line 12; 26, line 8, note. 236 See Song 26, line 8, note. 237 Hau Chiu-jung ( f*~JH% , 1618-54) was a poet who lived just before the collapse of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Lei Heung-gwan ( *~~ )fell in love with him, and although powerful officials tried to court her, she remained faithful to the vows she had sworn to Hau Chiu-jung. Giles, # 666. 162 Cantonese Love Songs Song 92 The Peach-blossom Fan The peach-blossom fan has a heart-rending verse written on it; With deep passion written in this way, why even the fan itself will feel sorrowful. Fate is as frail as the peach-blossom; passion as weak as paper;235 Peach-blossoms painted on paper are the most fragile of all. My lord, since you write about flowers, you must first of all understand what it means to be a flower. It is hard to keep 'green spring' [i.e. the prime of life}; do not spoil the flower-season. I believe that even consummate pleasure is not to be trusted. The round fans of autumn are pining in the inner boudoirs/36 Where young girls paint ten thousand leaves and a thousand flowers all for the sake of 'passion'. You do not believe me? Then think of the mutual love and fidelity of the poet Hau Chiu-jung and the courtesan, Lei Heung-gwan. Had their passion been less deep, could they ever have been so happily united?237 Song 93 The Waves at the Prow At the prow of the ship, the waves meet and part. The billows of yearning surge within me. My lord, you were born in the sky of passion; I grew up in the sea of lust. I should think when the sky meets the water, the water will rely on the sky. 235 See Songs 22, line 12; 26, line 8, note. 236 See Song 26, line 8, note. 237 Hau Chiu-jung ( f*~JH% , 1618-54) was a poet who lived just before the collapse of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Lei Heung-gwan ( *~~ )fell in love with him, and although powerful officials tried to court her, she remained faithful to the vows she had sworn to Hau Chiu-jung. Giles, # 666. The Songs 163 How can we rouge and powder [i.e. courtesans] be as unchanging as the green hills? Look at the withered flowers on the water - such is our pitiable 10t.238 The years flow on like a river. For how long more will they flow? You must love yourself. Even if you were to be canonized after your death as a Buddha or an immortal, you will not necessarily be at peace. Enough! It were better to make the most of the present moment and together with you live in the Hall of the Moon and the Tower of the Winds [i.e. the place of the heavens]. Song 94 Hearing the Cawing of the Crow The broken-hearted dread to hear the cawing of the...

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