Page:A history of Chinese literature - Giles.djvu/345

 from horseback with a cross-bow. She would fire one pellet, and then a second, which would catch up the first and smash it to atoms in mid-air. Or she would throw a pellet on to the ground, and then grasping the cross- bow in her left hand, with her right hand passed behind her back, she would let fly and hit it, not missing once in a hundred times. She was also very particular about her friends, receiving no one unless by his talents he had made some mark in the world."

The poetical effusions, and even plays, of many of these ladies have been carefully preserved, and are usually published as a supplement to any dynastic col- lection. Here is a specimen by CHAO TS'AI-CHI (fifteenth century), of whom no biography is extant :

" The tide in the river beginning to rise, Near the sad hour of parting, brings tears to our eyes; Alas ! that these furlongs of willow-strings gay Cannot holdfast the boat that will soon be away ! "

Another specimen, by a lady named CHAO Ll-HUA (sixteenth century), contains an attempt at a pun, which is rather lamely brought out in the translation :

" Your notes on paper ; rare to see, Be like the birds and fly to me, Not like the paper, rare ! "

These examples sufficiently illustrate this small depart- ment of literature, which, if deficient in work of real merit, at any rate contains nothing of an indelicate character.

A wild harum-scarum young man was FANG SHU-SHAO,

1 Chinese note-paper is ornamented with all kinds of pictures, which some- times cover the whole sheet.

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