China / by Robert K. Douglas ; published under the direction of the Committee of General Literature and Education appointed by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

  • Robert Kennaway Douglas
Date:
1887
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: China / by Robert K. Douglas ; published under the direction of the Committee of General Literature and Education appointed by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    case, gives the cue to the rhyming syllable. The ode is by the celebrated poet of the T’ang dynasty, Lc Tai-pih, and is entitled “ On ascending the Phoenix tower at Nanking : ”— “ Fung hwang tai shang — fung hwang yew The phoenixes are on the tower—the phoenixes wander. Fung k’ii t’ai k’ung — keang tsze lew The male bird goes, the tower is empty—the river alone flows by. Woo kung hwa tsaou —• mai yew king [So] in Woo’s palace the flowers and shrubs—bury the hidden paths, Tsin tai e kwan — ch’ing koo kew [And methinks I see] Tsin dynasty clothes and caps—filling the ancient hill. San shan pan loh — ts’ing t’een wai The three mountains in half separate—and the azure sky is beyond. Urh sliuy chung fun — pih loo chow The two streams midway divide—for the white egret’s isle. T’sung wei fow yun — nang pe jih In all directions are floating clouds—sufficient to obscure the sun. Ch’ang-ngan puh keen — she jin ts’ow Ch’ang-ngan is out of sight—and the envoy is sorrowful.” In this stanza we have all the leading character- istics of Chinese poetry. The last syllable of the first line gives the cue to the rhyme which is followed in the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth lines, by the words lezv, kew, chozv, and t’sozu, which arc all in the same tone, the even tone. After the fourth syllable in each line is a marked caesural pause, by observing which the rhythmical harmony of the verses is much