26. THE MONUMENT OF TEARS
The mountain of Hsien looks down on the Han River;
The water is blue and its sand shines like snow.
There on the mountain top stands the Monument of Tears,
Long weathered and covered up with green mosses.
- The Mountain of Hsien is in Hupeh, near the city of Hsiang-yang. Once in the reign of the Chin dynasty (3rd century), Yang Hu, the governor of this district, a man of benevolence, climbed the mountain to view the fair landscape below. Amid the feasting and verse-making, the governor turned to his companions and said: "This mountain has stood here since the beginning of the world; and many famous men of virtue and wisdom have come up to this spot, as we ourselves. Now they are all gone and forgotten. Soon we, shall be, too." So saying, he shed tears. Later the people erected a monument there. It is this that Li Po found "covered up with green mosses."
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