Page:Strange stories from a Chinese studio.djvu/20

Rh face to the wall was myself in a previous state of existence; "and thus I referred my non-success in this life to the influence of a destiny surviving from the last. I have been tossed hither and thither in the direction of the ruling wind, like a flower falling in filthy places; but the six paths of transmigration are inscrutable indeed, and I have no right to complain. As it is, midnight finds me with an expiring lamp, while the wind whistles mournfully without; and over my cheerless table I piece together my tales, vainly hoping to produce a sequel to the Infernal Regions,^^ With a bumper I stimulate my pen, yet I only succeed thereby in " venting my excited feelings,"*^ and as I thus commit my thoughts to writing, truly I am an object worthy of commiseration. Alas ! I am but the bird, that dreading the winter frost, finds no shelter in the tree ; the autumn insect that chirps to the moon, and hugs the door for warmth. For where are they who know me ? ** They are *' in the bosky grove, and at the frontier pass " ^ — ^wrapped in an impenetrable gloom ! From the above curious document the reader will

The six gdii or conditions of existence, namely : — angels, men, demons, hungry devils, brute beasts, and tortured sinners.

The work of a well-known writer, named Lin I-ch*ing, who flourished during the Sung Dynasty.

Alluding to an essay by Han Fei, a philosopher of the third century, in which he laments the iniquity of the age in general, and the corruption of officials in particular. He finally committed suicide in prison, where he had been cast by the intrigues of a rival minister.

Confucius {Anal, xiv.) said, "Alas! there is no one who knows me (to be what I am)."

The great poet Tu Fu (a.d. 712-770) dreamt that his greater predecessor, Li T*ai-po (a.d. 705-762) appeared to him, " coming when the maple-grove was in darkness, and returning while the frontier-pass was still obscured!; " — ^that is, at night, when no one could see him ; the meaning being that he never came at all, and that those "who know me (P'u Sung-ling)" are equally non existent.