The Cloud Dream of the Nine | Page 7

went near to enjoy the prospect.
He sighed and said: In our world of Chok there are many pretty groves,
but none that I ever saw so lovely as this. He rapidly composed a poem
which ran:

Willows hung with woven green Veiling all the view between; Planted
by some fairy free, Sheltering her and calling me. Willows, greenest of
the green, Brushing by her silken screen, Speak by every waving wand,
Of an unseen fairy hand.
"He sang it out with a rich clear voice. It was heard in the top storey of
the pavilion, where a beautiful maiden was having a siesta. She opened
the embroidered shade and looked out through the painted railing. Her
hair, like a tumbled cloud, rested soft and warm [pxxv] upon her
temples. The long jade pin that held the plaits together had been pushed
aside till it showed slantwise through her tresses. Her sleepy eyelids
were as if she had just emerged from dreamland. Rouge and cosmetics
had vanished under the unceremonious hand of sleep and her natural
beauty was unveiled, a beauty such as no painter has ever portrayed.
The two looked at each other with a fixed and startled expression but
said not a word. The maiden suddenly recollected herself, closed the
blind and disappeared from view. A suggestion of sweet fragrance was
borne to Yang on the breeze."
The maiden, Chin See, said to her old nurse: "A woman's lot in life is to
follow her husband. Her glory or her shame, her experiences for the
span of life are wrapped up in her lord and master. I am an unmarried
girl and dislike dreadfully to become my own go-between and propose
marriage, but it is said that in ancient times courtiers chose their own
king, so I shall make inquiry concerning this gentleman. I cannot wait
for my father's return, for who knows whither he has gone or where I
shall look for him in the four quarters of the earth?" She then unclasped
a roll of satin paper and wrote a verse or two which she gave to her
nurse, telling her to find "a gentleman handsome as the gods, with
eyebrows like the loftiest touches of a picture, and his form among
common men like the phoenix among feathered fowls." The practical
old nurse replied, "What shall I do if the gentleman is already married
or engaged?" The maiden thought for a moment and then said, "If that
unfortunately be so, I shall not object to become his secondary wife."
Her message was: [pxxvi]
"Willows waving by the way, Bade my lord his course to stay, He, alas,

has failed to ken, Draws his whip and rides again."
Yang's response was prompt and unmistakably reassuring:
"Willow catkins soft and dear, Bid thy soul to have no fears Ever may
they bind us true, You to me, and me to you."
But Yang's love affair with Chin See of the willow grove came nearer
tragedy than any of the eight experiences. Many vicissitudes prevented
their speedy union. Meanwhile the love dramas in which two peerless
dancing girls, Moonlight and Wildgoose, played their part saved
Master Yang from grieving too much over the temporary loss of Chin
See.
Moonlight was the next love. She it was who foretold Yang's future
greatness and his certain victory at the Competitive Examination.
Moonlight chose Yang from among a group of youths who were
competing for her favour. When Yang, at Moonlight's invitation, was
entertained by her privately, she made her feelings known to him with
entire frankness. "I am yours from to-day," she said, "and shall tell you
my whole heart." She told the story of the death of her father and the
sale of herself by her stepmother for one hundred yang. "I stifled my
resentful soul and did my best to be faithful," said Moonlight, "praying
to God, who has had pity on me. To-day I have met my lord and look
again on the light of sun [pxxvii] and moon. I have had opportunity to
study thousands of passers by, yet never has one passed who is equal to
my master. Unworthy as I am I would gladly become your
serving-maid." Yang was as yet without experience and Moonlight
became his wise counsellor, giving him hope for the future and
confidence in his powers. As he was too poor to marry her, they agreed
that he would always come to visit her when he passed that way.
Moonlight's prophecy was speedily fulfilled, and when Yang next
visited her he had become a famous general and was on the road with
"all the insignia of power--flags, drums and battle axes." Their meeting
was full of joy. "Yang, with pent-up heart longings and desire to see
her face to face, caught her