Chang- O
Long , long ago , in the land of China
,
Lived an emperor cruel but ambitious ;
He owned a large of number of palaces
.
The one he stayed was the
most luxurious .
Everyday the king ate sumptuous meals ;
Attired richly in expensive silk-made
gowns .
Pretty concubines waited on him to deal
All his moods ; so his face appeared
no frowns.
Life in palaces was a fairy tale:
Ah ! never ending feasting
and merry- making ;
Diamonds and rubies ; purchase and sale,
Fancy games, poems recital and chess
playing .
One day , the proud emperor, he
was bored.
He disguised himself as a commoner ;
Ventured ouside the palace; he
explored
All his kingdom, every nook and
corner.
Tien yah ! He saw much of life's
ugliness !
The sad king was alert in an instant
;
Sick and dying men cried in loneliness
And he grimaced to see a dead infant!
Realisation dawned ! It made him thoughtful.
All humans and living creatures must die !
No matter how rich or how powerful....
Six feet underground ; there they soon
would lie .
As soon as he arrived at the palace ,
The emperor ,he called all his
men wise;
Who made haste to gather round there,
to face
His whims and fancy or tamtrums
likewise...
" Search all over the kingdom
I want the everlasting-life herbs
!
Don't come back without it ! "
And they quailed at his verbs..
Now, men all through the country
were agog !
They travelled to areas near or remote ;
Climbed the tall mountains of misty fog
Where strange accidents happened
; their lives smote..
At last ,appeared one poor
but gay peasant ;
Shea lou tien yeh ! He found the
precious herbs .
The peasant became instantly
important ..
Golds showered upon him ; many
as proverbs !
It came to past, a
beautiful and kind
Concubine from Peking , she was Chang-O;
A maid wise , who loathed the emperor's mind ,
His cruel and greedy ways .. No
and no !
.
If the emperor should live forever
Like the dawning of never setting sun;
The hundred-surnamed folks would sure suffer !
That could be fatal ! It couldn't be
done!
So , one still night , Chang
O stealthily crept
Into the emperor's chamber ;she stole
The everlasting-life herb;
but she wept
For her soft heart could no longer
be whole !
" Thief ! thief !
" shouted loud the wakeful king's guard ,
Rushing to her waving a shining blade .
In her fright
, Chang- O swallowed the dear herb.
Tein ! she became the everlasting jade
!
A miracle happened ! Her body soon
Floated
like a baloon , higher and higher
...Into the sky..! And she reached the
lonely moon..
There, high above , she remained forever !
News spread so very fast . People
all knew
And praised this brave lady-concubine's
name .
All the artists had pictures of hers drew.
Sne became another legendary fame !
Many centuries
later , a famous poet wrote:
" Chang-O regreted stealing
the everlasting-life herb ;
Nightly
,watching the blue sea
From the green sky ; singing
to her lonely harp "
Agatha Lai
Translation :
Tien yah ! : Oh sky !
Shea lou tien yeh : Thank the sky
above
Tein : sky
