Page:Frank Owen - The Scarlett Hill, 1941.djvu/176

RV 171 (LADY T'AI CHÊN) and demons screeched about the eaves of little houses or wailed in the dreadful forest distance. Yang Kuei-fei found it far easier to dance to the rhythm of the rain, than to capture the notes of its music. Time after time she failed, but still she tried again. She wondered how often Tu Fu had failed before he perfected "The Goodly Rain:"

What Tu Fu had done in poetry, Yang Kuei-fei wished to accomplish in music. Tu Fu had always struggled with poverty, yet his poetry was the envy of princes. Therefore, since she was abundantly supplied with everything, her task would be far less difficult. She tried to close her eyes to the fact that in poetry, Tu Fu was an Immortal even though he had failed of appointment when he took the examinations at Hanlin College and was at the Court solely by invitation of the Emperor. RV 171 (171)