CHINESE POETRY AND ITS CONNOTATIONS 



125 



this metal pole which was well greased so that it was impossible to 

 climb up, a fire was then lighted below, while T'a Chi and the Emperor 

 sat by and laughed heartily at the antics of the tortured wretch. 

 Chou Hsin was eventually over-thrown and Ta Chi perished with him 

 in the flames of the Palace which Chou Hsin had caused to be set 

 alight. 



Ch'i Chi J|£ Jjg Concubine of Kao Tsu of Han, who loved her 

 very dearly, ana wished her son to be his heir. The Empress Dowager 

 who was the infamous Lii Hou & fa was, however, unwilling that this 

 should be the case, and upon the death of Kao Tsu put the boy to 

 death and submitted his mother to terrible tortures. Her eyes were 

 torn out, her ears, hands and feet were cut off and she was thrown into 

 a filthy hole to die, in fact she was treated worse than one treats a dog. 



Yii Chi $L Jigj the much loved Concubine of the famous Hsiang Yii 

 J|( %% who followed him everywhere. After the battle of Kai Hsia 

 when he was surrounded by the soldiers of his enemy Liu Pang he 

 appealed to her in the following words; "My strength is great enough 

 to tear up hills, Alas ! alas ! spirit could flow over the whole world. The 

 time is not propitious : Alas ! Alas ! my dappled horse cannot pass out. 

 My dappled horse cannot pass out Alas ! Alas ! what can be done ? 

 Yii, Alas, Alas, Yii, my beloved, Alas what is it necessary for me to 

 do?" Then Yii, hearing the songs of the opposing soldiers on every 

 side replied. "The soldiers of Han have completely captured the place, 

 On the four sides the sounds of their songs ring out clearly. The 

 intentions of the great Prince (Hsiang Yii himself) are consumed, are 

 as the ashes in a furnace. What resource can your Unworthy One, 

 (herself) devise?" Hsiang Yii thereupon committed suicide by cutting 

 his throat, and the lovely Yii Chi followed suit. 



Pan Chieh-yu 3?E^^ the very noble Concubine of Cheng Ti )&$$? 

 of Han H|. Her talents were great, and the title "Chieh-yu," is equiva- 



Pak Chieh Yu. 



lent to that of a high literary degree. She is reported as having 

 reproved the Emperor when he suggested that she should drive beside 



