In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

86 Cantonese Love Songs Today the lotus flower is in full bloom, but why are we separated? I do not know if your journey has been safe, since I have received no letter from you. The lotus-flower pen tells me to write to you of my lasting sorrow, But no words can fully describe my grief, endless as the unbroken fibres of the lotus root. Today grief-stricken I stand at the balustrade, And remembering the past I sigh. The withered and faded lotus reminds me how full of suffering human life is. Song 16 The Geese of the Rivers Siu and Seung a geese of the Rivers Siu and Seung, you who carry letters,62 Is there any news from Hang Yeung?63 Your cackling brings on a gloomy, foreboding mood. You spurned me. Night comes. Evil dreams fill my sleep till the fifth watch [i.e. daybreak]; My spring garments are drenched with my tears, because my lover has left me. Am I to wait until Hop Foo once again yields up its pearls?64 No amount of words can ever do justice to the love I cherish for you. 62 See Song 6, line 4; Song 29. The River Seung (i;ffi1I ) in Hunan ( ~m) flows into the Dung Ting Lake n[j1J&!~). (See also Song 56 (Part 3), line 6.) The River Siu (1,I1I) is a tributary of the River Seung. 63 See Song 28, line 17. Hang Yeung (~J~) was a prefectural town in Hunan. The geese fly north in spring-time, and fly south in autumn-time. The singer wonders if the geese have brought her any news. 64 Used allusively to mean: until the crack of doom. The story is that Maang Seung ( jj£:lf), a man renowned for his integrity as a magistrate during the reign of the Hon emperor Sun Dai ( 1JI1~* , 126-45) was appointed governor of Hop Foo (i5-l~ ), in Gwong Dung. He found the people suffering from the extortions of his predecessor, and also afflicted by the disappearance from their beds of the very lucrative pearl-mussel. No sooner, however, had Maang Seung begun his rule of righteousness than, as if heaven favoured him, the pearl fishery beds again became filled. 'Am I to wait until a similar miracle takes place?' the singer asks. Mayers, # 490; Giles, # 1513. 86 Cantonese Love Songs Today the lotus flower is in full bloom, but why are we separated? I do not know if your journey has been safe, since I have received no letter from you. The lotus-flower pen tells me to write to you of my lasting sorrow, But no words can fully describe my grief, endless as the unbroken fibres of the lotus root. Today grief-stricken I stand at the balustrade, And remembering the past I sigh. The withered and faded lotus reminds me how full of suffering human life is. Song 16 The Geese of the Rivers Siu and Seung a geese of the Rivers Siu and Seung, you who carry letters,62 Is there any news from Hang Yeung?63 Your cackling brings on a gloomy, foreboding mood. You spurned me. Night comes. Evil dreams fill my sleep till the fifth watch [i.e. daybreak]; My spring garments are drenched with my tears, because my lover has left me. Am I to wait until Hop Foo once again yields up its pearls?64 No amount of words can ever do justice to the love I cherish for you. 62 See Song 6, line 4; Song 29. The River Seung (i.ffi1I ) in Hunan ( ~m) flows into the Dung Ting Lake n[j1J&!~). (See also Song 56 (Part 3), line 6.) The River Siu (i!l1I) is a tributary of the River Seung. 63 See Song 28, line 17. Hang Yeung (~J~) was a prefectural town in Hunan. The geese fly north in spring-time, and fly south in autumn-time. The singer wonders if the geese have brought her any news. 64 Used allusively to mean: until the crack of doom. The story is that Maang Seung ( jj£:lf), a man renowned for his integrity as a magistrate during the reign of the Hon emperor Sun Dai ( 1JI1~* , 126-45) was appointed governor of Hop Foo (irl~ ), in Gwong Dung. He found the people suffering from the extortions of his predecessor, and also afflicted by the disappearance from their beds of the very lucrative pearl-mussel. No sooner, however, had Maang Seung begun his...

Share