written by Wang Wei
Since beauty is honoured all over the Empire,
How could Xi Shi remain humbly at home? --
Washing clothes at dawn by a southern lake --
And that evening a great lady in a palace of the north:
Lowly one day, no different from the others,
The next day exalted, everyone praising her.
No more would her own hands powder her face
Or arrange on her shoulders a silken robe.
And the more the King loved her, the lovelier she looked,
Blinding him away from wisdom.
...Girls who had once washed silk beside her
Were kept at a distance from her chariot.
And none of the girls in her neighbours' houses
By pursing their brows could copy her beauty. (http://dps.holtof.com/chinese/chin_1a.html)
I was online trying to find some poems that were written by Empress Wu, but failed to find any. But, I came across this poem about a woman named Li Xi. When I read the poem it reminded me of Empress Wu's misery. Although the title "Empress" gives it's holder great power and prestige, it can also cause the holder of that title to live a miserably lonely life. Throughout an Empress's marriage to her husband, she is constantly opposed by younger and more beautiful women. The type of women this poem talks about seems to represent most of the new concubines the Emperor receives each year.
1 comment:
I really like that you have used outside sources to show more about the tone of your book. Even if what you found was not exactly about the book, I think it is pretty clever to have something that resembles it, it helps the reader of your blog, me, understand more about your book.
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