A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY CHINESE POEM
Ch'ēn Tzŭ-lung was born in 1607. He became a soldier, and in 1637 defeated the rebel, Hsü Tu. After the suicide of the last Ming emperor, he offered his services to the Ming princes who were still opposing the Manchus. In 1647 he headed a conspiracy to place the Ming prince Lu on the throne. His plans were discovered and he was arrested by Manchu troops. Escaping their vigilance for a moment, he leapt into a river and was drowned.
The following song describes the flight of a husband and wife from a town menaced by the advancing Manchus. They find the whole country-side deserted.
The little cart jolting and banging through the yellow haze of dusk.
The man pushing behind: the woman pulling in front.
They have left the city and do not know where to go.
"Green, green, those elm-tree leaves: they will cure my hunger,
If only we could find some quiet place and sup on them together."
