Note 106.
The bitter bamboos make a cold sound, swaying in the Autumn moonlight.
The ancient Chinese divided bamboos into two classes: the bitter and the tasteless.
THE "LOOKING-FOR-HUSBAND" ROCK
Note 107.
In the attitude, and with the manner, of the woman of old.
A reference to a legend of a woman who was turned to stone. (See Note 45.)
Note 108.
Her resentment is that of the Woman of the Hsiang River.
O Huang and her sister Nü Ying were the wives of Shun, the "Perfect Emperor" (2317-2208B.C.). When he died, and was buried near the Hsiang River, they wept so copiously over his grave that their tears burned spots on the bamboos growing there, and thus was the varietyknown as the "spotted bamboo" created. Eventually the despairing ladies committed suicide by throwing themselves into the river.
Note 109.
Her silence that of the concubine of the King of Ch'u.
Ts'u Fei, concubine of the King of Ch'u was much distressed because her lord was of a very wild disposition, and only took pleasure in hunting and such pursuits. She constantly expostulated with him on his mode of life, but at last, finding that all her entreaties were in vain, she ceased her remonstrances and sank into a silence from which she could not be roused.
AFTER BEING SEPARATED FOR A LONG TIME
Note 110.
Besides there are the "embroidered character letters."
In the Fourth CenturyA.D., a lady, whose maiden name was Su, embroidered a long lament of eight hundred and forty characters in the form of a poetical palindrome and sent it to her husband who was exiled in Tartary.
BITTER JEALOUSY IN THE PALACE OF THE HIGH GATE
Note 111.
The Heavens have revolved. The "Northern Measure" hangs above the Western wing.
The "Northern Measure" is the Chinese name for the "Dipper," and on the fifteenth day of the Eighth Month, when it can be seen sinking in the West before bed-time, a festival is held. This is essentially a festival for women, who object to being parted from their husbands at that time. Incense is burned to the full moon, and many fruits and seeds, all of a symbolical nature denoting the desire for posterity, are set out for the moon goddess.
Note 112.
In the Gold House, there is no one.
(See Note 23.)
ETERNALLY THINKING OF EACH OTHER
Note 113.
The tones of the Chao psaltery begin and end on the bridge of the silver-crested love-pheasant.
"Thesê, or psaltery, is made on the principle of thech'in, and like that instrument has been made the subject of numerous allegorical comparisons. The number of strings has varied ... but thesênow in use has twenty-five strings. Each string is elevated on a movable bridge. These bridges represent the five colours: the first five are blue, the next red, the five in the middle are yellow, then come five white, and lastly five black." ("Chinese Music," by J. A. Van Aalst.) The most desirable specimens came from Chao, a place in Shensi. (See map.) The allusion to the love-pheasants is, of course, symbolical. By it, the lady says that this instrument is only properly used for love-songs, with the implication that it is therefore impossible for her to play it now.
Note 114.
I wish I could play my Shu table-lute on the mandarin duck strings.
Thech'in, or table-lute, lies on a table like a zither, and is played with the fingers. It is "one of the most ancient instruments, and certainly the most poetical of all.... The dimensions, the number of strings, the form, and whatever is connected with this instrument had their principles in Nature. Thus thech'inmeasured 3.66 feet, because the year contains a maximum of 366 days; the number of strings was five, to agree with the five elements; the upper part was made round, to represent the firmament; the bottom was flat, to represent the ground; and the thirteen studs stood for the twelve moons and the intercalary moon. The strings were also subjected to certain laws. The thickest string was composed of twohundred and forty threads and represented the Sovereign." ("Chinese Music," by J. A. Van Aalst.) The "Shu table-lute" is an allusion to Ssŭ Ma Hsiang-ju, a great poet and musician, who was a native of Shu. The mandarin ducks are emblems of conjugal love, and in speaking of them the wife expresses the wish that her husband were present to listen.
Note 115.
I wish my thoughts to follow the Spring wind, even to the Swallow Mountains.
The Yen Jan, or "Swallow Mountains," lie several thousand miles to the West of Ch'ang An, in Central Asia.
Note 116.
The neglected lamp does not burn brightly.
The lamps were little vessels filled with natural oil, upon which floated a vegetable wick. Unless constantly attended to, and this was the duty of the woman, the flame was small and insignificant.
SUNG TO THE AIR: "THE MANTZŬ LIKE AN IDOL"
Note 117.
The Mantzŭ are an aboriginal tribe still living in the far Southwest of China. It was here that Li T'ai-po was to have been exiled had not the sentence been commuted. (See Introduction.)
Note 118.
Instead, for me, the "long" rest-houses alternate with the "short" rest-houses.
On the "great roads," which we should speak of as paths, rest-houses for the convenience of travellers are erected every fiveli(aliis one-third of a mile). These are called "short road rest-houses" and are simply shelters. There are also "long road rest-houses" every tenli, where the care-takers serve travellers with tea and food, and which are equipped with altars and idols for the convenience of the pious.
AT THE YELLOW CRANE TOWER, TAKING LEAVE OF MÊNG HAO JAN
Note 119.
I take leave of my dear old friend at the Yellow Crane Tower.
Mêng Hao Jan (A.D.689-740) was a very famous poet, one of whose idiosyncrasies was riding a donkey through the snow in a search for inspiration.
The Yellow Crane Tower is still standing at Wuchang.
(See map and Note 60.)
THOUGHTS FROM A THOUSAND LI
Note 120.
Li Ling is buried in the sands of Hu.
Li Ling lived during the reign of the Emperor Wu of Han (140-87B.C.) at a time when the Hsiung Nu tribes were very troublesome. He penetrated far into the Hsiung Nu country, with a force of only five thousand infantry, and was there surrounded by thirty thousand of the enemy. After his men had exhausted their arrows, he was forced to surrender, and spent the rest of his life as a captive in Central Asia.
Note 121.
Su Wu has returned to the homes of Han.
Su Wu lived during the same period as did Li Ling, and was sent by the Emperor Wu upon a mission of peace to the Hsiung Nu. By the time he reached the Court of the Khan, however, relations between the Chinese and the Barbarians were again strained, and he was taken prisoner. Various attempts were made to induce him to renounce his allegiance to China; he was thrown into prison and subsisted for days on the moisture which he sucked from his clothes, but all efforts to undermine his loyalty failed, and eventually he was sent to tend sheep on the grazing fields of the steppes. Years passed, Wu Ti, the "Military Emperor," died, and his successorChao Ti made peace with the Central Asian tribes and sent envoys to ask for the return of the faithful Su Wu. The Khan replied that he was dead, but the envoy was able to answer that such could not be the case, as, not long before, the Emperor himself while hunting in his park had shot a wild goose, and had found a letter from Su Wu tied to its leg. The loyal official was therefore sent back to China. He had gone off in the prime of life; when he returned, in 86B.C., he was a broken-down, white-haired old man.
Note 122.
Wild geese are flying.If I sent a letter—so—to the edge of Heaven.
An allusion to the story of Su Wu. Letters anxiously awaited are often spoken of as "wild-goose" letters.
SAYING GOOD-BYE TO A FRIEND WHO IS GOING TO THE PLUM-FLOWER LAKE
Note 123.
I bid you good-bye, my friend, as you are going on an excursion to the Plum-Flower Lake.
This lake lies about seven miles Southwest of Nanking. The legend is that, many years ago, a raft loaded with flowering plum-trees sank in it, and ever since, during the plum-blossom season, the lake is covered with plum-trees in bloom.
Note 124
Nevertheless you must not omit the wild-goose letter.
(See Notes 121 and 122.)
Note 125.
Or else our knowledge of each other will be as the dust of Hu to the dust of Yüeh.
Hu is the Mongols' country to the North and West of the Great Wall, and Yüeh is the province of Chêkiang in the Southeast of China. (See map.)
A DESULTORY VISIT TO THE FÊNG HSIEN TEMPLE AT THE DRAGON'S GATE
Note 126.
I had already wandered away from the People's Temple.
The Fêng Hsien is one of the so-called Chao Ti temples. These temples are erected by the people, not by Imperial command, which fact is proclaimed on an inscription written on a horizontal board placed over the main doorway. The Fêng Hsien temple stands in the Lung Mên, or Dragon Gate, a defile cut in the mountains of Honan by the great Yü when he drained the Empire about two thousandB.C.(See Introduction.) He is supposed to have been helped by a dragon who, with one sweep of its tail, cleft the mountain range in two, thus forcing the river I, a confluent of the Lo which is one of the tributaries of the Yellow River, to confine itself within the defile through which it runs in a series of rapids.
CROSSING THE FRONTIER—II
Note 127.
Sadness everywhere. A few sounds from a Mongol flageolet jar the air.
The Hsiung Nu soldiers, against whom the Chinese are fighting, are so near that the sounds of their flageolets can be plainly heard.
Note 128.
Perhaps it is Ho P'iao Yao.
(See Note 4.)
AT THE EDGE OF HEAVEN. THINKING OF LI T'AI-PO
Note 129.
The demons where you are rejoice to see men go by.
The demons are of the man-eating variety, theyao kuai. (See table of supernatural beings in Introduction.)
Note 130.
You should hold speech with the soul of Yüan.
Ch'ü Yüan (see Note 62) drowned himself in the Mi Lo River.
SENT TO LI PO AS A GIFT
Note 131.
And remembering Ko Hung, you are ashamed.
Ko Hung, author of "Biographies of the Gods," lived in the Fourth CenturyA.D.Although very poor, he pursued his studies with such zeal that he became an official. Having heard that the cinnabar, from which the Elixir of Immortality is distilled, came from Cochin China, he begged to be appointed to a magistracy in the South in order that he might obtain a supply for experimental purposes on the spot. Arrived in Kwangtung, he spent his time on Mount Lo Fo attempting to compound this elixir, and so, working at his experiments, passed into a tranquil sleep. When his friends went to wake him, they found his clothes empty. Ko Hung had ascended to the Taoist Paradise to live forever among the Immortals.
HEARING THE EARLY ORIOLE
Note 132.
The sun rose while I slept. I had not yet risen.
The poem alludes to the curious Chinese custom of holding Imperial audiences at dawn. This custom was persisted in until the fall of the Manchu Dynasty in 1912. One of the most noticeable peculiarities of Peking in Imperial days was the noise during the night, which never seemed to stop. Officials came to the Palace in their carts, while it was still dark, in order to be ready for the audience at dawn. It is clear from Po Chü-i's poem that he is no longer in office, since, although the sun has risen, he himself is still in bed.
AN IMPERIAL AUDIENCE AT DAWN
Note 133.
At the first light of the still-concealed sun, the Cock-man, in his dark-red cap, strikes the tally-sticks and proclaims aloud the hour.
The Cock-men, whose badge of office was a red cloth, were in charge of the water-clock, and their business was to announce the time of day. Near the water-clock were kept bamboo tallies, one for each division of the twenty-four hours. (See Introduction.) When the arrow of the water-clock registered the moment of the change from one division into another, the Cock-man on duty struck the appropriate tally-stick on a stone set for that purpose beside the door of the Palace. At sunrise, which took place during the hour of the monkey (three to fiveA.M.) or during the hour of the cock (five to sevenA.M.), according to the season, he gave a loud, peculiar cry to warn the inmates of the Palace that day had come.
Note 134.
At this exact moment, the Keeper of the Robes sends in the eider-duck skin dress, with its cloud-like curving feather-scales of kingfisher green.
The "Keeper of the Robes" was one of the six offices instituted by the Ch'in Dynasty (255-209B.C.), the other five were those of the "Imperial Head-dresses," "Food-stuffs," "Washing Utensils," "Sitting Mats," and "Writing Materials." Robes were, and are, made from the skins of the various eider-ducks found in Northern Asia. The king eider's head is blue; the Pacific eider's, black and green; while the spectacled eider has a white line round the eye, which accounts for its name. The feathers are so close and soft that garments made of them feel exactly like fine fur.
Note 135.
In the Ninth Heaven, the Ch'ang Ho Gate opens.
The Ninth Heaven is the centre from which the points of the compass radiate, and it is there that the first of all the entrances to Heaven, the Ch'ang Ho Gate, stands.
Note 136.
The immediately-arrived sun tips the "Immortal Palm."
The "Immortal Palm" was a very tall bronze pillarwhich the Emperor Wu of Han erected in the grounds of the Variegated Colours Palace. On the top was a colossal hand, with the fingers curled up so that the falling dew might be caught in the palm, for, of course, the ancient Chinese firmly believed that dew fell. As dew was the drinking-water of the Immortals, to drink it was to advance a step on the road to Immortality. The hand was brightly polished, and was one of the first objects about the Palace to glitter when the sun rose.
SEEKING FOR THE HERMIT OF THE WEST HILL
Note 137.
On the Nothing-Beyond Peak, a hut of red grass.
Huts were built of a certain hill grass, now very rare. It turns red in the Autumn, and is fine and strong like wire.
Note 138.
I look into the room. There is only the low table and the stand for the elbows.
Much of the furniture in the T'ang period was like that used now by the Japanese. It was customary to sit on the floor and write at a low table, and the use of the elbow-stand was general.
Note 139.
I have received much—the whole doctrine of clear purity.
The principles of Taoism are called literally "the clear pure doctrines."
Note 140.
Why should I wait for the Man of Wisdom?
An allusion to the eccentric Wang Hui-chih (A.D.388), who made a long journey through the snow to see a friend, but missed him.
FAREWELL WORDS TO THE DAUGHTER OF THE HOUSE OF YANG
Note 141.
The sacredness with which the Chinese regard their family ties is well known, but it is perhaps not realizedthat the Chinese conception of the duties owed to friendship entails very great responsibilities. If a friend dies, it is a man's duty to see that his family do not suffer in any way. Wei Ying-wu is probably addressing the daughter of some dead friend whom he has brought up in his own family, or she may be a poor relation on his mother's side, but that she is not his own daughter is clear from the fact that her clan name differs from his, which is Wei.
ONCE MORE FIELDS AND GARDENS.
Note 142.
But for thirteen years it was so I lived.
The text reads "three ten," which is the way the Chinese say "thirty," but native commentaries state that it should read "ten three," or thirteen. This is far more in accordance with the facts of T'ao's life. He livedA.D.365-427, and although he became an official, he soon resigned his post, saying that he "could not crook the hinges of his back for five pecks of rice a day." (See Note 54.)
Note 143.
Mine is a little property of tenmouor so.
Amouis a Chinese land measurement which is equal to about one-sixth of an acre.
SONG OF THE SNAPPED WILLOW
Note 144.
A very famous song written during the Liang Dynasty (A.D.502-557). Allusions to it always suggest homesickness.
THE CLOUDY RIVER
Note 145.
There seems to be no doubt that although King Hsüan of Chou (876-781B.C.) is not mentioned by name in the poem, which appears in the "Decade of Tang" divisionof the "Book of Odes," he is the King referred to. All the old Chinese commentators agree in ascribing the authorship to a certain Jêng Shu, an officer of the Court during the reign of that monarch, who is known to have had a profound admiration for the King. Opinions differ as to the exact date of the great drought, but the standard chronology places it in the sixth year of King Hsüan's reign, 821B.C.This ode illustrates the Chinese conception of kingship described in the Introduction.
Note 146.
How the Cloudy River glitters.
The Chinese call the Milky Way the "Cloudy" or "Silver River." Stars are peculiarly bright and glittering during a drought.
Note 147.
My stone sceptres and round badges of rank.
The badges of office were made of nephrite. There are references in both the "Book of History" and the "Book of Odes" to the fact that, after certain sacrifices, they were buried in the ground. In this case, the sacrifices had been performed so often that the supply of these tokens was exhausted.
Note 148.
I myself have gone from the border altars to the ancestral temples.
According to Confucius, the sacrifices to Heaven and Earth were performed at the border altars, and those to the ancestors took place at the temples especially provided for the purpose.
Note 149.
Hou Chi could do no more.
Hou Chi is the deity of grain, and from him King Hsüan was supposed to be descended.
Note 150.
Shang Ti does not look favourably upon us.
Shang Ti, literally the "Above Emperor," is the supreme ruler of the universe. Earthly Emperors receive the decree which empowers them to rule from him.
Note 151.
Why should I not be terrifiedSince all the ancestral sacrifices will be ended?
To the Chinese, this is the greatest calamity that can be conceived, since without these sacrifices the ancestral spirits would suffer greatly, and might visit their wrath upon their descendants.
Note 152.
Drought, the Demon of Drought, has caused these ravages.
The "Book of Spirits and Prodigies" states that in the Southern regions there is a hairy man, two or three cubits in height, with eyes in the top of his head and the upper part of his body bare. His name is Po. He runs with the speed of the wind, and in whatever part of the country he appears a great drought ensues.
Note 153.
I offered the yearly sacrifices for full crops in good time.
It was the custom for the King to pray and make offerings to Shang Ti during the first Spring month (February), in order to propitiate this chief of the Chinese pantheon and ensure good harvests from the grain then being sown. During the first Winter month (November), other prayers and sacrifices were offered to the "Honoured Ones of Heaven" (the sun, moon, and stars) for a blessing on the year to follow.
Note 154.
I neglected not one of the Spirits of the Four Quarters of the Earth.
Sacrifices of thanksgiving to the "Spirits of the Four Earth Quarters" were offered at the end of the harvest season.
SONG OF GRIEF
Note 155.
Pan Chieh-yü, the talented and upright concubine of the Han Emperor, Ch'êng, is one of the ladies most often referred to in literature. She was supplanted by the beautiful, but unscrupulous, "Flying Swallow," who accused her to the Emperor of denouncing him to thekueiand theshên. (See table of supernatural beings in Introduction.) The Emperor, therefore, sent for Pan Chieh-yü who, kneeling before him, answered him as follows: "The Unworthy One of the Emperor has heard that he who cultivates virtue still has not attained happiness or favour. If this be so, for him who does evil what hope is there? Supposing that the demons and spirits are aware of this world's affairs, they could not endure that one who was not faithful to the Emperor should utter the secret thoughts hidden in the darkness of his heart. If they are not conscious of this world's affairs, of what use would the uttering of those secret thoughts be?" Then, rising, she left the Imperial presence, and immediately obtained permission to withdraw from the Palace. Not long after, she sent the Emperor "A Song of Grief," and ever since then the term, "Autumn Fan," has been used to suggest a deserted wife.
LETTER OF THANKS FOR PRECIOUS PEARLS
Note 156.
One of the ladies swept aside by Yang Kuei-fei (see Note 30) was the lovely Chiang Ts'ai-p'in, known as the "Plum-blossom" concubine. As she liked to differ from other people, she painted her eyebrows in the shape of wide cassia-leaves instead of the thin-lined willow-leaf, or "moth-antennæ," the form so much used. Soon after her departure from the Palace, some pearls were received as tribute, and the Emperor, who still had a lingering regard for "Plum-blossom," sent them to her in secret. She refused the pearls, and returned them to the Emperor with this poem.
SONGS OF THE COURTESANS
Note 157.
I gaze far—far—for the Seven Scents Chariot.
The "Seven Scents Chariot" was a kind of carriage usedin old days by officials, and only those above the sixth rank might hang curtains upon it. It was open on four sides, but covered with a roof. The hubs of the wheels were carved. Ai Ai implies that the person she is waiting for is very grand indeed.
THE GREAT HO RIVER
Note 158.
This song, which was probably written about 600B.C., has been elucidated by succeeding generations of Chinese commentators in the following tale.
The lady was a daughter of the Lord of Wei, and the divorced wife of the Lord of Sung. On the death of her husband, her son succeeded to his father's position as feudal chief of Sung. Because of her divorce, the unhappy woman, who was deeply attached to her son, was forbidden to enter Sung, where he lived.
AN EVENING MEETING
Note 159.
The lamp-flower falls.
An old-fashioned Chinese lamp was simply a vessel in which a vegetable wick floated in oil. If the oil were very pure, the wick burned evenly, leaving no charred end; but if the oil were impure, the wick turned red-hot and formed a glowing tip called the "lamp-flower." Its appearance was looked upon as the happy omen which foretold a lover's speedy return.
Note 160.
But what is the rain of the Sorceress Gorge.
The Sorceress Gorge (see Note 87) is often referred to in a figurative sense, as it is in this poem. The allusion is to the story of a certain prince who dreamed that a fairy, calling herself the Lady of the Sorceress Mountain, came and passed the night with him. On leaving in the morning, she told him that it was she who ruled over theclouds and rain, which would ever after be symbols of their love. Since then, the expression "clouds and rain" has become a euphemism for the relation of the sexes.
CALLIGRAPHY
Note 161.
The writing of Li Po-hai.
Li Yung (A.D.678-747) is often called "Po Hai" in reference to a place where he held office. He was a person who displayed astounding knowledge at a very early age, and rose to be very powerful. When he was nearly seventy, he was overthrown by the machinations of his enemies and put to death. He wrote many inscriptions and was noted for his beautiful, spirited calligraphy.
Note 162.
The writing of Chia, the official.
Chia K'uei (A.D.30-101) was known as the "Universal Scholar." He was an eminent teacher, and many of his pupils came from great distances. As the payment he received was in grain, he was said to "till with his tongue," which phrase has now become a current expression for earning one's living as a teacher. Toward the end of his life, he was appointed Imperial historiographer. He was also a noted calligraphist. (See Note 77.)
ONE GOES A JOURNEY
Note 163.
Are many sweet-olive trees.
Theolea fragrans, or sweet-olive, is employed in a metaphorical sense to denote literary honours. Scholars who have successfully passed their examinations are said to have gathered its branches.
ON THE CLASSIC OF THE HILLS AND SEA
Note 164.
Because the Yellow Emperor considers them of importance.
The Yellow Emperor is one of the five mythical sovereigns who ruledcirca2697B.C.and is supposed to have reigned a hundred years.
THE SOLITARY TRAVELLER
Note 165.
He has attended an Imperial audience at the Twelve Towers.
The "Twelve Towers" was a palace built by Ming Huang (see Note 30) for the use of his ladies. It was an attempted imitation of a building supposed to have been erected by the Yellow Emperor (see Note 164) for the use of the Immortals. By his reference to it, one knows that the traveller has been to Court and is returning disappointed.
SPRING. AUTUMN. WINTER
Note 166.
It makes me thinkOf the Peach-Blossom Fountain.
An allusion to a well-known allegory, "The Peach-Blossom Fountain," by T'ao Yüan-ming. (See Note 142.) It tells how a fisherman, who was lost, found himself in a beautiful country where the people all wore strange clothes of very old-fashioned cut. On coming home, he told many stories about this enchanting land, but it could never be found again. The gods had permitted the fisherman to return for a short time to the "peach-blossom" days of his youth, although he could never remember the road he had taken, nor even point out the direction in which it lay.
PLAN OF A TYPICAL CHINESE HOUSE OF THE BETTER CLASS
PLAN OF A TYPICAL CHINESE HOUSE OF THE BETTER CLASS
KEY TO PLAN OF A TYPICAL CHINESE HOUSE OF THE BETTER CLASS
Shaded Sections—Buildings.White Sections—Courtyards.The house faces South.No. 1.Chao Pi.Spirit Wall. Built to protect the main entrance from the malign influence of evil spirits: these move most easily in a straight line and find difficulty in turning corners, therefore a wall before the Great Gate is an effective defence.No. 2.Ta Mên.Great Gate.No. 3.Mên Fang.Gate-keeper's Room.No. 4.Ting Tzŭ Lang.Covered passage leading from the Reception Hall to the Great Gate and opening on the street.No. 5.Lang.Covered passage-way.No. 6.T'ing.Reception Hall.No. 7.Lang.Covered passage-way.No. 8.T'ing.Inner Reception Hall.No. 9.Ch'ih.A stone-paved courtyard. It has no roof and is raised in the centre. On great occasions, such as weddings, birthdays, and so on, it can be roofed and floored, thus being made a part of the house. Trees and flowers are not planted in this court, but are set about in pots.No. 10.T'ing.A courtyard. In this second courtyard, to which steps lead down, trees and flowers are planted, making of it an inner garden.No. 11.Tso Ma Loa.Running Horse Two-Story Apartments. This is theKueiso often spoken of, the Women's Apartments. It is a building in which the rooms surround a courtyard, and are connected by verandahs running round the court upstairs and down. The space in the centre is known asT'ien Chingor Heaven's Well. There are eighteen rooms in the upper story, and eighteen in the lower. The wife uses the front rooms; the daughters, the back.No. 12.Hou T'ing.Back Court. It is bounded by a "flower wall," or brick trellis, through which flowers can twine, and is used by the inmates of theKueias a garden.No. 13.Nü Hsia Fang.Women's Lower House. A house for the women servants. As in the house for men servants, No. 18, the floor is actually on a lower level than those of the master's apartments.No. 14.Fo Lou.Buddhist Two-Story Apartments. In the upper story, images of Buddhas, and of Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy, are kept. As a rule, it is locked, and only people who have washed carefully and put on clean clothes may enter.No. 15.Tsê Shih.Side Inner Apartment. In this house, poor relations may live. The concubines who do not enter theKueiexcept on invitation also live here. Guests do not go further into the house than to the wall bounding this building on the South.No. 16.Tung Hua T'ing.Eastern Flower Hall.No. 17.Tui T'ing.Opposite Hall. This and No. 16 are used for theatrical entertainments. The guests are seated in No. 16, facing South, and the stage faces North in No. 17. A cloth covering is stretched over the courtyard, and a wall divides the twoT'ingfrom the rest of the house.No. 18.Nan Hsia Fang.Men's Lower House. A house for men servants divided as far as possible from the quarters of the women servants, also placed conveniently near the Great Gate where guests enter.No. 19.Ta Shu Fang.Great Book Room. This room is used as a library and study, and in it the teacher instructs the sons of the family.No. 20.Hsi Hua T'ing.Western Flower Hall. Here guests are entertained at meals. Flower gardens are placed on either side, and also walls which prevent either the study or the women's rooms from being seen from it.No. 21.Tsê Shih.Side Inner Apartment. A building used by the ladies of the house as a study or boudoir, where they embroider, paint, or write. The light is very good, whereas in theKuei, on account of most of the windows opening on the court ("Heaven's Well"), it is apt to be poor.No. 22.Ch'u Fang.Kitchen. This is placed conveniently near to No. 20, where the men of the family dine, and No. 21, the dining-room of the ladies.No. 23.Ch'ü Lang.Passage-of-Many-Turnings. The superstitious belief in regard to the difficulty experienced by evil spirits in going round sharp corners governs the planning of this strangely shaped passage.No. 24.Shu Chai."Books Reverenced." The study, or students' room.No. 25.Hsien.A Side-room or Pavilion. This is a long, low, outdoor passage, where guests sit and amuse themselves.No. 26.Ma Fang.Stable. The stable is placed as far as possible from the house. The horses, however, are kept saddled near the Great Gate for a large part of the day, in order to be in readiness should they be needed.No. 27.Hua Yüan.Flower Garden. The gardens are arranged with hills, water, and rockeries, to look as much like natural scenes as possible.No. 28.Ssŭ So.Privy.