NO. I 



CH UAN MIAO SONGS AND STORIES — GRAHAM 



89 



corn and rice to flower. The insects quickly 

 cause the corn and grain to grow seeds. The 

 rice in the mother's field yields until the flat 

 is all yellow. The father's corn covered the 

 mountain with yellow. After the birds got 

 their rice to eat, they sat quietly. When the 

 insects got corn to eat, they also went under 

 the ground and slept peacefully (until next 

 spring). 



A Nature Song (673) 



In the night the dew comes out on the leaves 



and the grass. 

 Then the insects come forth and drink the 



dew. 

 When they have drunk their fill. 

 They begin to sing. 

 Then the buddhas and the gods enjoy their 



sweet music. 



WAR SONGS 



A War Song (84) 



On a clear day there was a bird called gan o 

 (gan, meaning dog; o, the name of a species 

 of birds), which was singing as he sat on a 

 large reed. On a clear day there was also a 

 bird that sat on the top of a tall tree and sang. 



A son was born to me, and I could not find 

 a name for him. I named him Chung (a part 

 of a loom). I also have a son named Lo. The 

 older brother, when he grew up, carried a 

 curved spear. The younger brother carried 

 a straight spear (called a kill-knife). The 

 older brother was large and led soldiers to 

 Shiang Shan (^[If, fragrant mountain). 

 The younger brother was small, and he led 

 troops to Mount Omei. 



When the older brother came, he carried 

 the curved spear. When the younger brother 

 came, he carried a long bamboo stick (possi- 

 bly the handle to a spear). The older brother 

 led soldiers to Ta Muh Kan Pa (a flat where 

 oranges were growing) . The younger brother 

 led soldiers to Ch'en T'ien Sen. When the 

 older brother came he carried a straight stick. 

 The younger brother carried a black shield 

 (called a spear shield). The older brothers 

 led soldiers and fought Lang Tu and Bi 

 Ch'ang. The younger brother again led sol- 

 diers and went to attack to the east of Lang 

 Du.^3 



The older brother saw that he could not 

 win a victory over the enemy. The younger 

 brother also saw that he could not win a 

 battle from the enemy. The older brother 

 withdrew his troops and said, "These soldiers 

 must not be divided. We must only think out 

 a good plan to fight." The younger brother 

 had a good plan. He said, "We should attack 

 in this way." 



The two talked over and settled their plans. 

 The older brother said, "I will use a torch 

 and burn the cities." The younger brother 

 said, "My mind is the same as yours." The 

 older brother then started a fire and let it 



burn. The burning of Lang Du (laO^ Tu*^) 

 was like the sun in brightness. The older 

 brother then carried his long gun to oppose 

 (those who tried to flee). The younger 

 brother also carried a big gun and opposed 

 them. The older brother again set fire to burn 

 a city. He surrounded the city while it was 

 burning. It roared half the night and re- 

 sounded during one morning. The sound 

 was like a landslide, and there were reports 

 as when there is a fire on a stone mountain 

 and the heated rocks explode."* The fire 

 burnt the silk and satin of the Chinese, and 

 it fell down like a house. It burnt Chinese 

 silk thread like a mountain in size. A woman 

 could not run, and leaped into the Yangtse 

 River. The Lolo women died like a pile of 

 grass. The Chinese women died and floated 

 on the water like rice straw. 



A War Song (677) 



A Miao hero in the time of Yoh Fei went 

 with the Chinese imperial army to fight the 

 enemy. He was a mighty warrior and killed 

 a great many. He was a military leader and 

 conquered 9,800 small fortresses and killed 

 360 soldiers. When he returned the emperor 

 did not esteem him highly or reward him. 

 His wife and children rebuked him saying 

 that when he was with the emperor he ate 

 good food and enjoyed life. He replied, "No, 

 I did not. Every day I drank a little water 

 and rice gruel, and I did not get to eat the 

 emperor's fine food." 



Although he fought nobly, he was not well 

 requited or suitably rewarded, because he 

 was a Miao."° 



■^^ Lang Du is the name of a city. 



■^^ In many houses in West China there are 

 bamboo poles which explode loudly when the 

 houses are burning. Sometimes heated rocks crack 

 with a loud noise. 



^^ This was a treatment similar to that suf- 

 fered by Yoh Fei by the same emperor. 



Sung by Mrs. Wang Ch'ong Fu, daughter of 

 Mr. T'ao Min Shuen, aged 30 years. 



