Page:A history of Chinese literature - Giles.djvu/175

 Humane treatment of the lower animals is not gene- rally supposed to be a characteristic of the Chinese. They have no Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which may perhaps account for some of their shortcomings in this direction. Han Yii was above all things of a kindly, humane nature, and although the following piece cannot be taken seriously, it affords a useful index to his general feelings :

" Oh, spare the busy morning fly,

Spare the mosquitos of the night / A nd if their wicked trade they ply, Let a partition stop their flight.

" Their span is brief from birth to death ;

Like you, they bite their little day;

And then, with autumn's earliest breath^

Like you, too, they are swept away."

The following lines were written on the way to his place of exile in Kuangtung :

"Alas ! the early season flies,

Behold the remnants of the spring !

My boat in landlocked water lies, At dawn I hear the wild birds sing.

" Then, through clouds lingering on the slope,

The rising sun breaks on to me, And thrills me with a fleeting hope, A prisoner longing to be free.

" My flowing tears are long since dried.

Though care clings closer than it did. But stop ! All care we lay aside When once they close the coffin lid"

Another famous poet, worthy to be mentioned even after Han Yu, was Po CHU-I (A.D. 772-846). As a child

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