CHINESE POETRY AND ITS CONNOTATIONS 111 



Plaintain = Grief and sadness. It is symbolical of a heart that is not 

 "flat" or "level" as the Chinese say, not open and carefree, but 

 one that is "tightly rolled" that is which hides its care. The 

 sound of rain on the leaves is very mournful, therefore an allusion 

 to a plaintain is sad. It is planted outside windows which are 

 glazed with silk in order to soften the light of the sun, its heavy 

 green leaves being very useful for this purpose. 



To a Chinese reader all these connotations are instantly 

 comprehensible and of course make a poem extremely vivid, 

 and suggestive. 



Architecture. — In the translation of Chinese poetry there 

 is perhaps no point which should more constantly be kept in 

 mind than the fact that the architectural background of 

 China is utterly different to that of any other country, and that 

 unless a vivid picture of the various buildings and appart- 

 ments referred to exists in the mind of the reader, it is quite 

 impossible to grasp the connotations of Chinese poetry. 

 Another point, and one which seems to be, generally speak- 

 ing, ignored by those who have already made translations, is 

 that our language does not possess terms which adequately 

 describe the homes and buildings of the Chinese. Phrases 

 must therefore be used which will make clear to the Western 

 reader the kind of building referred to. 



Dwelling Houses. — Apart from the humble cottages of 

 the very poor, the dwelling houses are built on the same 

 general plan — that is they consist of a series of buildings 

 divided by court-yards, which, in the case of the wealthy are 

 connected by covered passages. Each building is divided 

 into "chien 7 H8 or ''divisions," the number varying according 

 to the official position of the owners; thus the homes of the 

 people both rich and poor, consist of buildings containing three 

 or five "chien" — official residences are of seven chien, while 

 Imperial palaces are of nine. The number of buildings varies 

 considerably and is constantly being added to as the sons 

 bring home their wives and as the family outgrows the 

 original "chia" ^S. 



A study of the attached plan will reward the reader with 

 a clear idea of the general arrangement of the numerous 

 edifices which constitute a "chia" and of the uses to which 

 they are put. 



Many of the references in poetry to the "Kuei" St 

 or women's apartments which open on to the "Hou Ting" 

 ft 8& or back court are in most picturesque terms. Thus the 

 windows are spoken of as "gold" or "jade" windows, while 

 the door is called the "Lan" Kuei ft m the orchid door; 

 indeed the "Lan" that sweet scented little epidendrum is. 



